Back on the road, I headed back towards the village of West Stoke, then on to the Lavants where I found a garage. It took a little bit of persuading the proprietor that my caravan was indeed my caravan, but eventually, he allowed an extension cable to be run from a socket in the office out to me. I plugged in my angle grinder and cut the old padlock off. I offered to donate to the tea fund but was refused. It didn’t take a minute, then I was rolling again.
Keeping left on the way out of town, I followed the road continuing East to Trundle Hill. I turned left to climb up it. Goodwood Racecourse appears on the right, then the road bears left. At that point, there is a large triangular area on the right. Immediately opposite, is the Trundle, another hillfort, with more stunning views across the Downs and out to sea; the Isle of Wight still clearly visible. One of the views gives a great panorama over the racecourse.
A couple of days later, I headed back down the hill and turned left alongside the racecourse. Past the racecourse, the route becomes very wooded. The road comes to an end when it meets the main A285 Chichester-Petworth road. I turned left. Soon, we were climbing Duncton Hill. All of a sudden, in woodland, a little parking area with a viewpoint appears on the left. I swung in. But, oh! There is only enough room for a few cars. This was wholly unsuitable.
I had to shunt back and forth several times in the small space in order to reposition my combo so that I could get out safely. It wasn’t easy and made more challenging with cars coming and going at the same time, most, completely ignoring what I was doing. I needed eyes all over the place. I managed it, though.
I had almost backed into a car during the last shunt. All was good, though. The driver was really chilled about it and became quite chatty. He appeared genuinely interested in my lifestyle, asking me loads of relevant questions.
Over a quick cup of tea, I perused the map. Then a quick look at the view. To be honest, by this point, I’d enjoyed some of the best views the South Downs has to offer, so wasn’t overawed, as nice as it is.
As soon as it was safe to do so, I pulled out and continued up the hill towards the village of Duncton. At the first bend, I took the lane off to the right. The road is high and hilly. It twists, turns and winds it’s way through tiny villages. On this particular occasion, it was wet. Streams of water were fording their way across the road at every turn. There are expensive modern mansions and ancient Tudor houses, farms and a Roman villa along the narrow lane.
Eventually, we came to the A29 at Bury. I turned right to a large roundabout. I then took the A284 to Arundel.