Spring Break in Sussex Part 2: Hiking Devil's Dyke and Picnic at Bluebell Railway

The next day was a sunny one so I wanted to go on a walk that I have wanted to do for ages and it didn't disappoint. The beautiful Devil's Dyke. Situated on the South Downs Way; from the top you can see all the way to Brighton and the sea then in the other direction miles of the South Downs. Its quite blowy up there so also an excellent spot for kite flying and other more extreme sports. Devil's Dyke is a dry valley left on our landscape from the Ice Age. We started at the car park at the top then walked our way into the valley, passing lots of spring born lambs, until we reached a lovely creek where we stopped and had a very delicious picnic we got on route; from what I think is the best farm shop I have ever been to. It is called Rushfields and I urge you all to visit if you are ever down this way. The walk back up was the most arduous but had the most rewarding of views and takes you to the trig point. It is here you can see Brighton and the sea in all its glory. There is a pub at the top which is a great end to a walk granted but during this walk we went through the village of Fulking and we saw a lovely pub there so we drove back to that one. It was also in the valley so we could sit outside without it being windy. The pub is called the Shepherd and Dog and have lovely array of beers which is just what we wanted after this big walk.

We ended the day back at camp with a wonderful campfire and some supper. The next day I had something special planned for the boys. Community Kitchen in Brighton is a cooking school. Profits from these classes are donated to the food partnership and helps the vulnerable in the Brighton community and I loved that ethos. The kids course this week was bread making where they got to make Sourdough Rolls, Olive and Sundried Tomato Foccacia and Dough Balls with Garlic Butter, which I thought would be perfect for a picnic as they finished at lunchtime.

What was even better was you dropped the kids off and collected them three hours later. So my husband and I had a mooch around Brighton Lanes, grabbed some breakfast and spent some quality time, just the two of us. We even bumped into Greg Davies, I had to say hello and tell him how good I thought his show was in Oxford, refraining at all times from asking for a photograph. Greg if you ever read this, I love you!

I had been after a thumb ring for a while but my skin cannot tolerate silver but I found a gold one on the lanes at Aquila Jewellery, a lovely shop with a lovely owner, so big shout out here. I also found a brilliant deli to get some bits to go with the kids bakes for our picnic.

After collecting the kids with the gorgeous smelling fresh bread, we decided to get out of the city and take our picnic to the Bluebell Railway. Here you can walk beside the tracks of a steam railway and find a good picnic spot. We had the added bonus of feeling like the railway children when on a bridge the steam train came underneath us and we got caught up momentarily in the steam.

Another perfect day ended with a visit to the local pub near our campsite called The Wheatsheaf. We had to visit as it has some unique Brazilian dishes on the menu as well as Paella which we were told we must try. It was wonderful, served in an iron pan so it stayed gloriously hot throughout. It also had a good play park in the garden that this kids enjoyed while we finished our bottle of wine. Bliss.