Walk 2: Barnham to Arundel

Ideal conditions again this morning for walking – thanks mum and St Anthony! I headed off in the direction of Yapton, home of David Bathurst. David is a marvel: a trail completer, a participant in the Hymnathon I mentioned yesterday and one of his own for FSH at nearby St George’s Church, Eastergate, in 2017,  when he sang all 401 hymns in the BBC Songs of Praise Hymnbook from memory!  He’s also written and published national and local walking guides and has generously donated the proceeds to FSH. I stopped off at The Sussex Snowdrop Trust in Walberton and chatted with its Chairman and Co-Founder, Diana Levantine, and Head of Fundraising, Lucy Ashworth.  The Trust provides care at home for children with  life-threatening or terminal illnesses.  Its nurses currently care for 70 children in its catchment area at a cost of £400,000 but receives no government funding. Covid-19 has not interrupted the care delivered by the Snowdrop nurses but it has impacted fundraising and reserves are being spent  to cover the deficit.  I was given the Snowdrop T-shirt here! In the village, admiring the pretty flint stoned cottages and the Holly Tree pub with its fetching grey exterior and matching grey GPO telephone box, I met a woman walking her Border Terrier (I have a Border Terrier called Lulu) and we chatted – eulogised Border Terriers for five minutes or so.  Travelling on through crop fields, across a golf course and through Binsted Wood which felt a bit spooky – probably because Diana had tipped me off that it was haunted and there were witches there – I eventually arrived at Arundel with its imposing castle and cathedral.  I received some socially distanced hospitality from Kevin and Ruth Taylor in the exquisite garden of their 13th century house. Ruth is a Trustee of St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House, both of which are on my walk tomorrow! This part of the Sussex Hospices Trail was sponsored by Gaye Allen in memory of  her husband Dr David Allen.