Your correspondent’s son recently walked 27 miles over 3 days as part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.  The walk took in both Leith and Box hills.  On Sunday July 11th, a somewhat less intrepid group of SECHC members tackled the small part of that walk from Denbies vineyard to St Barnabus’s church, Ranmore Common, and back.

The walk had to meet two important parameters – the need to reach St Barnabus church while afternoon tea was still being served from the vestry and to return home before the World Cup final kick-off.  Both were achieved with ease thanks to Tom Vaz’s splendid organising skills despite a 15-minute delay in setting off, the late arrival claiming implausibly to have been blocked in his drive by a fallen tree.

We set off up the path through the vineyard with Box Hill behind us and Bacchus grapes to our left.  Very soon Leith Hill came into view as we climbed steadily up the slope.  The wild flowers weren’t as abundant as the bluebells on the last Centre walk but we were pleased to see a couple of wild orchids and what might have been marjoram.

The volunteers at the church welcomed us warmly and provided delicious tea and cake at a very reasonable price.  Although the walk hadn’t been strenuous – even for your walking-sticked correspondent - some of our number might have wondered why we’d not simply driven to the church and not bothered with the exercise.

Our plan to complete a circular walk was thwarted by a chained and bolted gate that would have led us along the lower slopes of the vineyard.  So we re-traced our steps with good humour back up the slope and returned the way we had come, rewarding ourselves with another cup of tea or soft drink in the Denbies shop.  If there was wine to taste, it will have to wait for another visit.

By Peter Davies