Ascent/Descent:
312/305m; Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ¼ hours
Toughness: 6 out
of 10
Take the 09.16 Bognor Regis train from Victoria [CJ 09.23, EC 09.33], arriving Arundel at 10.39.
Return trains: xx.14.
This
walk essentially consists of three
distinct legs between Amberley and Arundel which the walk author has combined to make four different versions:
there is a gently undulating leg from Arundel to Amberley, a relatively
strenuous stretch from Amberley to Arundel and a meandering leg along the Arun
Valley from Amberley to Arundel.
The posted variation
is not one of those four versions: it has the advantages of a more frequent
train out in the morning (enabling a start after 9); of lunch at the riverside
Black Rabbit in Offham or in Arundel (which has more choice than Amberley) and of a finish
in Amberley where the tea place is minutes from the station as compared to
Arundel (where the station is kilometres from any amenities), and yet you can
follow written directions all the way (not that many SWC-folk do that these
days, of course…). And
compared to the long Amberley to Arundel via Amberley walk, you can save a good half kilometre
by turning right on your way into Arundel just after the large roundabout and
picking up the riverside path asap (and turn right along it).
Features: a climb over the South Downs through Arundel Park; Arundel Castle, the
principal seat of the Dukes of Norfolk; the ornate Roman Catholic Arundel
Cathedral, in a French Gothic style; the
interesting parish church of St Nicholas;
the River Arun; the low hills on the edge of the large Angmering Park Estate; the Arundel
Wetland Centre, managed by the Wildlife and Wetland Trust.
The written
directions:
start with para 4.b., follow this walk’s text all the way to lunch in Arundel,
then pick up the text of Book 1 Walk 32 Arundel
to Amberley from paras 5/6 to para 23, and turn left along the
river’s west bank instead of right. In 2 km you reach Houghton Bridge and turn
right across it to The Bridge Inn
and the station. For a shorter walk:
finish after leg 2 in Arundel (more frequent trains).
Lunch: The Black Rabbit in Offham (ca. 13 km, food all day) and plenty of choice in Arundel (ca. 15 km), amongst which are the Ristorante Osteria Pappardelle,
a Pizza
Express, The Red Lion,
the Norfolk Arms Hotel and the Swan
Hotel.
3 comments:
1 SWC-Old Timer - for reasons unknown - started from Amberley, i.e. from the 'wrong'station, and half an hour after the group, and - intriguingly - we never saw him on the route (some though did see him on the return train). 14 others started as posted, from Arundel. The route worked quite well as posted, we thought: a fair mixture of reed-lined riverside seawall, meadows, pastures, woods, rolling hills with far views and Arundel Park. Some impressive stands of autumnal woods. Some impressive buildings and churches.
We got to The Black Rabbit in Offham after 3 hours of walking. It is a big pub and was heaving when we arrived, but it is also a very well-run place, so tables emptied all the time and we quickly found a corner to sit every one of us together. The food was very good, the service quick and attentive. Recommended. [Then again, it's a Hall & Woodhouse pub, so there is no surprise there.]
The front group walked the diversion to North Stoke Church, the longer route around the Wetlands and had a good look at all the churches on route, and got to the Bridge Inn at Amberley Station just before 5 o'clock. 17.14 train for some, another drink and a chat and then the 18.14 for the rest. n=15 w=sunny-and-warm-for-the-season
Addendum: 2 of the 15 (incl. a first-timer) finished after 2/3 at Arundel.
2 took lunch at the Amberley tea room opposite the pub and by the river, which we reached at 1230, and thereby hoped to beat the crowds. This place had tables talking to each other as a result of the gimmick of selling Flora, a variety of tea in which a compressed flower lurks in the glass, and opens spectacularly over two or three minutes in the hot water.
"The route worked quite well as posted, we thought" is an understatement in my view; an exceptional day out. Thanks to Thomas for thinking of it.
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