Up the Devil's Dyke at dusk from Brighton

This is our last 'out of town' evening walk of the season and I have chosen one of the most famous and iconic local land marks for it. (see below for more detail of the route)

Devil's Dyke is formed in rocks of the Chalk Group which originated as marine sediments during the Cretaceous period.

How did it get here  .? 

The 300-foot-deep valley was carved by tremendous amounts of water running off the Downs during the last Ice Age when large amounts of snow thawed and the frozen chalk prevented any further absorption; erosion was aided by the freeze-thaw cycle and the valley was deepened by the 'sludging' of the saturated chalk.".[1]

The Devil's Dyke V-shaped dry valley is the result of solifluction and river erosion. More than fourteen thousand years ago, the area experienced an intensely cold climate (but not glacial conditions). Snowfields capped the South Downs. Permafrost conditions meant that the chalk was permanently frozen. In summer, the snowfields melted and saturated the top layer of soil, because the water could not permeate the frozen chalk underneath. Waterlogged material situated above the permafrost slid down the gradient, removing material by friction, exposing deeper layers of frozen chalk. When the Ice Age ended, the snowfields covering the South Downs melted, and rivers formed across Sussex. The Devil's Dyke valley was completed by one such river.

What about the Devil?

Local folklore explains the valley as the work of the devil. The legend holds that the devil was digging a trench to allow the sea to flood the many churches in the Weald of Sussex. The digging disturbed an old woman who lit a candle, or angered a rooster causing it to crow, making the devil believe that the morning was fast approaching. The devil then fled, leaving his trench unfinished. The last shovel of earth he threw over his shoulder fell into the sea, forming the Isle of Wight.

A further variant has it that the Devil's digging was terminated by him stubbing his toe on a large rock which he kicked in anger over the hills towards the sea, then abandoning his diabolic plans of Weald destruction due to the injuries sustained. The rock landed in the area now known, consequently, as Goldstone valley in Hove. The Goldstone acquired its name from the hints of gold in its makeup. The enormous and mysterious rock now lies in Hove Park in Goldstone Valley, near where it was first discovered. It  is considered to have been possibly an object of Druid worship.

Victorian times:

In late Victorian times Devil's Dyke became a tourist attraction, complete with a fairground, two bandstands, an observatory, a camera obscura, all served by a branchline from Hove. During its heyday, Devil's Dyke was a huge attraction for the Victorians, with 30,000 people visiting on Whit Monday in 1893.

From 1887–1938 a single-track railway branch line operated from near Aldrington in Hove to The Dyke railway station, the current Dyke Farm location, to transport sightseers to the foot of the hill.
From 1894–1909 a cable car operated across the valley, covering a distance of 350 m, suspended 70 m above the valley floor.
From 1897–1909 the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge funicular Steep Grade Railway rose 100 m from near Poynings to the northern edge of the hillfort.
Traces remain of all three ventures, including the remains of concrete pylon supports for the cable car system.