{"id":22647,"date":"2023-01-12T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=22647"},"modified":"2023-01-25T15:27:16","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T14:27:16","slug":"south-downs-splendour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/2023\/01\/12\/south-downs-splendour\/","title":{"rendered":"South downs splendour"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
WALK: <\/strong>Devil\u2019s Dyke, Sussex <\/span><\/h5>\n\n

South downs splendour<\/h2>\n\n

Kelly Smith <\/strong>explores a rare chalk grassland, as rich in myth and legend as it is in far-reaching views <\/p>\n\n

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At the depths of the longest and deepest dry valley in the UK, you\u2019ll find the Devil and his wife buried side by side, on the watch for trespassers. <\/p>\n\n

Old folktales such as this put pep in your step as you wander through Devil\u2019s Dyke, but there are many more reasons to visit this legendary corner of the South Downs. <\/p>\n\n

Watch kestrels fly high above the rolling chalk hills then gaze south to the distant Isle of Wight. In spring, birdsong fills the valley and cowslips carpet the slopes. <\/p>\n\n

A five-mile stroll, starting at the National Trust Devil\u2019s Dyke car park, heads straight through the valley towards Saddlescombe Campsite and Farm, where you can stop for locally made, seasonal refreshments. Pass through sheep-grazed pasture, then climb West Hill for views of the Downs from a distance \u2013 this is an amazing place to break and catch your breath while doing some birdwatching. <\/p>\n\n

The return leg contours around the south edge of the dyke back to the car park where a warming roast in The Devil\u2019s Dyke pub awaits. <\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

\n\n
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Kelly Smith is passionate about the outdoors and is a Swim England ambassador.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A rare chalk grassland, as rich in myth and legend as it is in far-reaching views <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":22873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"82","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"82","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_82-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_82-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"February-2023","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"February-2023","purple_external_id":"February-2023-82-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"February-2023-82-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000084065||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000084065||","purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.199","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.199","purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.199","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.199","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"91da22fd-9e7f-40d1-a93f-fc46e9516d91","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-01-10T18:06:23Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"86e02f42-4031-4f5d-a70e-e643dd444a0d","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-01-25T14:27:22Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AhuAvQkAxT12nDuZD3URKDQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[30],"tags":[14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/01\/GettyImages_183969476_preview.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/01\/GettyImages_183969476_preview.jpg",1600,1101,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/01\/GettyImages_183969476_preview-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/01\/GettyImages_183969476_preview-300x206.jpg",300,206,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/01\/GettyImages_183969476_preview-768x528.jpg",768,528,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/01\/GettyImages_183969476_preview-1024x705.jpg",800,551,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/01\/GettyImages_183969476_preview-1536x1057.jpg",1536,1057,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/01\/GettyImages_183969476_preview.jpg",1600,1101,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A rare chalk grassland, as rich in myth and legend as it is in far-reaching views","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22647"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22647"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23043,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22647\/revisions\/23043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}