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COLUMN<br />
Walkies<br />
#5 Rodmell & Breaky Bottom<br />
It’s mid-June and the colour palette in the countryside<br />
around Rodmell has been turned up to maximum<br />
volume. There’s barely a cloud in an electric<br />
blue sky, the trees and the grass have turned Robin<br />
Hood green in their midsummer glory, and the<br />
hedgerows are popping with elderflowers. When a<br />
light breeze blows over the Downs, the wheat fields<br />
look like rippling silk.<br />
There’s also a hint of romance in the air. Todd, the<br />
handsome Bordoodle belonging to friends, who my<br />
wife, Sarah, and I often take for a walk, has been<br />
joined by Daisy and Ruby, two high-energy spaniels<br />
belonging to yet more dog-owning friends.<br />
As we head off up the hill towards the Downs along<br />
the small road opposite the Abergavenny pub, Cordelia,<br />
Sarah’s niece, is in danger of having her arm<br />
pulled out of its socket by two year-old Ruby, the<br />
youngest of our canine escorts. Todd, meanwhile,<br />
has decided to play the mature elder statesman.<br />
When we reach the top and meet the South Downs<br />
Way, we plunge into the brave new world that opens<br />
up in front of us. We are soon snugly ensconced in<br />
one of the many folds of the Downs which remain<br />
largely deserted even in the height of summer. “Bottoms!?”<br />
giggles Cordelia mischievously, when I tell<br />
her the technical term for this hidden topography.<br />
Our route takes us up onto Highdole Hill and back<br />
down again along the edge of the six acres of vineyards<br />
cultivated so successfully by Peter Hall since<br />
1974. It was back then that he had his Eureka! moment<br />
and realised how similar the soil and climate<br />
here are to the Champagne and Loire valley regions<br />
in France. After producing a series of elegant white<br />
wines, he has now turned exclusively to méthode<br />
champenoise, high quality sparkling bruts, which<br />
have become the stuff of local legend.<br />
By now we are making the final push up Mill Hill<br />
from the south on the way back to Rodmell. To<br />
listen to Cordelia, you would have thought it was<br />
the North Face of the Eiger. But then, she is only six<br />
and I’m not sure I’d made it out of the back garden<br />
at that age.<br />
“Do you know the name of the vineyard we’ve<br />
just passed?” I say jauntily, trying to take her mind<br />
off the pain. “It’s called Breaky Bottom.” Cordelia<br />
puts her hands on her hips and looks at me sternly.<br />
“More like Never-Ending Stinky Bottom,” she huffs<br />
grumpily. “I suppose it could catch on,” I nod sagely.<br />
Richard Madden<br />
Map: OS Explorer: OL25. Distance: 3 miles. Terrain:<br />
They call them Downs, but they’re mostly Ups.<br />
Directions: Take the road opposite the pub to the<br />
top of Mill Hill, down into the valley and up Highdole<br />
Hill. Turn right where the next footpath meets<br />
and then right again, down around Breaky Bottom<br />
vineyard and back to the top of Mill Hill. Head back<br />
down to the pub. Start/End/watering hole: Abergavenny<br />
Arms.<br />
91
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