The Sussex Ouse

A quick trip from Seaford to Southease - quick but multi-facetted! Having just got off the nearer 313 class train, I climbed the footbridge to take a photo, as it departed, only to find the slightly late Seaford train coming into view. Network Rail staff can be seen checking and maintaining the unstaffed, level-crossing barriers, operated by users, but locked from a distant box - probably Lewes.

Rather a long shot, I'm afraid. I was conscious of the impending arrival of the hourly train from Southease station, that I needed to catch, and didn't venture any further down the river.

The bridge is listed and quite elegant, but its protective woodwork rather spoils the effect. It hasn't been opened for many years. Boats going up the river towards Lewes are small leisure craft, that can pass under with ease at most levels of tide, I would guess.

I tried ignoring this rather commonplace Robin - we have one in our garden - but it sang and sang until I gave in. Pity about the clash of reds.

Not being a true twitcher, I click first and look up after, so I didn't realise that I had a Stonechat couple until I got home.

I could see that this little chap was small and an almost pinky red, but didn't recognise him as a Stonechat. A new one for my photo files.

This was obviously the look-out, as as soon as I had taken this photo., it was away, taking a dozen or more from the next bush with it.

This class of ferry usually departs from Newhaven stern-first, having loaded through the bow.

This is a revised image - the original had part of the right edge cropped off. As I had another photo which included that bay, in a similar orientation, I have grafted that part on. I know where the joins are, but I hope they are not too obvious. Lewes is one of the larger towns in the South Downs National Park. Generally bigger towns are excluded from the Park zone, but Lewes is a very historic town with hundreds of old buildings, many of which are in Historic England's listings.

The foreground of this scene is a very ancient open space. Whilst it is currently used as a bowling green, it was used as a tilting yard, where knights would joust in the Middle Ages. A fairly extensive history of the Castle can be found here www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56909 The Bowling Green Pavilion is a listed building with details at www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-293000-bowling-green-pavilion-lewes-east-sussex