Length: 16.3 km (10.1 miles)
Toughness: 4 out of 10
Thameslink service from Cambridge to Brighton, with stops at:
St Pancras: 10-00 hrs
City Thameslink: 10-06 hrs
Blackfriars: 10-09 hrs
London Bridge: 10-15 hrs
East Croydon: 10-29 hrs
Arrive Balcombe: 10-55 hrs
Return: Thameslink services to London Bridge: 04 and 34 mins past the hour
This pleasant round through West Sussex countryside can be muddy in places after lengthy periods of rain - but let's hope conditions today are favourable. My original plan was to post the Book 1 Circular walk, but a closed footbridge by Lord Snowdon's Lake in the morning makes the Book 1 walk undoable until the footbridge is repaired - so today we will do this version of SWC Walk 174.
For details of the walk, which takes you to the large Ardingley Reservoir, then Ardingley Village, please refer to the Walk Directions below.
Lunch today can be taken at the popular Ardingley Inn or if not open you can try the Ardingley Cafe nearby.
On your return to Balcombe you might find the village tea rooms open - but more likely not so - so your refreshment stop will be the community run local pub - the Half Moon Inn.
T=swc.174
Walk Directions are here: L=swc.174.a
1 comment:
Five of us gathered at the station, not put off by the forecast on a day of #leaden-skies-turning-to-rain-for-the-last-hour. It was nice to welcome a return visitor from the Emerald Isle. A Haywards Heath resident peeled off to walk home as we approached the reservoir. But we met two more club stalwarts on the approach to Ardingly who joined us for lunch, so let's say #7. The pub in Ardingly wasn't serving food till 4.30, so we lunched in the next-door cafe; food and service pronounced excellent.
Three departed by car, leaving three of us to stroll back along the reservoir through the mud and eventual rain - I can report that there was less mud than I expected, but some bits were very gloopy and wet socks were experienced. Despite that it was quite spring-like, with first sightings of the year for lady's smock and forget-me-nots.
No amenities open in Balcombe, so straight to the station for the 1634 train. Worth making the effort to get out, thanks for posting.
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