Length: 18.3km (11.4 miles)
Toughness: 5 out of 10: mainly flat, but with one graded hill climb
I am relying rather heavily on the weather forecast in picking this walk. The BBC says high pressure is establishing itself, so cross fingers. If it is wet and windy, the afternoon of this walk is very exposed.
Otherwise, it makes a good winter outing, along the bottom of the South Downs and then back along the top. There are quite a lot of stretches on firm surfaces on the lowland bits (including tracks through the Parham Park estate) and the downs paths are usually dry - so hopefully not too much mud, but I am not saying there will be none.
The exception may be on the initial section along the River Arun and across its watermeadows. They can be waterlogged in winter, but given the lack of recent rain (at time of writing), I think they will be OK. Otherwise this section can be omitted.
There are pubs in Amberley village - the Black Horse and the Sportsman, the latter with amazing views of Amberley Wild Brooks - but these are too early in the walk for lunch, really. Otherwise the only pub is the large, but sometimes busy, Crown Inn in Cootham after 5.2 miles.
After lunch you have your climb up onto the downs, and then it is an easy parade along the top, with fine views, back to Amberley station. The Riverside Tea Rooms here always seem to be closed when we get there - at 4pm? They might provide this information on their expensively-produced website - and the Amberley Village Tea Rooms - reachable by a diversion - close at the same time, as far as I can see. So post-walk refreshment are at the nice, but always quite busy, Bridge Inn by the station.
Trains back are at 17 past till 21.17 (last train), with a quirky extra train at 16.50.
2 comments:
As I always do, I counted carefully how many there were at the station and wrote the number on a piece of paper. Can I now find that paper? Reader, I cannot. But n=19 is my best guess, based on how many had lunch and how many didn’t (six?). And a dog named Flo (or Flow?).
There was w=some-flashes-of-sun-to-start, but mostly we are back to permacloud. Heigh-ho. At least it was pretty dry underfoot, bar the odd gloopy bit by a stile or gate - and some surface water in the watermeadows at the start. The morning otherwise proceeded uneventfully and the afternoon ditto. What can I say? It is a nice little walk, but then I would say that because I created it.
I had booked a table for eight at the Crown. Five had also booked their own table. And by a happy accident exactly thirteen wanted to eat. That was lucky because the pub refused one walk-up customer (not in our group) because “we are fully booked”. But actually half the tables remained empty. A shortage of kitchen staff?
We finished the walk just as the light was fading, which was kinda neat. The slightly haughty Bridge Inn deigned to admit us as long as we sat in the corner and behaved ourselves. No puddings because the kitchen was not open yet. A rather chilly draught for those sitting near the door. But our table still stayed an extra hour to get the 18.17, while the neighbouring one got the 17.17. The train carriage was nice and warm.
To confirm that six of us picnicked on the lowers slopes of Kinthurst Hill. Three strode on ahead on the ascent, and three of us plus dog were welcomed in to the Bridge Inn as long as we followed various strict instructions about where to sit. That done we were well looked after, including Flo. Some front runners from the lunch party were just arriving at the pub or station as we left to catch the 1650.
Thanks for posting, I agree a very nice walk, although the usual spectacular views were lacking in the very dull light. We saw a big flock of starlings on the last hill, but they didn't perform any aerobatics for us, unlike the gliders flying above us on the ridge.
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