Rachel Poulton marks the seasonal festivals with pilgrimages to some of Sussex’s ancient sites — mapping each journey through words and photographs.

‘Understand: My walks are pilgrimages’ wrote the German wanderer, philosopher and writer Hans Jürgen von der Wense — mine are too. Propelled by a mix of curiosity and creativity, I’ve been paying homage to the ancient sites of Sussex for years in my quest for the sublime and spirit of place. When I found myself living somewhere with which I felt very little affinity, I put on my boots and set out to examine the invisible in both my inner and outer landscapes through a series of intuitive walks. Rooted in Romanticism and inspired by the dérive of psychogeographers, Unseen is about exploring sites of spiritual, historical and archaeological significance and my attempts to represent the atmosphere and essence of these places. My interests in myth, lore and the occult also drive the project as I seek out sites steeped in stories.

I link my walking to ritual and the seasonal dates people have celebrated throughout time. From Samhain at the end of October when nature dies and turns inward, to Beltane in May marking the start of the long days of summer filled with abundance, our folk traditions honour the turning of the wheel of the year, the land and its fertility. Walking in ancient, ritually charged places, on the key dates of nature’s calendar, I experience a sublime temporal and psychic shift. As I roll with the seasons, time stretches and slows; each natural change holds me in the moment and life is longer. I pay heed to the unexpected and familiar. Elemental transfiguration is on repeat: the air cools, warms and cools again; waters rise, fall and rise again; colours are bright and radiant, dark and muted, then bright and radiant again. This gentle, perpetual flow brings me back to nature and I cherish its mellow pace. This is life directly lived, away from the spectacle. Through intuitive walking and automatic photography I map my journey, connecting with the true nature of the land.

The South Downs is a perfect place for drift and daydream. I freefall into the landscape and its deep time. Uncanny auras and silent subterranean tremors guide me. I’m searching for the Unseen, those primordial ghosts and traces of long ago that still exist if you know how to look.

_{31st October, Samhain – a walk around Cissbury Ring, a Neolithic hillfort near Worthing, Sussex}

 _{21st December, Winter Solstice or, Alban Arthan – a walk along the Cuckmere River to the river’s mouth and the Seven Sisters Cliffs near Eastbourne, Sussex}

_{1st February, Imbolc – a walk up and around Chanctonbury Ring, an Iron Age hillfort near Washington, Sussex}

_{21st March, Spring Equinox or, Alban Eilir – a walk around The Trundle near Chichester, Sussex}

_{1st June, Summer Solstice or, Alban Hefin – a climb up Mount Caburn, a ritually charged hillfort near Lewes, Sussex}

_{1st August, Lughnasadh – a dawn walk up Windover Hill to watch the sunrise with the Wilmington Giant, Wilmington, Sussex}

_{21st September, Autumn Equinox or, Alban Elfed – a walk through the ancient yew groves and Bronze Age barrows at Kingley Vale Nature Reserve, near Chichester, Sussex}

*

Each walk is documented in words and pictures and published as Unseen Zine where Rachel delves into the history, archaeology and folklore of each place. Unseen Zine is available to buy in several indie bookshops, galleries and record shops, or direct from Rachel’s website. 

Rachel’s photos will be exhibited in the old milking shed on Lovebrook Farm, Kingston-nr-Lewes this weekend, as part of our annual Day Out in Sussex. If you have tickets for this sold out event, you can find timings and further details here.