A Sussex Walk to The Long Man of Wilmington along the South Downs Way

Print description

This panoramic print depicts fields of wheat glistening in a late summer evening, and next to it a  footpath with a gate where two children stand, one of them mischievously climbs this gate while the other looks expectantly.  The footpath leads to the Long Man of Wilmington which is set in a steep hill characteristic of the South Downs.

Print details

Limited edition print. Panoramic format. Print size 124 x 30.5 cm approx. Signed print from a limited edition of 100. From original ink drawing to which I apply colour digitally. Printed on fine art paper using archival inks.

The South Downs

The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate in the east.

The South Downs Way

The South Downs Way as the name implies, is a long distance footpath and bridleway .The trail runs for 160 km from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Sussex, with about 4,150 m of ascent and descent.

The Long Man of Wilmington

The Long Man stands as the largest portrayal of the human form in Europe. It dates back to at least 1710 when the surveyor John Rowley illustrated the figure.

The figure was formerly thought to have originated from the Iron Age tor even claimed its roots go back as far as the Neolithic period, which began around 12,000 years ago. In 2003, however, an archaeological investigation revealed that the Long Man may, in fact, have his roots in the Early Modern era when people in the 16th or 17th century carved out the figure in chalk, making it just hundreds of years old as opposed to thousands of years.

Sussex art

If you like this print please follow this link where you can see my collection of prints : Sussex Art the Countryside