Piper Nuelle

Being fairly new to the area of Eastbourne, I find I am as of late exploring the town and all it’s secrets and other places of interest it has to offer. A friend of mine mentioned Butts Brow, a secret lane that leads to a large area of downland that has bridle paths that lead to multiple areas such as Willingdon, East Dean, Old Town, Ratton and Alfriston, plus they all marry together at the main point of Butts Brow making it an easy marker when hiking the hillside or taking the dogs out for a walk.

The area that is Butts Brow is steeped in natural hillside beauty, with miles of green fields, chalky paths that lead to hidden villages and a view most spectacular that seems to show you the whole of Eastbourne and its districts and suburbs, but as well as being part of the Downs which is a large area of greenery in Eastbourne and Sussex, it is also a place full of history. Naturally I’ve done some digging around and some research on the area and have found that once upon a time, this area was under water! Yup, a hill that is incredibly high and gives great vantage view points of the town below was once underwater, incredible. But, there have also been historical archaeological digs in the area to try and understand the land and it’s hidden truths.

It seems to be from looking at the heritageeastbourne.home.blog website, that Butts Brow once formed an early Neolithic enclosure. By that I mean the area sort of has circular dips and troughs, one central and the others leading out to outer circles, usually marked by a ditch like trench with an inner bank. I was actually lucky enough to walk past whilst some children on a trip were being talked to by a guide who also explained that the area could also have been classed as a Causeway with an enclosure. Then they went on to do some flint musical activity using pieces of flint to make different sounds. And it had me thinking that this area has a great view point from an authors point of view for some inspiration. Whether the inspiration be the land itself and the views, or to the historical side or even now, the mundane where life is about hiking and talking pets out for walks… Either way the beauty of this place was very inspirational.

What I decided to do on my walk there was to grab my notebook and my favourite pen, and sit on one of the grass verges and just write! I wrote about;

• My senses, what I could hear (The sheep in the fields bleating, planes flying overhead, children on a trip chatting and screaming). What I could smell (The fresh air, grasses, plants and flowers, when walking in the shady forest area I could smell the mud and the soil, and even poop… From animals of course. As it was a lot of bridle trails there was a lot of horse poop and cow poop and sheep poop and rabbit poop! A hell of a lot of poop!) What I could touch (The long grasses with seed pods, chalky stones, my water bottle) What I could see (The blue skies, pebbled clouds, vast green grasses). And what I could taste (Not a lot I wasn’t eating the local vegetation). I wrote about all what I could smell, taste, touch, hear and see and it really got my author senses tingling but also gave me some great inspiration to keep and refer back to when I need it.
• How I felt – The day was very hot and the walk was long. So I wrote about how the heat of the sun on my back made me feel. How my legs felt the strain as I trudged up the hills and down the chalky pathways. How I felt drinking my water and shading my eyes as I took in all my surroundings.
• Images and photos – I took a lot of photos, I work well with image inspiration and sometimes I just need something to reference back to, to see what it is I want to explain or to visit, or create a world around or from. One of my current ‘Works In Progress’ is about someone who has to travel across large surfaces of land, so this walk was very beneficial to me so I could imagine their walk, the strain on their body, how they would feel and just something to help me describe it better because I experienced it.

I know that going for a nice long walk and hike is good for the mind, body and soul, but for a writer and an author, going for a walk is not just good for mindfulness and calmness and letting your soul be free. But it can give a writer so much to work with. If you’ve had a bad week or have hit a writing block, going for a walk to a place of such natural beauty can provide enough calm, relaxation and inspiration to unblock the writers block and leave you feeling refreshed and ready to get back to it.

I would highly recommend giving Butts Brow a visit if your ever in the Eastbourne area and you like walking and or hiking. But one thing I will warn you about is the road Butts Lane, which is the tiniest, skinniest, country bumpkin road I have ever seen or driven down and it was the scary two minute drive of my life getting up and back down. But, it was well worth it for the views and for the inspiration.

Xo Piper Xo