Down among the Bottoms

Leaving Mount Caburn, the Gorse Fox started a long a straight descent. Several hundred yards ahead of him, another walker was blazing the trail. "At least" thought the GF "if there are any ne'er-do-wells hiding in the long grass, they will reveal themselves as he goes by."

Any regular reader (probably an insomniac) will know the deep affection GF has for the Downs. He must say that this stretch counts among the best. The soft grass shimmered in waves as the wind blew up the valley. The folds of the Downs promised to reveal more with every step. The shadows cast by the scudding clouds seemed to emphasize the diverse colours of the route ahead.


This is an interesting spot. It is the nexus of Oxteddle Bottom, Bible Bottom, and Caburn Bottom.

There's definitely something wonderful about the Sussex Bottoms. They just seem to flow, gently sculpted into the landscape.

This picture shows Bible Bottom, and you can just pick out some old field systems as ridges in the slope at the back of the picture.



Beginning the climb up from the depths of the Bottom the view opened up once more. The field, though looking as if it has an orange hue in the picture, was a awash with small yellow flowers, purple flowers, and the feathering seed heads of the long grass. As the wind blew across it, it seemed almost pearlescent in the way the colours changed.