Length: 16 km (9.9 miles). Toughness: 3/10
…or complete a Circular Walk back to Haywards Heath: 19 km (11.8 miles).
Take the 10:00 Thameslink train (destination Brighton) from London Bridge (East Croydon 10:15), arriving Haywards Heath at 10:47. If you travel out and back between London Bridge and Haywards Heath on Thameslink trains you can get a cheap Super Off-Peak return (but note that they're not running through central London on Sunday).
Alternatively, the 10:02 Brighton train from Victoria (Clapham Jct 10:09) arrives Haywards Heath at 10:52. So it would be good if the Thameslink travellers could hang around for five minutes, either on the platform or by the station entrance.
At Lindfield you can choose whether to complete a circular walk back to Haywards Heath or take one of the infrequent 270s for a five-minute bus ride. Brisk walkers might be in time for the 15:08; those who stop for a few refreshment breaks should be able to get the 17:05. However you get there, you'll find plenty of trains back from Haywards Heath: Thameslink to London Bridge at xx:18, xx:38 & xx:48; Southern to Victoria at xx:15, xx:27, xx:45 & xx:57.
A large commuter town might have a good train service but it isn't usually a great place to start a country walk. However, a couple of nature reserves and some open spaces break up the initial stretches along residential streets and eventually you'll reach the gently undulating countryside typical of the Sussex Weald. The area's main tourist attraction is the Bluebell Railway and if you're lucky you'll see a steam train chugging past at one of the two places where you cross the line.
The only convenient lunch pub on this walk is The Sloop Inn, which has an attractive garden. However, it's become rather up-market (and expensive) since its refurbishment, so you might prefer to bring your own provisions and stop a little earlier, eg. in the large field mentioned in [23].
In Lindfield I thought I'd tracked our legendary Mr Tiger to his lair, but sadly the prominent inn sign at the top of the High Street is just a memento of a long-closed hostelry. The village's coffee shops probably won't be open on a Sunday afternoon but there are two or three other watering-holes where you should be able to quench your thirst. The kiosks at Haywards Heath station might be open too.
You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.141 page. Clicking the word 'Main' on the Walk Options heading line will cut out the directions for the two alternative walks bundled in with this one.
1 comment:
N=6 set off. 4 ahead, 2 lagging.
All was well until the Eastern Road Nature Reserve was reached. It was unexpectedly ‘closed’ for tree-felling. The barriers were down and there was no work in progress so both groups entered. The first group sailed through. Not so the second. The loggers had created multiple paths and it was less than clear which way was correct. So less than clear that they went past an early JCB three times. On the last circuit, they even crawled under a dead tree only to find that wretched digger again. Honestly, it was like the Amazon!.
But with the wonders of modern science, (you’ve probably heard of GPS), they, too, found their way through and met the others in the Sloop. I don’t think any of them ate there (too posh for the likes of them) but drinks were certainly consumed . A pleasant, much needed, break from the rigours of the jungle.
Three of the advance party had realised to their horror they would never reach Lindfield in time for the 1508 bus so they diverted to Horsted Keynes, where, presumably, there were more buses. They got there, having even had time to consume more alcohol.
The other 3, made of sterner stuff, did the full trek back to Haywards Heath. Retracing our steps there from Lindfied was a little tedious (the road section anyway). Although several ale houses were passed, none were frequented (sigh). And we didn’t see the legendary Tiger sign either.
Trains out and back were packed. Standing room only.
The weather? w=hot-sunny-am-cloudy-muggy-pm Even a few sprinkles of water from the sky.
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