Backup Only

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 9 September 2017

Eridge Circular with optional extension

t=SWC.120

Length: 15 km / 9.5 m or 18 km / 11 m
Toughness: 4 / 10
Transport: Take the 10:08 from London Bridge, arriving in Eridge at 11:03. Trains back from Eridge at xx:50.

From the description:

The morning section is an undulating route across typical High Weald territory, starting with a slightly longer route to Mottsmill Stream than that in Extra Walk 109 (Eridge to East Grinstead). You can then choose between a high-level open route with fine views, or a lower route through a secluded valley with good displays of bluebells and other spring flowers. Both routes combine on the approach to Groombridge, one of many rural villages which developed around its railway station. The original hamlet (now called Old Groombridge) is just across the county border, in Kent.
The afternoon section starts by going past Groombridge Place, a beautiful Jacobean manor house surrounded by a medieval moat. You then follow the railway line a short distance up the Grom valley before turning into Broadwater Forest. Much of this area was acquired by the RSPB in 2007 and is now the Broadwater Warren nature reserve (free entry). The southern end of the wood is also a nature reserve (managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust) and the Main Walk goes past one of the massive sandstone outcrops in the area, Eridge Rocks.

You can extend the walk either from Eridge by walking back to Groombridge along the alternative path passing Harrison's Rocks or leaving the official route earlier to cut across to Harrison's Rocks and then to Groombridge. From Groombridge you can then take the steam train either to Eridge (17:06) or to Tunbridge Wells (17:36). Should it get very late there is also a bus at 18:46 to Tunbridge Wells.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Last but not least posting walk numbers here. n=32, 30 at the start and with 2 arriving later. It has a number that was more than two other walks combined. Just to show there is great demand for a walk with <13miles when two others are 13 miles plus. Thanks for posting this lovely walk.

Anonymous said...

I have some sympathy for the above thought. The club is divided. We have a group champion for ever longer and tougher walks whilst another group finding harder and harder to identify themselves with the club for lack of what used to be a normal walk (10-12miles). I appreciate all walker posters' hard work for adding varieties to the club, Let's keep it in good balance.

Anonymous said...

Just to add w=dry-and-sunny-no-rain-until-on-the-train-home

Walker said...

Three of the five walks posted for next weekend are under twelve miles. Numbers attending the Saturday walks often split more towards one walk than the other two, but predicting which will be the favoured one is not easy. But overall there is a pretty good balance between the three Saturday ones. Length is just one of many factors posters think of when choosing walks - weather, time of year, a balance of starting stations, giving all the walks an airing from time to time, and offering walks on different types of terrain being some of the others.

Thomas G said...

My tuppence worth:
No one doubts that there is demand for short walks;
that is why every weekend (incl.this one) the majority of walks are short or have attractive short options (but, yes: short options of long-ish walks afford people to actually live the SWC 'philosophy' and follow the written directions, which seems to be too much effort for many people);
Walker posted a walk this Saturday that had just had two other outings (within the last 6 months), presumably pushing some of his regulars onto the Eridge walk;
and I posted the 3rd Pulborough walk in as many weeks (a consequence of the research needed for the new walk I posted).
So, ideal conditions for a SE of London short walk, but hardly a typical weekend.

Anonymous said...

For some people, the reason to come to group walks is to enjoy others company (not too lazy to read the instruction). Some short cuts at the end of a walk are fine but others earlier in the walk defeat the purpose of coming to group walks.

Thomas G said...

Lazy or not...

If in this day and age of mobile phones, emails, blogs and so-called social media, concerned people can't organise amongst themselves to have a sub-group on a long walk that together walks a clearly described and publicly posted shorter option on a long walk (i.e.: one reads and leads, the rest chat and follow);
or if those same people can't be bothered to cross the river to go on a short walk north of the Thames, or on a Sunday;
then that tells me that the problem can't be that pressing.

p.s.: I haven't noticed a drop in attendance numbers over the weekends since the supposed 'divide' in the group, maybe Anonymous can provide the hard data that suggests the SWC is in crisis?
p.p.s.: as I said above, every weekend the majority of walks are short or with clearly outlined and fully written up short options, so where is the 'lack of balance'?
p.p.p.s.: this is the SWC website, not ramblers.org.uk, so there shouldn't be an expectation to be led on walks

Anonymous said...

That will make posting walks each week redundant if everyone starts to use social media to organise walks themselves, right?

Thomas G said...

I'm talking about going on the posted short option of a group walk. put a comment on the blog that you want to walk the short walk, preferably with a name that people recognise rather than as Anonymous, and ask whether other people would like to join. that's how other people do it.

Anonymous said...

"For some people, the reason to come to group walks is to enjoy others company (not too lazy to read the instruction). Some short cuts at the end of a walk are fine but others earlier in the walk defeat the purpose of coming to group walks."

totally agree with this statement

Anonymous said...

"For some people, the reason to come to group walks is to enjoy others company...'

For some people, the reason to come to group walks is to enjoy the walk in reasonable solitude, but meet the group at the end for refreshments.
For some people, the reason to come to group walks is to keep others in sight for a sense of security, but not talk to them if at all possible.
For some people, the reason to come to group walks is to get out into the countryside, but not worry about navigation, just follow the group.

For some people, the only type of walk there should be, is the type of walk they favour.

Anonymous said...

solitude and totally silent walkers are a minority of the group, I'd say less than 10%. We used to have a silent walking group, even them could not resist the temptation of chitchat so they broke silent at lunch time. Let's face it, human beings are social animals, the very fact that 'solitude' and 'total silent' walkers come to the group walks just proves the point. Let's hope this group will not turn into a bunch of loners who could not see eye to eye.

Anonymous said...

very off putting to scan the weekend walks and automatically exclude certain walks that would otherwise be lovely were it not for their grand mileage. Plus who wants to arrange a short version where one might be forced to walk alone because no-one else is doing it ?!!

Anonymous said...

well...don't automatically exclude certain walks based on their mileage then. simples!

Anonymous said...

Eh?.😐nil points,re-read the comment mate

Frankie said...

Frankie

If the group wants to expand and attract some younger walkers then a longer option may be important. I know of some newcomers who are very keen to have the longer challenge and are very talkative while walking