Ascent/Descent:
556/578m; Net Walking Time: 7 ¾ hours
Toughness: 9/10
Take
the 09.36 Bognor Regis & Southampton
Central train from Victoria (09.43
CJ, 09.53 EC), arrives Pulborough 10.51.
From the bottom of Station Road take Bus
1 to Midhurst on 10.58.
Return trains from Arundel: xx.13 and xx.46 to 21.46, then 22.58 (change
Three Bridges).
Buy an Arundel return.
The
route of this walk leads out of Midhurst in a northerly direction past the
ruined Cowdray Castle by the River Rother and via Cowdray Park with its polo
fields, then passes Easebourne priory and takes you through a mix of farmland,
some wooded hills and the Lod Valley, past Nyetimber and Upperton vineyards to
Tillington, a first possible lunch stop. From there you cross the Rother Valley
towards the South Downs, and commence through Burton Park with its pretty
church and imposing mansion.
Surrounded
by wooded downs you continue through the sleepy villages of Barlavington and
Sutton and on through Bignor and West Burton before ascending through an
atmospheric hanging wood (Egg Bottom Coppice) to cross the South Downs Way near
Westburton Hill.
An
ascent through Houghton Forest to the highest point of the walk is followed by
a series of smaller woods and heathlands all the way to Arundel’s picturesque
centre, 1 kilometre from the station.
This
walk has been written up in both directions in separate pdf’s. Make sure you download the correct file.
For a shortcut:
Bus 1 Midhurst –
Petworth – Worthing (via Pulborough Station) travels along the A 272 between
Midhurst and Tillington, enabling a shorter walk. From Midhurst the times are
as follows (stops Tillington 8 minutes later and Petworth 15 mins later): hourly
on xx.30.
Bus 99 Chichester –
Duncton – Petworth
(6 buses per day) runs along the A 285, enabling a finish at Coultershaw Bridge
(Badger Inn) or in Duncton Heath End, and through Sutton. This is a flexible service, pre-booking
is required: call 01903 264 776, 09.00-17.00 Mon-Fri, 09.00-13.00 Sat! In
Petworth you must connect to above Bus 1.
Lunch: The Horse Guards Inn in Tillington (9.2 km/5.7 mi, food 12.00-15.00; The Old Railway Station in Coultershaw (12.4 km/7.7 mi) ; The Badgers in Coultershaw Bridge (12.7 km/7.9 mi, 350m off route, food 12.00-14.30).
Lunch: The Horse Guards Inn in Tillington (9.2 km/5.7 mi, food 12.00-15.00; The Old Railway Station in Coultershaw (12.4 km/7.7 mi) ; The Badgers in Coultershaw Bridge (12.7 km/7.9 mi, 350m off route, food 12.00-14.30).
Tea: The Kings Arms, The
Eagle Inn,
Butlers,
Bay Tree
Restaurant, Ice Cream & Candy Parlour, La Campania,
Motte &
Bailey Café, The Norfolk Arms, The Red Lion, Ristorante
Osteria Pappardelle, Pizza Express, The Swan Hotel.
For summary, map, height
profile, pdf walk directions, photos
and gpx/kml files click here.
T=swc.217
1 comment:
n=9 walkers enjoyed near perfect walking weather, namely w=warm-with-a-breeze-and-later-overcast, despite a 15 minute period of drizzle/rain. The Cowdray Estate had a Polo tournament on, the golf course was busy and at the other end of the estate some hunting dogs were trained in retrieving (dead) birds. Once we had negotiated all this acitvity, we were nearly in Lodsworth, passing the first pub, but striding on to Tillington and the lovely Horse Guards Inn (it was just featured in y'day's 'The i'). About half stopped there for lunch, the rest strode on to The Badgers in Coultershaw Bridge, another very good pub. The Tillington group joined us there for a coffee and we commenced together (bar one gpx-led picnicker). A short period of rain followed (quite atmospheric really, with the clouds rolling in over the wooded South Downs ridge) and we soon passed the soon-to-be-reopened White Horse in Sutton. Nearly there!
Arundel was reached around half past 7 and one of us pushed on to get the 19.46 train because of a party awaiting him in London, the rest stayed for a drink or two.
A good mixture of estate parkland, wooded ridges, vineyards, waterways and rolling hills, methinks.
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