East Meon was the perfect place to spend my first night on the South Downs Way. A quintessentially Hampshire village, it is both picturesque and steeped in history. There’s evidence of human settlement going back to at least the Bronze age around 2000 BC. After the Roman retreat from Britain, it was the property of Anglo Saxon rulers, including Alfred the Great, before being taken over by William the Conqueror of Normandy.
I was too tired from a day’s walking to explore very much when I arrived in the village, but I woke to discover clear blue skies and sun so headed out to have a look around. It is a pretty place, with thatched houses and the small River Meon running through its centre. The local church was bigger than any I’d seen in other villages, its size reflecting its historical importance and its links with Winchester Cathedral.
Built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion to project their power, East Meon was one of the residences of the Bishop of Winchester. This is clear from a surprising Belgian connection inside the church: the Tournai Font. Made from black Tournai marble, it’s one of only seven similar fonts in England. A gift from the Bishop of Winchester, Henry of Blois, in 1150, it really underscores that East Meon was important.
The church wasn’t open so I couldn’t see the wonderful carving on the font that depict stories from the Book of Genesis. Instead, I strolled around the village before heading back to Ye Olde George Inn for breakfast. The food in the pub was excellent and I set off for day two of the South Downs Way refreshed. The sun, though, all too quickly gave way to a gunmetal grey sky that seemed to threaten rain.
The first part of the route wasn’t very interesting, but I soon arrived in the wide open downland of the Butser Hill National Nature Reserve. The views were tremendous, and the route took me downhill and into the woodlands of Queen Elizabeth Country Park. I won’t lie, the slog uphill through the woods was humid, sticky and steep. The forest was replaced by dreary farmland for the next hour, but then I arrived at Harting Down.
Harting Down is one of the largest areas of ancient chalk downland still remaining and also has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort. The views over the Sussex countryside are exhilarating. I parked my weary self on a bench overlooking the valley towards the village of South Harting and ate my lunch. It was at this point I noticed some troubling rain clouds that seemed to be headed straight for me.
I still had at least a couple of hours walking left so there was no way I was going to dodge the rain. Resigned to my fate, I set off hoping for the best. It was at the highest point of Harting Down, next to the trig point, that the weather finally caught up with me. I could literally see the rain sweeping towards me across the valley floor. I took shelter under a tree during the worst of the downpour.
There were some worrying rumbles of thunder, but once the worst of the rain had passed I set off again and it wasn’t long until the light improved and the sun poked out between the clouds. Passing through Phillis Wood, an unusual memorial brought me to an abrupt stop. On the edge of the wood was a stone marker and a red wreath commemorating a German Second World War pilot, Hauptmann Joseph Oestermann.
On 13 August, 1940, he was flying a Junkers plane leading a German bomber formation to attack Farnborough airfield. Attacked by RAF Hurricanes the Junkers exploded on impact in Phillis Wood. Oestermann kept the plane flying long enough for three crew members to bail out. They were captured but Oestermann died in the crash. His relatives placed the memorial here, which I found touching and reassuring.
Nearby I came upon another ancient monument, The Devil’s Jumps. These five Bronze Age burial barrows are around five metres in height and line up to align with sunset on Midsummer Day. The weird folklore attached to them is that the god Thor used to hang out here but was disturbed by the Devil bouncing on the graves. True? You be the judge. I explored a bit before heading to Cocking and a night sleeping in a Shepherds Hut.
Daily walking stats:
Distance: 33km
Time: 8hrs 30mins
Beers consumed: 0 (pub was closed)
