The Chawton Challenge, LDWA, 30 miles - 21.05.2022

The first edition of the Chawton Challenge, from the Wessex LDWA!

The HQ was at the Dyers Barn, located in the parkland surrounding Chawton House. Chawton House is a Grade II Listed Elizabethan manor house, and used to be the home of Jane Austen's brother, Edward Austin Knight. It's a beautiful setting. The Dyers Barn was an amazing place for HQ, and being decorated with fairy lights and bunting, it felt more like a wedding than the start of a run! After a cup of tea, and consultation of the route map boards, it was time to start at 09:00, armed with the essential gear for an LDWA adventure......

Plus an additional item of wrist band with your event number on it, which gave the feeling of being at a festival! 

There were two routes, 20 miles and 30 miles. We did the 30 mile one; which went from Chawton heading east over to to East Worldham before turning south to Selborne, Shoulder of Mutton Hill and Steep, and then heading back up north via Colemore and East Tisted back to Chawton.

It beautiful scenery the whole way, the meadows and woods were filled with flowers, and the sun shone brightly all day.

There was an excellent amount of very cute animals on the way around! Some exceptionally cute and what sounded like very hungry piglets.....

Some fantastically woolly sheep! (which on looking at Country File's handy "British sheep breeds and how to recognise them" article, I think are Ryeland Sheep).....

And some alpacas! (or baby llamas, I'm not sure how to tell the difference)...

It was  super day, and thanks to Andrew and Rob for the company on the way round. Met lots of lovely people, and it was a great surprise to see Jean Bobker, my Mum and Dad's friend from West Lancs LDWA, at the end and listen to some of her (always inspiring!) stories over soup and tea. 

Looking forward to coming back to more editions of this event - thanks Wessex LDWA for an excellent day!