Curiosity killed the cat.

But I bet someone made a good story out of it. 

The above was my motto for finding my stories today.

This afternoon I walked over the A27, climbed through a potentially lethal fence, met some cows and I am here (in a pub), to tell the tale.  

I was on the prowl, exploring my new territory. I had my lead but I had to go on an epic hunt, and an unexpected hike. 

Patcham in Sussex was a place which I hadn't been to before, but now I can safely say that I know my way around quite well. 

When me and my fellow trainees started at journalist works, we were given patches around Brighton to report on and Patcham is one of mine.

I knew a story here that I wanted to work on, so the first thing I did was find a cafe and get some food. Everyone works better with food inside them.

Stomach satisfied, it was time to work.

I wasn't anticipating going on needing walking poles to get around. 

I found myself slipping and sliding down a hill, while dodging dogs and protecting my throat (they can smell my fear!) 

I powered through as I was on a mission and I wanted to get to my story, even if it meant going through the wilderness and encountering my four legged enemies.  

I was glad to discover that if my trek took me into the night, there was food. 

Yes I had just eaten lunch but it's always comforting to know that there is food around.

My best hurdle on my hunt was this bent wire fence.

I don't know if you can see, but it's all bent out of shape. A fence is supposed to keep people out, this one clearly isn't  up to the job. 

Normal people may have turned back and given up, but my daughter aways says: "Explorers don't give up!"

So I did a quick check to make sure it wasn't electric, took the fact that I didn't receive a shock as a good thing and plodded ahead.

Now, I've never been one for heights. I had a panic attack when I was 11 on the climbing apparatus at school and refused to come down as I was too petrified to move.

I was about five foot in the air, so can you imagine what was going through my head when I saw this...

It may not look high in a picture, but I'll tell you, it was more than five foot.  

I closed my eyes walked across the bridge, only to realise I was where I didn't want to be and had to go back over it again.

It was a relief when I found a bench.

There was a note on it to a grandad that passed away two years ago, I found some tiny flowers and placed them on the bench along with my bottom. (The flowers in the picture were with the card when I got there. You can't see the ones I put there.) 

After walking for what felt like days (it had been three hours), I found a pub. 

It wasn't what I was aiming for, (that's a lie, I'm always aiming to get to a pub), but the locals have directed me to what I'm hoping is treasure. 

Curiosity has lead me to a good place. 

The above is Appletiser in a wine glass as I'm driving. It did amuse a few people when I ordered it, but everything tastes better from a wine glass.