On the last afternoon of the holiday my father and I took the Cocker Spaniel up to Devil’s Dyke. It was a breezy day with a sharp north wind and the wind sent the puppy wild. She careered around in all directions. My father let her off the lead, then we had what he described as ‘a devil of a difficulty’ getting her back, the Dyke’s very own devil seemed to have got into her. She ran from one cluster of walkers to another, playing with every dog she encountered on the way, but each time we approached she gave us the chase, getting further and further away. We decided to turn our backs on her and walk towards the car. Every now and again I peeked round to check, and yes, she was following us. When she came close enough, my father made a lunge for her. If I strain for it, I can still hear his satisfied chuckle in my head now. After that the pup trotted beside us on the lead.

The Downs were all around us, softer contours, baby mountains compared to my Table Mountain but all those varied greens of spring melting into one another with the flashes of white where the chalk stood out. It was then my father said to me, ‘I don’t think you can find a landscape to beat this anywhere in the world. You know, Jo, I travel, I have advantages now that I didn’t have when I was younger, but the best things in life are free, remember that.’

....... Read more, including how I saw the Coronation here