9.54 train from Victoria (10.01 Clapham Junction) to East Croydon, arriving 10.10. Change there for the 10.22 train to Eridge, arriving 11.03
Various bits of rail engineering work this week, so I have decided to roll with this one, which hopefully will only be a minor inconvenience. With no trains to East Croydon from London Bridge, the Eridge train will start from East Croydon today. So you have to get a train from Victoria to connect to it, as outlined.
Reasons for picking this walk: 1) It is a nice Wealden walk: scenic and not too hilly. 2) Though it was done backwards in February, it has otherwise not had an outing since 2021. 3) It is nice to do Wealden walks before they get too muddy (ie as they do in winter).
And 4) there are longer and shorter options in case the weather is better or worse than expected:
The longer option is to walk to East Grinstead, which involves switching late in the afternoon to walk 40, whose directions or GPX you will need. (This is a different and better route to the one bundled into the walk 109 GPS, which just goes up the old railway line).
The shorter option involves taking the 291 bus from Wythyham (14 past the hour) or Hartfield (18 past the hour) to East Grinstead.
Lunch is after 5 miles at the Dorset Arms in Withyham or after 6.5 miles at the Bear Inn in Hartfield.
For tea, Tablehurst Farm just before Forest Row has a cafe: otherwise in Forest Row itself Java & Jazz is best for tea and the Hop Yard Brewery seems favoured by the drinkers.
Getting back: From Forest Row take the 270 or 295 bus outside the Brambletye Hotel to East Grinstead station at 15.32, 16.01, 16.32, 17.15, 17.32, 18.18, 18.34, 19.15, 19.51 (etc...). £3 flat fare courtesy of Rachel from Accounts. Have you said thank you?
Trains from East Grinstead are at 06 and 36 past.
4 comments:
Will return train ticket to East Grinstead still works for tomorrow? Because 1) no ticket barriers to contend with at Eridge. 2) both lines are operated by Southern and their on-board staff happy to accept a similarly-priced ticket to a station on the other line?
Sorry, forgot to put that in the post. The walk creator says a day return to East Grinstead, yes. Should be accepted to Eridge if anyone checks. If not, the two routes diverge at Hurst Green.
If on-board staff not happy to accept return ticket, wish he/she can accept to buy a single from Hurst Green to Eridge :)
16 at the station were joined at lunch by walker number n=17, who had missed the train due to Tube issues. Group cohesion was good in the morning - except for two of us who streaked out ahead. We were so busy setting the world to rights that we missed the way not once but twice. The second error was so serious that we ended up walking along a main road for 500 metres before regaining the route via a path through the woods.
This got us to a Dorset Arms deserted but for a wedding party, who soon departed to their ceremony. I had the excellent venison cottage pie and we sat outside, wondering if the rest of the group had already passed by or not yet arrived.
Happily after a longish wait the latter proved to be the case. I think pretty much everyone stopped at the pub, some to eat, others to have sandwiches, some for drinks. After lunch two got the bus. (Letters have been sent to their parents.)
There were some spots of rain during lunch, after a mainly cloudy morning. But in fact the weather improved rather than deteriorating, being w=mostly-sunny-in-the-afternoon. What a pleasant time we had, walking through grassy fields with increasingly fine views. Several people expressed surprise at how nice the walk was.
Desending to Tablehurst Farm we came across a former field that is now heavily beset with brambles at its start and finish. Your correspondent, who had done this route in reverse a few weeks before, came prepared with secateurs. I can’t say I managed to clear the path but I made it a bit more passable. I am told there was also a bramble incident at some point in the morning. (I must have bypassed this by getting lost.)
Quite a lot of us had tea at Tablehurst Farm. Some went for the 5.15 bus. Another expressed an interest in walking to East Grinstead and six of us did that, one other getting the 5.32 bus instead. The East Grinstead contingent had a pleasant walk on the old railway line despite some revealing that they had thought we were going another way. We caught the 18.36 train by the skin of our teeth and passed the journey without supplies but with plenty of pleasant chat.
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