68 WAYFARING NOTIONS 



latter were few and far between, extended that far 

 along the London road and past the Preston 

 military barracks on the Lewes road till by the 

 latter you got under the brow of the old Roman 

 encampment known as Hollingbury Castle. So, 

 though Brighton's feelers have radiated vastly of 

 late and the area between them been covered 

 with houses, the rider, driver, or walker making 

 from the sea to the weald between Lewes and 

 Clayton gets about as soon into the real country 

 now as he did nearly fifty years ago. Then 

 Hanover crescent on the east of the aforesaid 

 wedge overlooked fields, and on the west or 

 London road side, where Brighton ended half a 

 mile south of the Viaduct, was a very extensive 

 and highly-flavoured tract of allotment ground 

 devoted chiefly to the cultivation of pigs, and 

 named California out of compliment to that re- 

 mote district, whose recently-discovered richness 

 was nothing compared to that of Brighton's Cali- 

 fornia piggeries. Then, as now, if you started 

 for Plumpton by the London road you would 

 not turn off till you got to Patcham, either (early) 

 to go up on the Ladies' Mile to join the Ditchling 

 road at Stanmer Park gates, by the side of which 

 was good cantering and galloping, or, better still 

 (delayed), branching away till farther on near 

 Patcham Church, near to which an old bridle- 

 path takes you, mainly on turf, right up to the 

 north-west extremity of the Park close by Ditch- 

 ling Borstal. You go down that, if you please, 

 or along the face of the downs, and so by West- 

 meston or Plumpton Borstal to the cross roads. 



Taking train from Brighton to Hassock's 

 Gate and walking through Ditchling and Street, 

 is pleasant in fine weather. (I call the station 



