Length: 14½ km (9.0 miles). Toughness: 4/10
10:51 East Grinstead train from Victoria (Clapham Jct 10:58, East Croydon 11:09), changing at Oxted (arr 11:33, dep 11:38) for the Uckfield train waiting on the adjacent platform, arriving Ashurst at 11:59. Buy a return to Eridge.
Trains back from Eridge are hourly at xx:51, changing at either Hurst Green or Oxted for East Croydon and Victoria.
A year or two ago Southern hit on a splendid way to inconvenience anyone wanting to use the Uckfield line for a Sunday walk: remove the connecting East Grinstead train for our usual start time. As no-one wants to hang around at Oxted for 35 minutes we're limited to walks like this one with a short morning leg which can start at around noon. So apologies to the 20+ walkers who did the Eridge Circular just three months ago, but this rarely-seen variation starting from Ashurst does take in an extensive bluebell wood not visited on any of our other walks.
You'll reach Groombridge at around 1.15pm, with a choice of the Crown Inn overlooking the green or the Junction Inn in the main part of the village if you want to try for a pub lunch. The Spa Valley Railway station would be a good choice for a picnic, with benches and a refreshment kiosk selling snacks and drinks.
The main afternoon leg goes out past the imposing Harrisons Rocks (popular with climbers) and loops round via the RSPB's Broadwater Warren reserve and Eridge Rocks. There should be more wayside flowers to enjoy, particularly if you wander off piste in Birchden Wood behind Harrison's Rocks.
If you're not paying close attention you might find yourself on one of the alternative afternoon routes, but you'll end up at Eridge station sooner or later. Most walkers aren't too disgruntled when they just miss the hourly train as it gives them an excuse to visit The Huntsman pub alongside the station.
You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.120.a page.
1 comment:
#7 walkers off the train at Ashurst on an initially #cool-overcast-and-breezy-day-with-some-early-afternoon-warm sunshine. The main group dined at The Crown, while one solitary picnicker headed off, encouraged by the piercing whistle of the steam locomotive announcing that the Spa Valley Railway was running on Easter Sunday. With time on his hands, the walker decided to explore the highest of the trails through Harrison's Rocks. This trail goes over the top of the crags and affords an occasional glimpse of the railway line in the valley below. Eventually reaching a T-junction at the southern end, where the choice is either to turn uphill, away from the crags or rejoin the lower trails, the latter was chosen, and the trail eventually emerged about 150 metres above (south of) Forge Farm House. Not wishing to miss out on the sight of rock climbers in action, the walker turned back to the north, along the railway line-hugging public footpath as far as the northern entrance to Harrison's Rocks and then looping round to the south to follow the trail along the base of the crags, eventually rejoining the footpath back past Forge Farm House and on towards Eridge. The extra time at Harrison's Rocks and the choice of the alternative (quieter) route from the A26 to Eridge Station via The Forstal and Groombridge Lane tied in nicely with the 16.51 train back to Oxted, where a couple of walkers from the main group turned up. The three of us travelled together to Oxted, where a group of three Capital Walkers (ramblers), who'd just done a walk from Riddlesdown to Oxted, shared experiences on the train back to London. For future reference, the trail over the top of the crags has little intrinsic merit, since it effectively bypasses the crags altogether, though an intrepid walker with a head for heights might like to approach the top of the crags from above. Not for me, though!
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