It was time for Ian to head back to the South Downs Way, starting from Saturday’s end point at Hall’s Hill, and finishing at Cocking, some 20 km away.  That meant I had several hours to spend at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum – “weald” meaning heavily wooded.  This is very similar to Butser Ancient Farm in concept, but it picked up where Butser left off, ie the buildings covered the period from the Saxons through to the Victorians, with a heavy emphasis on medieval homes and farm buildings.  The site is much larger than Butser, and the layout is not chronological.  Rather than follow a logical route, I wandered at will.  I saw fabric being dyed with onion skins, tasted parmesan cheese ice cream (my advice: don’t), and generally had a lovely time. 

The museum’s main claim to fame is as home of “The Repair Shop”, a popular BBC program where people bring along their obscure, broken treasures to have them fixed by experts.  The forge was in full swing, and one of the presenters, Mark, was happy chatting to people about how the show works, how the objects are selected, and how long filming takes.  In the background I could see people carting all sorts of equipment inside, and setting up for a shoot.

My favourite part was the walk uphill to the coppiced woodland.  No one else was up here, and I had the beautiful beech forest trail to myself.  It was very peaceful, and I had wonderful views over the nearby downs where Ian was walking.  I picked him up at the appointed time and place, and we headed back to Shrewton for our final night here.  Where have the last 10 days gone???  Tomorrow evening, after Ian’s final walking day, we’ll be back in Southampton, getting ready for a complete change of pace.