Three-cornered copse

Cross-country runs at school

From the age of eleven I attended Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School. Every week we did a cross-country run. The route was up Dyke Road to the wide open grassy area adjoining Mill Road, and down to the railway bridge. We then went up the track to Waterhall, and up the steep hill to what is now Waterhall Golf Club.

Absque labore nihil

Next we ran out onto the Saddlescombe Road, back down Devil’s Dyke Road to the Three-Cornered Copse. The final leg was down to, and through, Hove Park, to the Old Shoreham Road and back to the school. The school motto was not Absque labore nihil for nothing!

Happy memories

Reaching the Three-Cornered Copse was the moment that one realised that the worst of the strenuous activity was over, and for that reason it has always been a spot with happy memories. Today it’s also a wonderful way for those on foot to escape the noise and fumes of traffic for a while.