Drifting and Day Dreaming along the Cuckmere River

Welcome to my first subscriber newsletter! I would like to start out by thanking you. For the price of a coffee each month you get to support my work and join me on a wander. I plan to publish a photographic essay each month as well as additional posts about things I’m working on; books I’m enjoying; tv or films I recommend and places I find magical.

For those new to my sub stack here’s a bit about my work. I generally write and contribute to books on philosophy, I’m currently writing a chapter on ethics for a popular publisher and title. I have written a best selling introduction to philosophy “The Little Book of Philosophy” and a children’s book “Get to know: Philosophy”. I teach philosophy too, my aim is to get people thinking for themselves about life’s big questions.

I’m also a photographer, usually found drifting around the chalky hills of Sussex walking intuitively and creating photo zines called Unseen. As a literary and photographic project, Unseen is all about a search for the sublime and spirit of place in my home county of Sussex. It examines the invisible in both inner and outer landscapes through a series of walks. Rooted in the Romantic reveries of Rousseau and Blake and the psychogeographical ideas of the Surrealists and Situationists, Unseen is about exploring sites of spiritual, historical and archaeological significance and my attempts to capture the atmosphere and essence of these places. My interests in myth, lore and the occult also drive the project as I seek out places steeped in stories.

When I walk, I strive to walk intuitively – this instinctive roaming, where the mind is free to wander and senses attuned to the landscape is at the heart of Unseen and central to psychogeography. Through my words and pictures I hope to express walking as a creative act – as the psyche and geography; history and archaeology; myth and imagination all intersect.

For this edition of my newsletter I have forsaken the highs of hill walking and invite you to join me for a wander along the Cuckmere River, an iconic river on England’s East Sussex coast, famous for its shimmering meanders and salty marshes.

The Cuckmere River

The Cuckmere River’s main channel flows from its source at Hellingly, cuts through the South Downs and runs all the way to Cuckmere Haven between Seaford and the Seven Sisters cliffs. The word Cuckmere comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “fast-flowing”, since its upper course descends steeply and rapidly in its initial four miles. The river runs for twenty miles, through Hailsham, Michelham Priory, Alfriston and then through the Cuckmere Valley and the parishes of Lullington and Litlington.

I began my wander from the bridge on Lullington Rd. near Alfriston; where the South Downs Way meets the Cuckmere. The weather was breezy and there was talk of rain, but the sun was shining and, despite thunderstorms and rain earlier in the week the river was low and languid. From the bridge I was headed south; coastal bound. I paused by Alfriston church and looking back to the northeast, could make out Windover Hill, and I think I could even spy the familiar bowl barrows and long barrow on the skyline.