A Year at Kew

A day trip with friends.

Two weeks ago the Sussex Language Institute organised a day trip and opened it to international students. Nine of us spent the day in a minivan touring the countryside, leaving the university at 9:00am and returning at 11:00pm, led by Lee from the institute. It was a great way to see many of the local sites and just to sit back and enjoy. These are in reverse order for the day. The Long Man of Wilmington, pictured above was one of our last stops for the day.

The origins of this huge figure cut into the chalk of the north face of the South Downs are unclear but it has probably served as a marker since Neolithic times. The Long Man is the second largest representation of a human figure in the world and obviously would have been clearly visible for many miles. As well as being a marker it probably had religious significance and would have been a gathering point for people from a wide area. The natural amphitheatre of the site amplifies sounds and would have made a spectacular backdrop for a speaker standing on The Long Man.The poles that The Long Man carries have been variously interpreted as measuring sticks, farming implements (they have been altered over time) and also as the doors to the underworld. On another hill nearby is a horse: I jokingly thought that maybe he lost his horse.