Nearly 5 months ago...

Nearly 5 months ago, the COG and I went for a walk on the South Downs, at Cuckmere Haven, where the Cuckmere River reaches the sea. It was a much prettier and more interesting walk than we expected. The views were amazing. We've often walked above the Seven Sisters, but we really enjoyed seeing this long view of them from across the river.

En route we saw pretty coastguard cottages, which reminded me of my favorite Heyer novel, Talisman Ring, which takes place in Sussex and involves smuggling (or free-trading).

And then there were the ripening blackberries. We have a tender feeling for blackberries along here because many years ago when Daughter of was small, the way we got her to walk with us was from blackberry bush to blackberry bush. She'd have a few from one bush and then we'd walk forward and say 'oh look at these, they're beautiful' and she'd scamper a few yards more. The bushes always remind us. Because of the unusual weather this year (warm and sunny) the berries were particularly thick on the bushes. I cannot tell you how much I wanted to pick a lot and make jelly, but I didn't.