Leith Hill, Surrey, UK 

That's what the video is in the journal entry below - a 30 second clip of the view south from Leith Hill. I decided that for the benfit of my various 'conditions' that I would climb to the highest point in the county - on the hottest day of the year so far. Well... simply getting out of bed yesterday wouldn't have been a challenge! Besides, my birthday is fast approaching and I needed to mark the ocassion.

I'm chuffed that I managed it without grumbling to myself about my legs aching on the way up, and was rewarded at the top with beautiful views (well beautiful for the south of England anyway).

Incidentally, my camera is a fairly old Canon Powershot, from the days when 5 mega-thingies was leading edge. It produces nice 'still' photos, but the movie function is very very basic - it amounts to "oh, well at least the picture is moving". Still, I just wanted to prove to the world that I'm not a couch potato...

In 851AD, Leith Hill was the scene of a fierce battle when the Anglo Saxons under Ethelwulf (if I'd ever had a son he'd have been called Ethelwulf), father of Alfred the Great, defeated the Danes and saved England for Christianity. The battle was said to involve 15-20,000 men on each side and 'rivers of blood' flowed down the hillside... oh nice! In 1882, in a field near Ockley Village not far away, numerous ancient human bones were found, rumoured to be the remains of the battle's valiant dead.

Leith Hill Tower is a fortified folly (that's a British thing!) and is the highest point in the south east of England, with the top of the tower being 317 metres (1,029 ft) above sea level. The tower, built in 1765 by Richard Hull of Leith Hill Place, dominates the hilltop and commands magnificent views across the North and South Downs; to the north it's possible to see St Paul's Cathedral and to the south there is a panorama over the Weald (where I live) to the English Channel. Amazingly, on a clear day they say 13 counties are visible.

When Richard Hull died in 1772 he was buried beneath the floor of the tower, forever to gaze out upon these wonderful views. What a way to make your peace with the world...