10.07 train from London Bridge (10.22 East Croydon) to Eridge, arriving 11.03
Best ticket; The walk author's advice is to buy a day return to East Grinstead. This is apparently a tad more expensive than a day return to Eridge, and, since East Grinstead has barriers and Eridge does not, is more hassle-free. If your ticket is checked on board the train on the outward journey, explain you are doing a walk. In extremis, you might get charged a single from Hurst Green (where the lines divide) to Eridge.
This is a gentle little walk in a pretty part of the Weald, with enough upping and downing to justify that cream cake at the end, but nothing too taxing.
Pingdemic staff shortages permitting, you have a choice for lunch of the Dorset Arms in Withyham after 4.9 miles (somewhat posher) or the Anchor Inn in Hartfield 1.5 miles later (not so posh): both have outside seating if the weather allows. The Pooh Corner Tea Room (ex Piglet's Pantry, Kanga's Canteen etc) in Hartfield is an option for lighter refreshment.
For tea the nicest option is perhaps Tablehurst Farm, just before Forest Row, which has a shop selling cakes and stuff as well as tea and outside tables to consume them at. Otherwise there are numerous options in Forest Row including a Costa Coffee if you are desperate....
You then need to get a number 270 or 291 bus to East Grinstead station (20 mins or so) at 16.22, 16.46, 17.22, 17.45, 18.34, 18.39, 19.28 or 19.48 which connect with trains from East Grinstead at 06 and 36 past.
Extending the walk:
The way to extend this walk described in the walk directions is to walk up the old railway line from Forest Row to East Grinstead, a walk of 3.4 miles, which lengthens the walk to 14.3 miles
A slightly shorter and much more interesting idea is to switch to the East Grinstead Circular walk at Cansiron Lane: see the instructions in paragraph 31 the walk directions for the Eridge to Forest Row. This takes you on a fine high route along quiet lanes, before descending across a valley and climbing up to East Grinstead, which has lots of tea options. This route is 13.4 miles from Eridge (a bit less to East Grinstead's tea options, which are about half a mile before the station).
To do this you will need either pages 9-11 of the East Grinstead Circular walk directions or the GPX for the main afternoon route, or you can follow the route on this map.
2 comments:
W=Wet. I was wondering on the way home if this was the wettest walk I have ever been on. Probably not in persistence - there were a few dry and even sunny intervals. But the intensity of the downpours was extraordinary - positively tropical at times. It was as well it was summer, when being soaked to the skin does not feel so uncomfortable.
That said, the most memorable moment of the day was an unexpected burst of sunshine. There had been n=10 of us at the start, and eight of us were having lunch in what I assumed was a back room of the Dorset Arms in Withyham when the roof unexpectedly rolled back and revealed intense blue skies. It turned out we were on a kind of back patio with a retractable awning. Hats and sunglasses were donned and for twenty minutes we were bathed in golden warmth.
It did not last, alas. The morning was a paddle across fields, a wade down flooded tracks, and the afternoon was the same. Hopes of better weather were raised and then dashed, then raised and dashed again. One walker, who was participating in a sporting event on the morrow, got the bus at Hartfield: two of us never got there at all, because we went totally wrong due to inattention to the GPX and map. We ended up on a farm that was definitely not on any right of way and had to sheepishly exit it by its entrance drive, earning a sharp look from a passing motorist. We then improvised a route to loop back up onto the walk.
At Tablehurst Farm there was a gorgeous flock of free-range turkeys, making a cute crooning noise and pecking curiously at the wildflowers in an orchard. I advised them not to cast their votes for Christmas. In Forest Row the devastation wrought by Covid was all too visible. Taffels gone. Costa Coffee gone. But the Java and Jazz place has stepped up and now offers excellent cakes and delicious sausage rolls (I had a pork and orange marmalade one). As we consumed our purchases outside, a passing storm tried to murder the canopy above us.
Four others went to the Hop Brewery and we two lost souls met up with them on the 18.03 bus, whose passenger numbers we increased sevenfold. “Supplies” were got and we had a comfortable journey back to the Smoke, discussing the seating qualities of various types of trains.
Another walker got there 11.07 train, apparently, and completed the walk, so n=11
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