Sunny September days on the South Coast

The past few weekends have offered up some spectacular weather. I have made the most of this walking on the South coast and the Downs.

The small sketches are taken from my note book and show:

The Chattri Memorial, a wonderful spot set high on the downs looking south towards Brighton. The memorial was erected on the site of the funeral pyre where Hindus and Sikhs soldiers were cremated after having died in Brighton hospitals as a result of wounds received in the First World War.

St Peter's Church Southease (note the unusual round Spire), also known I believe as Southern Brushwood Land, or Sueise, and is mentioned in the Charter of King Edgar 996 AD. Southease is a wonderful spot situated between Lewes and Newhaven on the Western side of the river Ouse. I must return there and find a more suitable angle and make a better, more detailed drawing of the church. 
If you want a good walk, then set out from Southease (if coming by car, please don't park on the village green and spoil the view for everyone) and go for Alfriston. A long walk there and back, say 14 miles, I am not sure, anyway, it has super views towards the sea and the Weald and there only two 'big' climbs there and back.

And finally...yet another view of Cuckmere Haven near Seaford.

Pointe du Millier

Just another wonderful spot on the Cap Sizun (note, this link on Cap Sizun has video) where you can enjoy walks with spectacular views away from hordes of tourists. The sea, Turquoise and Indigo blue, runs away to the horizon from the edge of the cliff edges. Small beaches appear at low tide enticing a dice with death to reach them. In August all this is topped with pink flowering heather, edged by soft rounded green fields and pine. So many of these views have not changed in a hundred years. giving you a mysterious experience feeling of times past.

Sitting on a rounded clump of rocks projecting out above the sea below I quickly sketched what is quite literately a Lighthouse. At home I have a book with a drawing of it, so I tried to find the exact place it was drawn from. And to my surprise, when I got home, it proved to be the identical spot.

The Cap Sizun coastline

I Have been a bit busy over the last fortnight, so have not had a chance to continue praising the Cap Sizun and Cornouaille (Finistère).

What appeals to me about Cap Sizun is, it that is largely free of the tourist tat we suffer from in England. There are miles of un-spoilt coastline. The more rugged north coast overlooks the Baie de Douarnenez and resembles Cornwall. You can also enjoy the coastal paths with only an occasional human encounter along the way, even in August.

This year I thought it would a good idea to keep a pocket sketchbook as a visual diary of my outings. I did take a camera for reference but the sketchbook was more fun. Why did I not think of that before! It was quickly filled with ‘snap shot drawings’ mostly executed in minutes, even whilst walking. I really can recommend this activity. It was great fun and I hope it has improved my drawing. Fast sketching forces you to be more decisive and selective. If the line was wrong, you either search for the correct line or start again…no time for erasing.

One thing I learnt using my sketchbook is that vast expanses of rocky coast can be difficult to fit on the page of a pocket sketchbook. The sketches here show views from the Pointe du Van and one of two Fountains that are on the pointe.