CYHA NEWS

I remember way back, when I were a lad, that we used to think nothing of nights so cold that you needed to stiffen your resolve before even thinking about getting out of bed. Days when the toilets froze and real men had to answer natures call behind a tree in the middle of a dark forest and wash in water melted from the icicles hanging from the eves. Not any more!

Our first trip to Tanners Hatch hostel in Surrey was just a few years ago. Whilst infamous for the lack of facilities, it made up for it in charm - both of building and location. We were a bit alarmed when we first heard of the intended "improvements". So many of YHA’s improvements are nothing of the kind! But we decided to reserve judgement until we could see for ourselves and so we booked in a visit for January.

Arrival at Tanners involves something of a trek down from the car park. This is quite a feat in the cold and dark, carrying everything you intend to eat an wear for two days. This doesn’t count the tribulations of those who got lost (it is not well sign posted). Eventually, however, you see the warm glow of lights between the trees and the welcome sight of a cosy woodsman’s cottage appears. Through the front door there is a blazing fire and the new radiators make it if anything too hot. The kitchen has been refitted and mouse-proof boxes added for further food security. All the dormitories are upstairs, and used to be cold and draughty. Now the roof has been insulated and relined it is all quite cosy. The old bunks had been made from wood gathered from the forest and although a bit rickety had lasted 50 years and looked gorgeous. The new bunks which had replaced them were sturdy and well made to a similar design to those found in other hostels. The third tier bunks had been kept and on the whole we felt the changes which had been made had been done sympathetically, preserving the character of the place. A new main had been installed to improve the water supply but had very high pressure. The brand new boiler seemed to have trouble coping and blew up on Saturday morning. Well, I guess you can have too much luxury!

What I remember most about my weekend at Tanners Hatch was reliving the Rodings Rally experience of tramping along a very muddy track in the dark and trying to work out where the hell I was! In the daytime there was more pleasant woodland walking. And then there was the way the fog appeared out of nowhere when we got to the viewpoint and disappeared just as fast after we'd left it..! and the view half of Surrey from the path as we approached the car park. Picnicking beside the lake and watching posh cars drive up to the pub and then back out again when they found there wasn't even room to turn round.. Cosy dorms and 3-tier bunks, running through the rain to the outside loos, and the warm fire in the common room when I arrived!

When I told them at work that I’d been to see the Long Man of Wilmington the first thing they asked me was "Is that the one with the big willy?". The answer to that question is no, the one with the big willy is the Cerne Abbas Giant. The Long Man, cut in the chalk of the South Downs, has the distinction of being the largest representation of a human being in Western Europe. Of course that didn’t stop us having an in depth discussion as to whether he once had a willy and it was turfed over by prudish Victorians (answers on a postcard please…). But I’m jumping way ahead! This was Saturday afternoon and as we all know every good weekend starts on a Friday night…

Dave and I arrived at the hostel at about 10pm Friday night, cannily nabbing the last space in the car park. Frog Firle Hall is a large and impressive building with not one but two common rooms! It was in one of these that we found Gary and Jim waiting for us by the huge ingle nook fireplace. We got booked in and settled down to a cup of tea and some chat before turning in for the night. Unfortunately the pubs were all a discouraging distance away in Alfriston proper.

Saturday dawned clear and bright, though quite chilly. We stuffed down a heart warming portion of Dave’s finest sausages and thus prepared, set off on our walk. We started on a lovely lane by the side of the hostel and walked down to the river. From here we had superb views of the hostel and a white horse carved into the hillside by a Victorian farmer at Frog Firle Hall. We carried on and popped out in the village of Litlington just next to the pub, which we noted for later reference! Walking up the hill from Litlington we were amazed to see significant quantities of snow on Lullington Heath. The air was bracing and the ground rather solid under foot, but the views were excellent! From the heath we walked down into the village of Jevington and to ….. another pub! It was about midday and this was just too good an opportunity to miss. So it was beers all round as we sat sunbathing in the nicely sheltered beer garden. Reluctantly we left and headed off towards Wilmington, pausing by a scenic ditch to scoff our delicious, individually hand-crafted sandwiches.

We got a splendid view of the Long Man and were surprised to note that his creators (in medieval times or earlier) appeared to have used paving slabs from B&Q. After the requisite photos had been snapped we plodded on, arriving in Alfriston at about 3pm - "Excellent!" we thought "Tea Shop!". Alfriston is well catered for in the teashop department and they all look nice, not a greasy spoon in sight. We picked the "Tudor House" tearooms and dived headfirst into teacakes and jammy, creamy scones! It was fab!

Once gorged there was still time for sight seeing , so we walked around the market square to the Tourist Information, curiously sited above a shop selling delicious hand-made fudge. Here they had a display on the history of the town and it’s infamous links with the smuggling trade. Apparently the tea shop we’d just been in had a secret room and a hidden passageway into the pub next door. Also in Alfriston is a place called "The Clergy House", which was the first building to be bought by the National Trust, costing them £10! It might not sound like a lot but the display had a photo of what it looked like before the purchase and I think they was robbed!

A pleasant stroll took us back to the hostel where we met Trudi and George. After stuffing ourselves with another of Trudi’s culinary triumphs we departed en-mass for the pub in Litlington, just 10 minutes walk away! I am assured that the beer was excellent, certainly George was happy as the pub was stuffed with various bits of railway memorabilia. Polly dog was less happy though when the pub’s resident Alsatian came up to see if she was one or two bites big!

Sunday was cloudier, windier and certainly colder! Since a big lump of Beachy Head had recently dropped off we thought it might be fun to go and see the damage. Parking at Birling Gap we set off along the cliff top to the old light house. Always perilously close to the edge it now looked fit to topple at any moment. Work was obviously under way to pull it back in the nick of time. George was chatting to one of the workmen who said it was only being moved back about 10 metres or so, but this should give it another 100 years!

As we got closer to Beachy Head itself we were amazed at the number of ill-shod people slithering about near the cliff edge. The ground was pretty much frozen but with a treacherous greasy layer of mud over the top. It was bad enough in boots! The pub at the top was heaving with frozen trippers desperate to thaw out, and we were five of them! Fortified with a steaming cup of cocoa, we started back to Birling Gap. It was desperately cold and only the foolhardy stopped to eat their sandwiches. Sanctuary was the café by the car park where we warmed up before heading home!

Eight of us enjoyed our regular hike along the canal towpath from Heybridge basin to Chelmsford, fuelled as usual by apple crumble and custard, in weather varying from bright sunshine to a brief blizzard.

Poor Lynn has snapped her Achilles tendon (or Hercules tendon as she insists on calling it) and is all plastered up for the next eight weeks. As you can imagine sitting still with her foot elevated is not something Lynn finds easy. We wish her a speedy recovery and send her the following message: sit still and stop cleaning the flat!