Ditchling: Scarp slope of Downs,
Steps repair.

From the car-park at the foot of the Downs (TQ 32575 13761) and taking the right fork in the path upwards, at the top of the field there is a new Monday Group Kissing Gate; this leads to a flight of steps and a stile (with new dog-gate) connecting to the alternative path through the woods via 3 flights of steps, two of which were seriously water-eroded., and probably slipper in wet weather.

We added some side boards to steps in the lower and middle flights, to retain the filling, and refilled those steps, largely with material that had been deposited on other steps making them uneven. The job will need to be reinspected after some heavy rain, say next spring.

Carrying the boards, angle irons, grafters, mattock, and other tools to site was a trifle arduous in 25 degrees of heat! But we survived.