Saturday, 21 May 2005
Walks
Windmills and Pyres
Distance: 4.31 miles
Ascent: 190 metres
Duration: 1 hour 32 minutes
The Chattri from Jack and Jill
A brief visit to Mum's this weekend gave me the opportunity to swap my weekly walk in Suffolk for one on the South Downs. Mum and I parked at Jack and Jill windmills above Clayton and walked to Chattri, the Indian War Memorial that overlooks Brighton.
The bodies of the Sikh and Hindu soldiers of the Indian Army who died at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton while it was used as a hospital during the First World War were cremated on funeral pyres at this spot. It's an isolated place, and on a windy day like today the weather adds drama to its location.
I came here with Dad once. That time we walked north to the memorial from the travellers' site by the A27. I much prefer today's route though, from at the mills, past a golf course and along arable fields to the memorial. It's a fairly short walk, but a good taster of the variety of ways the people have used the Downs.