Distance: 11.1 Miles or 17.8 km for those more metrically minded (or 15.1 miles/24.2 km with extension)
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Train: Take the 9:36
AM Southhampton/Bognor Regis train from London Victoria (stopping at Clapham Junction at 9:42 and East
Croydon at 9:53), arriving at Amberley at 10:55. Return
trains from Amberley are at 18:17; 18:59; 19:29; 20:30 and 21:30 and from
Arundel at 18:12; 18:54; 19:24; 20:25; 21:25. Buy a day return to Amberley
or Arundel, if planning on doing the extension.
This walk always makes a very enjoyable day out
with a gentle start along the foot of the Downs just above a wetlands preserve
and a dramatic finish following the ridge of the Downs back to Amberley. It is also possible to extend the walk by
doing the last leg of SWC Walk 100
along the Arun River to Arundel. If conditions merit, those of a more adventurous
nature could defer the start of the extension with a stop at the always
charming Bridge Inn near Amberley Station and complete this final segment in
the light of a near full moon. You can
find more information about the walk and download the walk instructions here and the extension here.The recommended lunch spot is the Crown Inn (01903 742 625) in Cootham (5.5 miles/8.2 km into the walk). Tea and other late afternoon refreshments can be had at the Bridge Inn near Amberley Station.
Enjoy the walk!
1 comment:
n=17 on this walk, with the weather w=starting-sunny-and-ending-with-torrential-rain. The morning was delightful, with the ground dry enough to do the lovely riverside loop at the start of the walk that tends to get omitted in winter. The Crown Inn was busy and it was probably a good thing we booked, but they insisted on taking orders at the table - gloom! - which meant we wasted 20 minutes of sunshine while they got round to this. The food was also a tad slow coming but was of big portions.
It was grey by the time we set off and started to rain as we climbed up onto the downs - lightly at first, but torrentially as we approached Amberley, the roads running with brown water. A good chance to check the waterproofness of kit before winter, I guess.
I hear some got to the Riverside Tea Rooms: others must have gone straight to the train. About half of us ended up in the Bridge Inn to dry out. The proposed moonlight walk looked a bit doubtful at this point but the skies did start to clear and five of us set off at dusk.
Our route was along the river to Arundel. Initially the dusk was atmospheric but things got tricky (for me at least!) when the light faded, the woods closed in and the path was covered with slippery tree roots. But once we got to South Stoke Farm the skies started to clear and it was then a glorious moonlit night, the sky also dotted with stars, and excellent visibility. Since every single moonlight walk we tried last winter was obscured by cloud, this was very exciting.
A dreamy walk along the grassy banks river then followed, punctuated by drinks at the Black Rabbit pub. At one point ground mist from the marsh drifted up over the path, a beautiful effect.
On the return journey there was consternation when both the 22.30 and the 22.57, the two last trains, showed as cancelled. But the 22.30 was thankfully reinstated. By diligent train research and a nifty change at Three Bridges we got back to London by 23.45, just in time to make last connections to our various places of residence.
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