Devil’s Dyke
In the aforementioned story of Satan trying to build a tunnel to flood Sussex, he succeeded in creating another interesting landscape feature before making the Devil’s Punch Bowl under the weight of his landing. He had vowed to do so in a single night, but was caught in the act by a pious local woman. She prayed for a cock to crow earlier than dawn, and when the Devil heard it, he immediately abandoned his task. However, the towering ridges of earth he had thrown up around him were never moved, and the tunnel became known as the Devil’s Dyke.
Whilst digging the ditch to wash away the churches, The Devil carelessly flung large bits of earth over his shoulder, which became hills in their own right, and one even became the Isle of Wight. Most legends agree on the purpose of the Devil’s Dyke, but there are some variants on precisely why he stopped. In one, he simply stubbed his hoof on a rock, which he kicked away to Hove in fury before abandoning his project altogether (what a diva). Another variation replaces the old woman with St Dunstan, whom we will meet later in this article.
Another legend simply has the Devil’s Dyke as a gigantic hoof-print caused by The Devil appearing in his goat-form and intending to crush Sussex, Godzilla-style. Upon arriving, he smelled the salty sea-breeze, and feared getting his coat wet. His vanity made him abandon the project altogether, notwithstanding a single hoof-print. Again, there is a prosaic explanation of water erosion disintegrating away an area of soft rock, but this need not detract from the Devil’s Dyke’s fascinating history. The site provided a lookout post for pre-Iron Age man, and hill forts were built to protect surrounding settlements and farmland.
