Toughness: 6 out of 10
Longer circular walk back to Pulborough: 23.8km (14.8 miles), or 26.3km (16.3 miles) with circuit of Petworth House grounds.
9.35 train from London Bridge (note: not Victoria as usual), (9.53 East Croydon) to Pulborough, arriving 10.51. (There may be a large group of Metropolitan Walkers on this train: no fraternising! And don't worry, they are going on a totally different walk)
Please sign up for this walk in advance if you can using the London Walkers User Group site. Otherwise bring a piece of paper with your email address on it, which I will collect on the day and put in an envelope, only to be accessed if needed for contact tracing. To report a Covid case after this walk, use covid@lwug.co.uk
Our resident archivist says it is seven years since this walk had an outing at this time of year, so let's hope its bluebell woods have been well cared for in the interim. The records show that it has "several medium-sized displays" of the blue stuff, scattered throughout the walk.
The walk otherwise takes you over pleasant undulating countryside to the pretty town of Petworth, which is large enough to have several possible lunch options. After lunch, you can tour the parkland of the grand (or grandiose?) Petworth House, a jewel in the National Trust crown (if you want to visit the house itself or its formal gardens, you will need to book).
Those up for a longer walk can then walk back to Pulborough, stopping en route at the charming White Hart pub by the medieval Stopham Bridge, which has lots of outside tables in a tranquil spot by the river. Pulborough itself has no tea options the I am aware of.
From Petworth you have to take bus number 1 (direction Worthing) to Pulborough station (18 minutes) at 14.39, 15.44, 16.49, 17.59, 19.09 or 19.39
Trains back from Pulborough are at 24 and 55 past the hour.
6 comments:
Oh dear, oh dear. What a lot of toil and trouble. N=30 on this walk, but we were not all on the same walk. Talk of social distancing: we were miles apart.
The story begins at 7.30am, when yours truly was wakened from his slumber by a text from a walker saying all Pulborough trains were cancelled because of unexpected track work. This proved to be the case. Cue frantic thinking up of alternative walk plans, communicating these to other walkers etc. No sooner had I done this than I was informed that Pulborough trains were un-cancelled, the track work having apparently evaporated. I then had to rescind all the emails about alternative arrangements.
This done, I looked at my watch and realised I now did not have enough time to make the train at London Bridge. Fortunately I worked out I might just get a St Pancras train that would get to East Croydon three minutes before the specified train (even though, interestingly, it left London Bridge at exactly the same time). St Pancras was very busy - the busiest I have seen it since early March 2020. But I made the train and the connection at East Croydon.
Relax. Breath in and out. The sun was shining. All was well.
But all was not well. Someone decided to end their life on the track at Christ’s Hospital. Just before Gatwick we were told the train would skip the Horsham-Arundel line altogether and go fast (via Hove) to Ford. Passengers for Pulborough etc were advised to alight at Three Bridges, take a train to Horsham and await replacement bus services. High speed decision making was called for. I raced up and down the train telling any walkers I could find that we would instead stay on to Ford and walk up to the downs from there.
No sooner had I done this than they said the first stop would be Barnham instead. So to Barnham we went, arriving there at 11.30 or so.18 got off the train here. It later transpired that seven had driven to Pulborough, so they did the specified walk. Five more negotiated the replacement bus service to Pulborough and started the walk at much the same time as we were alighting at Barnham. So 12 in all on that walk
Guided by someone with a map - a real paper one - we Barnham-ites worked our way up onto the South Downs, a long gentle climb, there joining the Amberley to Pulborough walk, shorter afternoon option. About half the group left us here to walk the South Downs Way to Amberley. The rest of us carried on towards Pulborough. I had hoped for bluebells on this section, but they were utterly pathetic, barely out at all. Only near Stopham Bridge did we find a good wood, near full out.
On the Pulborough Circular bluebells were reported as good too and there were even some butterflies (I saw none all day). Lunches were had in Petworth and three got the bus from there. The other nine walked on to Pulborough.
We Barnham-ites got to the White Hart at Stopham Bridge at 5.15 or so, where we got two lovely tables on a terrace overlooking the river. Here we all had drinks and some had food. This pub seems to be under new management and has had a revamp. Table service was good but they got in a complete paddy about paying. Apparently they only reopened yesterday and were getting used to new ways of working.
Some of the Pulborough starters passed us here and we swopped stories. It was then a pleasant walk to the station in partial evening sun. The weather all day had been w=mixed: we all got some rain and there was quite a lot of cloud. At times it felt very cold, with even gloves needed. But when the sun shone, as it occasionally did, you could have fooled yourself that spring had arrived.
https://www.thehazeltree.co.uk/2015/04/16/bluebell-enchantment/
What a lot of drama about the trains. After about 3 changes to the service we did board a train from London Bridge to Pulborough however part way through our journey we were diverted to Barnham because of a person on the track at Christs' Hospital. Four of us chose to take the replacement bus service to Pulborough and try to do the walk to Petworth. We arrived at Pulborough about two hours late and set off on the walk. We made it to Petworth in time to go into the gardens. The walk was lovely: plenty of bluebells, great scenery - views especially of the South Downs.
N=34 maybe, in light of Caroline’s comment.
Southern gave a full return refund for a 2 hours delay......
Southern gave a full return refund for a 2 hours delay......
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