Apple Festival and Walking Over the South Downs - 27th Sept 2015

A walk across the beautiful South Downs Area of Outstanding Beauty with sweeping views across East Sussex ending at a popular, local Apple Day celebration.

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Our route will take us through picturesque villages, over the Downs, through woodland and bring us to the Apple Day Brighton Festival (https://brightonpermaculture.org.uk/courses/appleday), an annual event attracting over 6,000 visitors last year. We'll be having a late lunch so bring a picnic or pick something up at the Festival.

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A day’s walk at a relaxed pace including some steep ascents and descents with an opportunity to experience a celebration of a much loved fruit.

Length: 7.5 miles/12 km linear walk beginning at Plumpton train station and ending at Falmer train station

Level of fitness: Average. The route includes a some longish ascents and descents and there will be styles to cross. The pace will be relaxed with several stops.

You will need:

Walking boots or sturdy, waterproof trainers. We’ll be walking on a mixed terrain of earth, grass and sandy paths and country lanes.

Water

Money for lunch/refreshments/apple-ly things

Waterproof jacket

You may wish to bring a camera

Payment:

Cost includes welcoming glass of apple juice and dedicated relaxing space at the festival for all those walking with us. Entrance to the actual festival is free but we'd love to support the wonderful Brighton Permaculture Trust (https://brightonpermaculture.org.uk/) (BPT) who organise the Apple Day Brighton festival so we've added on a bit.....

Relaxing Walk members - £6 + £4 donation to the wonderful Brighton Permaculture Trust (https://brightonpermaculture.org.uk/) (BPT). We recommend £10 payment in advance via paypal but if you are a regular walker with the group, please contact us about paying on the day in cash.

Non-members walking to the festival - £10 donation to Brighton Permaculture Trust (Go on! ... its a fantastic local resource!) Pay on the day. Please email us (relaxing.walks@gmail.com) if you're joining us so we can keep track of numbers.

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Getting there:

For those travelling from London we recommend buying a return ticket to Falmer (although getting off at Plumpton for the start of the walk).

Unfortunately there are engineering works on the line to Plumpton/from Falmer this Sunday.

Checking with Trainline.com the journeys' bus replacements seem to be well organised. However, it will mean about 4hrs of travelling; nearly 2hrs of travel and one change from London to Plumpton; and 2hrs of travel and 2 changes from Falmer to London.

We're starting the walk at 10:30 from Plumpton so we'd recommend the 08:32 from Victoria arriving at Plumpton at 10.23.

Please note there is no toilet at the station so please use facilities on the train. Book early to benefit from lower fares.

Group Saver tickets, offering up to 50% off travel are available for this journey. If you would like to be part of a Group Saver ticket, please add a comment about where and then you would like to meet on the day and others can join you for the train journey

For booking tickets and for all travel information http://www.thetrainline.com

Terms and Conditions and Cancellation Policy:

By booking on to this Relaxing Walk MeetUp you are confirming your agreement to our Terms & Conditions which can be viewed in full by clicking this link (https://www.meetup.com/Relaxing-Walks/pages/Terms_and_Conditions/)

Safety and Insurance:

We consider your safety to be our number one priority and while we never take unnecessary risks, we do recognise that any outdoor activity can involve a danger of personal injury or death. Please be aware of and accept these risks as you are responsible for your own safety and you should not undertake anything beyond your abilities. It is also your responsibility to be correctly equipped for the weather and activity you have chosen to participate in. We recommend that everyone participating in outdoor activities obtain appropriate insurance. The BMC offer excellent policies for all outdoor enthusiasts at very competitive rates: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/insurance

We look forward to walking with you.

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Photos Credit to The Argus (http://www.theargus.co.uk/) and Jon Combe