Length: 16.9km (10.5 miles)
Difficulty 5/10 hilly but gentle
This classic Wealden walk is a mix of pasture and woodland, fine panoramic views, oast houses, a cobnut orchard, and the villages of Ticehurst and Wadhurst. Optional loops take you past Bewl Water reservoir
Train: 9:45 Hastings train from Charing Cross, (London Bridge 9:54) arriving Etchingham 11:11.
Return trains xx:29 xx:00 from Wadhurst. Get a return to Etchingham.
Lunch
You first encounter the Bell in Ticehust 01580 200234, due to reopen on the 20th. It’s quirky. Garden's quirky, decor's quirky. There's another untried pub nearby, the Chequers – and a churchyard that would do for picnics.
The recommended pub is the Bull Inn in Three Legged Cross 01580 200 586, a further 1.1km. Open 12-6. In these days of covid you might do well to bring snacks and carry water just in case.
Tea
There are two pubs in Wadhurst. The Greyhound 01892 783224, and the White Hart 01892 782850. Note that it is still quite a trek from Wadhurst to the station, so allow 40-50 minutes for the recommended route, 25-35 for the roadside route.
Directions: here.
T=swc.208
1 comment:
Just N=3 hardy all-weather types today. Others presumably deterred by those scaremongers at BBC Weather. Off we set, with a song in our hearts and a spring in our step. A bit cloudy but nothing special. Until, that is, we approached Ticehurst. Skies darkened, thunder rumbled. Maybe they weren’t mongering scares after all. One faster walker went on to the Bull for a meal. Service was said to be good. The other two ducked into the Bell for a drink. They were shepherded into the quirky garden under a complex of umbrellas and woven mulberry trees. The garden is smaller than it used to be, filling up with sheds you can sleep in. But still quirky. Staff were friendly.
After a while, one of the two decided to press on. There’s only so much alcohol you can drink while waiting for better weather. The other stayed.
It started raining in the orchard. Not as much as what London got, but enough to mention. The rain stopped after a while, but the damage was done. If you can imagine running a wet gauntlet, that’s what the afternoon was like. Overgrown paths, treacherously slippy at times. You know me, I’m not one to complain, but by the time I reached Wadhurst, I swear I had webbed feet and started quacking. And it was raining again.
I was reunited with the faster walker at the station. The third had diverted to Stonegate, having got a ‘bit wet’. Perversely, I think all three enjoyed this w=cloudy-then-wet adventure. The scenery was a contributory factor.
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