Along the River from Lewes – An Easy Walk

I love walking in the countryside and photographing nature, water and skies along the way.
One of my regular walks, which brings all my favourite subjects together, is along the river from Lewes to Hamsey – part of the Sussex Ouse Valley Way. It is an easy walk, and practical for me as I can catch a bus to the Phoenix Causeway, from where my walk starts.
Footpath sign

 

Parkland viewed from Willey’s Bridge

 

View from Willey’s Bridge
The first part of the walk takes me along the river Ouse past Tesco, on through the park to Willey’s Bridge. The bridge was opened in the 1960s and provides pedestrian access over the river between Lewes and South Malling. After crossing the bridge there is a choice of carrying on straight ahead past Lewes Pells open air swimming pool, or turning right onto the footpath to follow the river, the latter being the route I am writing about.
Willey’s Bridge

 

Looking back towards the bridge
With the river on the right, the footpath makes easy walking, having been upgraded recently.
Riverside footpath
All along the way, a wide variety of wild plants and flowers can be seen.
Poppies & Nemesia

 

Common Corncockle

 

Hedgerow Cranesbill

 

Coriander

 

Cornflower & Hairy Buttercup
Hundreds of poppies lined both sides of the path this year, and it was quite thought provoking when I walked there on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Poppies everywhere

 

Poppies

 

Looking across the river

 

River junction

 

Swans abound

 

Reflective moments

 

Looking across to St Peter’s Church

 

After approximately two miles there is a crossroads where the path meets a lane. To the left the lane goes into the village of Hamsey (and then on to Offham for the energetic!); it would be possible to make a circular walk back to Lewes that way, but that’s for another day! My walk turns right at the junction, up to the old Hamsey Church, dedicated to St Peter. After passing through a small hamlet of barn conversions, the pretty lane is lined with wild flowers.
Approach to Old Hamsey Church

 

Local residents sunbathing

 

Bee on Fleabane

 

Hoverfly on Blackberry flower

 

Fly on Ox-Eye Daisy
The nave and western chancel of Old Hamsey Church are 12th century; the latter was extended in the 14th century, and most of the windows date from that time.  The west end and tower are 15th century.
Old Hamsey Church

 

Church Tower
There are distant views from the church and the lane leading up to it.
Views from the church

Red Campion

 

Dog Roses

 

Hypericum

 

My walk returns by retracing my steps back to Lewes – a total of approximately 5 miles.
Walking back towards Lewes

 

I’ll summon up the energy to do the longer Hamsey circular tour one day, but that’s for a future article maybe!
All photos © Ann Ritchie Photography

Author

  • Ann Ritchie

    Ann was born and raised in Sussex. She spent some years living in Cornwall where she drove a vintage tractor as a hobby, and did rather well in local ploughing contests, before moving to France where she was fully involved in all aspects of their house renovations. Having moved back to Sussex in 2013, Ann has recently retired from the NHS. A keen walker, with an excellent knowledge of nature, Unknown Kent and Sussex readers can enjoy the stunning photos Ann takes on her hikes throughout our counties.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *