About

A photographic record of our family's walks around the South Downs, and beyond. It has been going long enough that the account of who we are has had to be written more than once, so all of it is kept here, newest first.

26 August 2026

It's been six years since the last update! A LOT HAS HAPPENED!

COVID was pretty awful, it just went on and on and it was genuinely scary, I remember just having all the food out on the table in case it got really bad.

A few years passed, we couldn't really go out, Arthur was home schooled for a period of time and Rosa didn't get the opportunities that Arthur has when he was her age but we did the best we could like everyone else.

In the end it passed and things returned relatively to normal.

We didn't go walking as much though afterwards, we tried but at some point it got too hard with little Rosa and Arthur growing up, I learnt to drive and gradually we stopped walking.

However, whilst change is inevitable we also realised, for both myself and my wife, that nature is essential and being out in the woods or by the sea is not something either of us would ever give up (no matter how much complaining there is!)

Everyone is just happier when walking. We sitll live in Eastbourne, we drive out to Rye Nature Reserve a fair amount, over to Battle, up to Ashburnham, all over really. It's a brilliant basecamp really, we are very lucky to live somewhere so perfect for accessing the Sotuh Downs and Beyond.

18 August 2020

We now have a little girl called Rosa Maria, born Christmas Eve 2019! She is seven months old now and had her first trip in the Little Life carrier recently.

The lockdown meant we were stuck at home for a lot of the spring this year. We managed a couple of local walks but weren't allowed to do much.

Arthur is almost seven. He did a great three-day walk with me in 2019.

Illness and Covid continue to hamper efforts to get out on longer walks — but hopefully soon.

2 May 2016

We have moved to Old Town in Eastbourne.

Tanya is now more involved with the site: building meditations, curating quotes, and generally raising bugs and suggestions.

We have reworked a number of areas of the site to better present the growing number of walks and everything attached to them.

We are still walking the South Downs around Eastbourne regularly — keeping an eye on the frog spawn in the dew pond up by the trig point, finding non-SDW routes over to Belle Tout, and giving Arthur as many chances as possible to stretch his legs.

20 December 2015

We are still in Eastbourne.

Since we bought the Little Life carrier we don't use the pram or the sling on walks any more; and as he is almost two and a half, we try to get him doing some actual walking as well.

22 July 2014

In May 2014 we moved to Eastbourne, an hour east of Brighton by train. We also have a baby called Arthur now.

We bought a Mothercare Extreme buggy, which has been so-so. Some off-road tyres helped, but ultimately it isn't tough enough for walking — the front wheel is quite wobbly now. It is heavy, too, and getting it over stiles is a real pain. To be fair I could probably say the same of any buggy; I just thought the 'Extreme' in the name might make it special.

For most walks we now put him in the Manduca sling and just get on with it.

8 December 2008

We are fortunate to live in Brighton, which sits right on the edge of the eastern end of the South Downs — a national park since 2011 — by the sea.

Many of our walks are local and around six miles. We take our time, usually all day, and enjoy the countryside; there is no rush to get anywhere. Often my wife will try to find somewhere for a snooze if it is a warm sunny afternoon.

We will usually stop off at one of the many pubs in the area for a drink or lunch, though lately we have been taking food with us so we can find our own quiet spot under a shady tree.

We enjoy exploring and walking on holiday as well. To date we have been on walking holidays to Snowdonia, Cumbria and the Isle of Wight. 'Walking holiday' sounds far too serious, mind — we spend as much time in front of the fire as we do outside.

Please enjoy all our walks. They are referenced back to their source material wherever possible, so you can follow them yourselves should you wish.

Toby & Tanya
Toby, Tanya & little Arthur
Toby, Tanya, Arthur & little Rosa Maria