Length: 27km (17m) or 21km (13m)
Toughness: 7 / 10
Transport: Take the 9:05 from London Bridge arriving in Balcombe at 9:46. Return trains from Horsham are aplenty. If you buy a day return to either Balcombe or Horsham you would in theory need to buy a single from the other station back to Three Bridges. In practice, one could try to persuade any ticket inspector to accept the day return ....
This walk follows the morning route of the Balcombe Circular via Nymans before it diverges into new territory not visited by any other walk. In particular St Leonard's Forest is an enchanting place to explore. From there you can walk straight back to Horsham station (21km total) or continue along a southern loop for a spectacular entrance into Horsham.
A note on the lunch pub, the Wheatsheaf: It has changed owner last October. The very rudimentary webpage says it is open and the most recent reviews are from a view days ago. However, it does not respond to phone calls. I make the daring assumption that it is open. You might want to bring a sandwich ...
It just so happens that there is a cider festival in the Black Jug in Horsham.
1 comment:
n=3 met at Balcombe station and set a brisk pace arriving at the Wheatsheaf pub at around 12:20. The pub was open and we ensconced ourselves for lunch on the lovely veranda while the heavy lunchtime shower passed by. The rules of the pub: Mon, Tue: closed; Web-Fri lunch: Menu; Fri eve - Sun: Barbecue. We picked our barbecue selection and helped ourselves to the all-you-can eat side dishes. This is now the 3rd owner within 5 years. It is a lovely pub but in an awkward location with regard to attracting business. Let's hope somebody can make a success out of it.
We continued after the rain had stopped but still got our share of wet trousers due to some overgrown sections. In St Leonard's Forest we kept delaying the decision point for the short-cut back to Horsham, devising many options for avoiding the longer afternoon section. However, in the end we went for the full walk with the "spectacular" entrance into Horsham. One of us promised to fall onto her knees when she could finally see the spires of Horsham but in the end argued that she had expected more (city on the hill?) and deprived the two of us of this dramatic gesture.
We finally got the the Black Jug and the cider festival. It was packed! We managed to secure a table for the three of us next to the band under the pergola, though, and started studying the cider menu. Not sure how it happened, but we took the 21:20 back home.
Post a Comment