Day 9 Sussex Central to Sussex West

Woken by the Hurstpierpoint church bells playing hymn tunes to sing along too! Delicious, slap up, cooked breakfast - perfect way to start a gentle summer Sunday morning, thank you Lisa and Lee.

Bit of a stock take and reshuffle when it came to packing up this morning as we're off to NT Gumber Bothy with Sussex West this afternoon. The camping barn and site is 1.5 miles from the nearest road access, we're grateful for the offer of a bag transfer but obviously won't be able to offload the usual kit and caboodle for our overnight stay - so a new challenge. Everyday is different!

Decided that we needed to pack Bertha away properly today, another challenge awaited us perhaps? We hadn't taken into account what a dab hand we've become and what excellent team work we've perfected - easy peasy . . . except for the dog. As we packed up at the Guide hall a group were arriving to set up for a christening party, complete with a little dog that cocked its leg up and widdled all over our tent pole bag. Not a happy event!!!

Farewells to Sussex Central - thank you for a very enjoyable stay - and onto Sussex West via a visit to Littlehampton.

1st stop crazy golf and Nick's beating me hands down!

I so nearly got a hole in one on the lighthouse though!

But sank on the icebergs!

Nick's just got a hole in one in the pirate ship - yay, well done Nick!

Gold medal to Nick with me lagging 5 points behind to scoop up silver.

Glorious sunshine and warm sea breeze, recipe for sunburn and of course we've left the sunscreen in the car, yikes.

Factor 30 slapped on and hopefully saved the day! Quick dip of the toes in the sea, lunch by the yellow beach huts and then off to the NT Slindon Estate to meet the Sussex West contingent: Sompting and North Lancing Rangers. Katie, NT warden kindly ferried our tents and kit to our overnight stop whilst we wandered up through the woods. Wow! What a beautiful site and even better in the sunshine - long may it not rain!

Pitched Bertha to the screams of yet another splitting pole - yikes another one bites the dust. Sylvia (Sussex East) thank you soooo much for sending us off with the rest of your roll of duct tape - we're half way through Bertha's trip*, hope she makes it to the end!

* night off when we go LNE and travel in by tube. Mary's kindly lending us a tent. Final night at the Region office we need to swap Bertha for a dome, stand alone tent. Tent pegs would be a tad difficult to bash into the floor!

Fab evening, just been off geocaching and wooding with the girls. Joint effort in the end - much more fun. First cache that we've found with 'things' in it, left my badge from Canterbury cathedral.