Ashurst to Buxted: 22.1km (13.7 miles) T=3.29
Ashurst Circular: 15km (9.3 miles), 19.5 km (12.1 miles) or 24.3km (15 miles)
9.33 train from East Croydon to Ashurst, arriving 10.08
The above train starts at East Croydon today due to engineering works, but there are connecting trains as follows:
- 8.50 St Pancras Thameslink - 9.05 London Bridge - 9.18 East Croydon
- 9.07 London Bridge - 9.23 East Croydon
- 9.00 St Pancras Thameslink - 9.15 London Bridge - 9.28 East Croydon.
Buy a day return to Buxted, or to Ashurst (Kent) if planning to do an Ashurst Circular option
**** It would be very useful if you could pre-register for this walk for contact tracking purposes at www.lwug.co.uk: if not, please bring a piece of paper with your email written on it, which will be kept in an envelope and only used if a case of Covid arises on the walk. To let us know if a contract tracing requirement arises as a result of this walk, use covid@lwug.co.uk ****
This idea (ie Ashurst to Buxted) was suggested to me a while back by one of our Tunbridge Wells-based walkers. It is based on the fact that the most southerly point of the Ashurst Circular Walk is only 1.5 miles from the lunch pub on the Buxted Circular. By joining the two together you have a gentle climb up, a walk across the heartlands of Ashdown Forest, and then a descent into pleasant countryside that we normally only visit in muddy autumn or winter, due to the shortness of the Buxted Circular walk. Note that the connecting section is map-led, but the path is fairly obvious, a broad track across open heath.
You can of course ignore all this and just do the Ashurst Circular walk, which comes in three flavours - short, not so short, and long. All three options have extensive Winnie the Pooh associations, which you can read about in the walk document.
On the Ashurst to Buxted walk, your lunch options are the (usually rather popular) Dorset Arms in Withyham after a paltry 3.6 miles, or holding on till the lunch pub on the Buxted walk, the capacious the Crow and Gate in Poundgate, which is 8.9 miles into the walk. This offers food all afternoon, so a late arrival may help you to get a table. If you wanted to book, I would assume arrival at about 2.30pm. Otherwise, the heathland of Ashdown Forest will offer plenty of places to eat sandwiches.
After lunch, it is just 4.8 miles, a lot of it downhill, to Buxted. For tea, there are two pubs in Buxted, both near the station, and both of which look to be open all afternoon.
On the Ashurst Circular, the only refreshment options after the Dorset Arms (see above) are in Hartfield, only about 5.5 miles into the short walk, 8.3 miles into the main walk. Here you will find the Anchor Inn, and the Pooh Corner tea rooms (ex Piglet's Tea Room, Kanga's Tea Room: if they fancy another rebrand I would suggest Eeyore's Eerie or Tigger's Lair ...) the latter open till 5pm.
Note that it is 3.8 miles from Hartfield to Ashurst station and there is diddly-squat to do in its vicinity if you miss the hourly train: allowing 1 hour 45 minutes at least for this section might be wise.
Trains back are at 48 past from Buxted, 07 past from Ashurst: note that the train in the other, southbound direction leaves Ashurst at much the same time: make sure you get on the right one.
2 comments:
I fancy doing the Walk Tomorrow. And looking forward to going to Pooh Corner. Winnie the Pooh. And if you have seen Great British Railway Journeys by Michael Portillo. He was talking about it on the program.
Two of the three connecting trains to East Croydon were cancelled due to overhead line damage on Thameslink (one of the more hapless of London railways), and trains at East Croydon were still in chaos from this at 8pm. But the Ashurst train left on time, and n=25 assembled for the start of the walk, several having come by car. Judging by a straw poll, two thirds intended to do the Ashurst Circular and only a third the walk to Buxted. But it may have been more like 50/50 in the end.
The countryside looked gorgeous and there were demoiselles and butterflies flitting around, but everyone took off like a rocket slid on rails and propelled by greased lightning, so even attempting a cursory glance at such things soon cost me the company of my fellow walkers. I was resigned to doing a 14 mile walk with only nature for solace. But four walkers later waited for me (thanks) before streaking off again, and I learned after a while that two had stopped in the Dorset Arms for a drink and were behind me.
Then, entering the 500 Acre Wood I got enmeshed with a party of female walkers, and to escape them I dived up a lonely forest track. I had a nice walk in what I assumed were open access woods, until various Private Keep Out notices persuaded me otherwise. I got to a road and walked up that and emerged onto the heathlands of Ashdown Forest to find myself back in the middle of the group again. So it seems I did a bit of a short cut.
I had hoped for a pub lunch at Poundgate, but everyone on the Buxted walk had been adamant that they had brought sandwiches, so I ate my wrap on the heath, hooked up with the two Dorset Arms drinkers, and we walked on to the pub (passing a near full out area of bluebells by the way). At the pub eight SWCers were lunching in the garden (so much for everyone having sandwiches), including one who had walked from Buxted. My party also stopped to lunch. The pub was not over-busy to my surprise, and service was efficient enough.
Ashdown Forest is interesting, but maybe not always beautiful. I was personally relieved to descend back into the pretty greenery, the tall meadows dotted with buttercups, the hills and woods. The weather had been w=sun-and-sultry-cloud, but the cloud now started to melt away. All the world looked lovely. But my legs felt mysteriously feeble. This section was only supposed to be 4.5 miles but felt much longer.
Towards Buxted one is given a choice of routes, but not told why. What are the benefits or otherwise of the two options? Since the alternative was a bit longer than the standard route, I guessed it might be prettier and did that.
Arriving in Buxted at 17.40 I expected everyone would have gone home. But three remained on the patio of the Buxted Inn and we had a pleasantly hour’s chat. Three then got the 18.48, while one went to do an extra loop and enjoy the glorious evening sunlight. I would have liked to join him but had to be home not too late in order to prepare for a trip tomorrow. So, regretfully, home.
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