For Eddie Start, walking in Sussex is about much more than following a footpath. It is about knowing the landscape, discovering the people who shaped it and understanding the place you call home. His book, Tracks, Trails & Twittens, brings together 30 walks, but behind those routes lies a lifetime of exploration. From the High Weald to the coastal plain, Eddie invites readers to look a little more closely at what is beneath their feet and around the next corner. It’s a beautiful book and a perfect pocket companion for the walker.
“Sussex is my manor”
Eddie grew up in Patcham, now on the edge of Brighton, but still a village during his childhood. “The village was just about hanging on to its old identity as buildings went up around it, estates developed, communications improved. People didn’t just stick where they were born anymore.”
He trained as an engineer, working in management, manufacturing and consultancy. Sussex remained the constant.
“I’ve always worked in Sussex. Even when I’ve been abroad, I’ve been working for Sussex companies. Married, kids, mortgage, Volvo, you know the sort of thing.” And walking was part of growing up, “We did it as kids. You could go walking as a bunch of kids relatively freely.” Later, he guided walks across the European Alps and closer to home, contributed around 250 walking articles to the Argus and led walks for county council programmes.
“I like walking in Sussex. I quite like Kent, Surrey and Hampshire, but Sussex is my manor, as it were. So that’s the one I chose.”
A landscape worth knowing
The book took about two years to bring together, including drawing maps that were subsequently digitised. Its routes were selected to give a picture of the county’s different landscapes: the High Weald, Low Weald, Downs and coastal plain. “It was a case of putting familiar walks into a sensible form and format, and distance, of course, is important. I wanted to cover the entire landscape, which was a bit ambitious, but I think it worked out.”
One area particularly intrigues him: the spring line at the foot of the Downs. “There are some intriguing little places, villages, under hill lanes that hardly anybody ever goes along. It’s a fascinating area, with interesting communities dotted along there.”
That curiosity is rooted in a sense of connection. As Eddie puts it: “If you know where you live and you know your area, it helps to put you in your place.”
Ordinary people, extraordinary stories
Ask about his discoveries and Eddie turns to the people behind the landscape. “One thing I found out was that a lot of stuff was going on in Sussex that we don’t hear a lot about. There’s so much to learn about. Ordinary Sussex people really, doing ordinary things but they’ve got a lot to tell us.”
This interests in people extends to the county’s repertoire of folk songs and the stories of people whose lives rarely take centre stage. “Let’s put it like this: I’m not very good on kings and queens. I’m all right with ordinary people.”
The book’s attention to geology provides another layer. Eddie wanted to explore “how the landscape was formed, how it evolved and how people have used it”. Thinking about the people who occupied Sussex long before us brings, he says, “a bit of a sense of humility about who we are”.
Cuckoo gates and Sussex ways
Local language matters, too. During editing, Eddie was asked about his references to “cuckoo gates”.
“‘What are they? We thought they were kissing gates.’ I said, ‘Well, they may be kissing gates where you are, matey, but in Sussex they’re cuckoo gates.’” His explanation is delightfully memorable: a young cuckoo pushes the other chicks out of the nest; at a cuckoo gate, someone already inside has to move out before the next person can enter.
“It’s all about local dialects having names for things.”
Favourite walks and seasonal pleasures
Choosing a favourite walk proves difficult. Eddie loves the spring line route from Duncton to Bignor, the ridge walk from Old Heathfield towards Warbleton, and the Lavant Valley around East Dean in West Sussex. “Everywhere you go, you cross over a stream, and they’re all coming out from the spring line.”
For a view from the Downs, Kithurst Hill above Storrington is his “knockout view”. But a single favourite route? “Sorry, I can’t say which is the favourite. They all are.”
Autumn has a particular appeal because it is “colourful and mature”. Spring brings the different shades of green in trees and shrubs, while summer is “mellow and warm and lovely”.
Seasonal pleasures also come home with him. As we talk, Eddie’s wife is in the kitchen with “jars and jars of jams, jellies, chutneys, liqueurs, all made from what we’ve culled from the hedgerows”.
“I shall be out tomorrow to get some more. That’s my favourite dish.”
Just shutting the front door
For all his experience, Eddie’s advice to new walkers is reassuringly straightforward. “Ease yourself into it. Join a club, go with friends, take your sandwiches.”
He suggests local health walks or a nearby Ramblers group as ways to build confidence and enjoy the social side of walking. For anyone writing about it, his advice is equally clear: “You’ve got to know your landscape,” and develop an affinity with local people.
Asked about whether printed books still have a place n a world of influencers and digitalisation and his response is clear, “A book is tactile. It’s more personal. You can look at it any time. You don’t need a signal. Batteries don’t run out.”
Ultimately, though, the first step belongs to the reader: “It’s just shutting the front door and setting off to do it. That determination, really.”
You can grab your copy of Eddie’s book at Waterstones and other local bookshops, via Gardeners the book distributors in Eastbourne, and of course from Amazon.
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