Book 1, Walk 16 - Balcombe Circular
Lord Snowdon's Japanese Pavilion, Gardens of Nymans and Ruins of Slaugham
Length: 17.6 km (10.9 miles)
Toughness: 5 out of 10
Either
London Bridge: 10-42 hrs Brighton service East Croydon 10-56 hrs
Arrive Balcombe: 11-22 hrs
Or
London Victoria: 10-23 hrs East Grinstead service. CJ 10-29
Arrive East Croydon: 10-40 hrs
Leave East Croydon: 10-56 hrs - on Brighton service, as above
Arrive Balcombe: 11-22 hrs
Return to Blackfriars: 16-29, 17-28 and 18-22 hrs - changing at East Croydon for London Bridge or Victoria
Today's walk in West Sussex contains plenty of variety, with the River Ouse your water feature for the day.
Due to the late start today your suggested lunch stop is the Red Lion in Handcross. The grub on offer is perfectly acceptable by chain pub standards. Alas, the SWC favoured pub on this walk, The Chequers in Slaugham is still closed.
After lunch you walk to Slaugham and after passing the Ruins of Slaugham Place you cross the A23 road by a new underpass and head for the village of Staplefield via farmland, roads and meadows. Onwards then beside the River Ouse, through a farm and along a long farm road before you cross fields and go through woods on your return to Balcombe. The Tea Rooms in the village will be long closed by the time you arrive, so your only tea option will be the Half Moon pub, now owned and managed by the villagers.
T=1.16
Your walk Directions here L=1.16
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n=3 of us on an w=overcast-but-mild day, with rain threatening at times but fortunately held off. Leaf colour in the woods is coming on nicely and should be good in ten days time. We stopped for lunch at the Red Lion in Handcross where two of us enjoyed an excellent, good value two course lunch (despite a long wait between courses), with our colleague sitting in the grounds of Nymans to enjoy her sandwiches during the only time in the day when the sun came out.
As the afternoon leg of this Circular walk once past Slaugham is less than exciting (although improved with the new pedestrian tunnel under the A23 road) we decided to take an alternative afternoon route - to Faygate via the High Weald Landscape trail and St Leonard's Forest. We enjoyed some nice views and leaf colour along the way, and the afternoon was enjoyable although a bit repetitive along the long, straight forest trail. We (just) managed to negotiate a difficult road crossing, chocker with commuter traffic, as we entered Faygate, where we stopped for a drink at the pleasant Holmbush Inn, close to the railway station. The 18-07 hrs stopping service eventually returned us to East Croydon, then fast to Victoria.
An enjoyable day's walking, with an unplanned afternoon leg - thank you to E.D for suggesting it.
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