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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Saturday 22 July 2017

Saturday Walk - Frant to Tunbridge Wells

Frant to Tunbridge Wells (long walk)

Length 13 miles (21km) 5/6 out of 10

"This longer route goes along the southern part of Broadwater Warren and then loops around the area's most famous sandstone outcrop, Harrison's Rocks, which are very popular with climbers. After a mid-afternoon tea stop in Groombridge you pass the grounds of Groombridge Place, a beautiful Jacobean manor house surrounded by a medieval moat. This option includes a much longer stretch alongside the SVR and if their steam trains are running you could round off the day with a ride from Groombridge (or High Rocks) into the old Tunbridge Wells West station, leaving just a 1¼ km stroll via The Pantiles to the mainline station".Don't be put off by the unpromising start to this walk! You can of course shorten the walk after lunch, by following the directions for the circular walk. T=swc.19.b

Trains: Get the 1015 Hastings train from Charing Cross (London Bridge 1023), arriving Frant at 1115. There are frequent trains back from Tunbridge Wells to Charing Cross and London Bridge. Buy a return to Frant.

Lunch: is the  Nevill Crest and Gun (01892-864209) in Eridge Green, open all afternoon, with a large garden 4.5 miles (7.25km) into the walk.

Tea: There is a lot of choice in Tunbridge Wells, but you might want to break up the afternoon with a stop at the pub in High Rocks.

It is around 7km from Eridge to Groombridge, around 2 hours walking, if you want a trip on the Spa Valley Railway. The 1536 is steam, the 17.01 is Diesel.
Groombridge dep              15:36   17:01
High Rocks dep                 15:43   17:08
Tunbridge Wells West arr 15:50   17:15

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Two of us thinking of doing the Short Walk, starting from Frant which is 9.3 miles, anyone coming with us please?

Unknown said...

I will be joining the walk probably doing the middle distance option, perhaps the shorter version.

Anonymous said...

Re short walk 9.3miles, I am interested, are you ending the walk at Eridge?

Anonymous said...

If return from Eridge - Southern Train, will Frant return still valid?

Anonymous said...

It is not: different rail franchise, different line.

JohnL said...

Hi Anony #1 yes we are planning to do the short 9.3 ending in Tunbridge Wells which is on the same line as Frant J+J

Walker said...

N=15 on this walk. A pleasant, brightish morning and the Nevil and Gun lunch pub was not over busy and served food efficiently. We even sat outside. In the afternoon most opted for the shorter 9 mile option: five of us decided to do the specified longer walk but changed our mind five minutes later when drops of rain were felt. This proved to be a wise choice as it then w=rained-intensely-for-two-hours, a truly shocking downpour, as bad as anything I have ever experienced on an SWC walk (though ironically by the time we got to Tunbridge Wells it had stopped and the sun later came out, making me wish we had done the longer walk after all).

In the Pantilles we ran into the other walkers, one or two of whom had not brought waterproofs and looked like drowned rats. Tea and fancy chocolate cakes revived us. Many then got shockingly early trains home: a few of us had a stroll around historic Tunbridge Wells, followed by a drink in a mouldy-smelling Opera House pub (it might have been all the wet clothes).

Anonymous said...

Three walkers stopped at High Rocks and took steam train back to Tunbridge Wells (£3.5 only), well worth the journey. Just outside Nevil and Gun, we met one other walker who started one hour early and was on her way out just as we walked in and we met her again at the Waterloo East station. She was the only person who managed to do the long walk today.