Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill, Hampshire

Today I walked up two hills at opposite ends of England to see the sun rise and set. The sunrise on Arnside Knott was disappointing because of the cloud in the east, the sunset was better on Beacon Hill.

This is a place I often stop for a leg stretch as I head towards Southampton on the A34 to catch up with my Dad. It's one of the high points of the county, and at 261 metres is more than 100 metres higher than the Knott. And when you are in a rush not to miss the sunset, it feels a lot higher too. I needn't have rushed today, though, as I had forgotten that the sun sets a bit later this far south than I am used to at this time of the year. Ascending from the A34, the shadow of the hill means that you don't see the sun until you reach the chalky embankments of the old Iron Age hill fort, so when I got there it was obvious I had twenty minutes before the sun sank into the cloud on the horizon. Long enough to do a circuit of the embankments, and to reflect on the muscle power and organisational skills required to build such a huge hilltop fort.

I've not seen a beacon here before. It stands on the highest point next to the redundant trig point. It will have been left over from the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and this would have been a superb vantage point to be when this and the other beacons across the county were lit. On a more mundane note, it would be best removed now to discourage those people who take the trouble to carry up their sandwiches, sweets and fizzy drinks but cannot be bothered to carry down their left overs.

I arrived at the old aviator's house 7 hours after leaving Cumbria. He's on good form.