puppy's world

off on a overnighter in sussex,its a scorcher,may have to drop in on a pub or two to fight this cold i still have not got over filly yet.

I have been thinking recently[i know it's rare thing for me] where are all the vegetable gardens.I read and heard recently that for the first time since the war vegetable seeds had out sold flower seeds,so where are all the vegetables growing i thought. When i travel by train,bus or if i am out for a walk i will always have a bit of a nose in peoples gardens as i pass by. I would say that about 90% of gardens are all flowers,this is especially true in the country where i pass big houses with very big gardens and not a sign of a veggie any where.The only vegetable plots that i see seem to be from old timers. Now i know that allotment membership has gone through the roof and most sites are full with massive waiting lists,i am waiting myself for a plot and its nearly been a year and i am only number 24 on the list. I just think that if more house holds grew there own then it would help fight global warming and help families during the credit crunch.So come on Britain,GROW YOUR OWN VEG you will thank me for it there is nothing like freshly dug potatoes or freshly picked sun warmed tomatoes.

I ordered a Travel tap from Backpackinglight.co.uk just before my last trip and as per usual it turned up next day, unfortunately i was not here so it ended up at the local post office depot.Lucky for me the depot is with in walking distance so after returning from our easter break at my parents i picked it up. First impressions are favorable, i like the insulated holder that comes with it but for lightweight purposes it will not be going with me. i weighed the bottle on its own and it weighed 178g. On test out in the sussex countryside where all water needs treating it worked very well. I filtered water from a woodland stream and filled a 3 liter platypus in about 15 minutes. one problem was that i forgot to remove the cap from the nozzle when unscrewing the top to fill it up and managed to snap the thin rubber strap that holds the nozzle on. I will have to come up with a homemade strap somehow. Also you need strong hands to squeeze the bottle when filtering water into another bottle.All in all though a very good product that will get a lot of use from me as i no longer need to carry all my water when walking in lowland areas and as it doubles as a water bottle i will always have a filter with me where ever i go.

Yes i know i said i was off to walk the SDW,but due to having a few things to do on Wednesday last week i was not ready to leave until gone 3pm which would of meant having to do over 20 miles a day and with a weather forecast predicating heavy rain for thursday/friday i decided to head down to the the Kent/sussex border for a couple of days of lazy walking. The plan,well there was no real plan apart from just unwinding.My camp spot had been decided a well used spot under a ancient yew tree not far from the Wealdway. I caught the train down to Ashurst where i picked up the sussex border path heading towards Groombridge. The afternoon was glorious and i soon started to relax and enjoy my surroundings. I picked up the High Weald Landscape Trail which past through some lovely woodland with the first bluebells starting to break out and cover the woods with their dazzling blue. I was heading for Ashdown forest and one of my favourite camp spots,but before i got there i had to stop off at the Half moon pub for a pint of Harvey's in the warm afternoon sun. I stopped to fill up with water from a small stream using my new Travel Tap from Backpackinglight.co.uk,more about that in another post. I made camp around about 7.30pm and enjoyed a very pleasant evening listening to Tawny and little owls and watching a thunder storm off in the distance. The next day i had a lovely lazy breakfast and started walking about 9AM. I had decided head back to East Grinstead via a rather round about route which ended up being 25 km long and very enjoyable. My route took me via Chelwood gate,West Hoathly using a mixture of the wealdway,sussex border path and the high weald landscape trail.Just after leaving camp i heard my first cuckcoo of the year and then spotted it which i have never been able to do. The day was another great day and i ended up walking in shorts. I have to say though i do miss walking in wild places even though i love the south east of England and i hope this year to get to some wilder more mountainous location,lets just see. Oh and by the way i still plan to walk the SDW but later in the year when i hope to have more time.