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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 6 July 2019

Saturday Walk – A (slightly different) Balcombe Circular via Ardingly

Extra Walk 174a – Balcombe Circular, via Ardingly
Length: 16¼ km (10.1 miles). Toughness: 5/10

10:05 Brighton train from London Bridge (East Croydon 10:19), arriving Balcombe at 10:46. You can also catch this Thameslink service earlier on its route, eg. West Hampstead 09:39, St Pancras 09:50, Blackfriars 09:59.

A quirk of the ticketing regime is that you can get a cheap Super Off-Peak return to Balcombe from Thameslink stations in central London, but only the (more expensive) regular Off-Peak return from other stations like Clapham Jct and East Croydon.

Trains back from Balcombe are now half-hourly, at xx:22 & xx:52.

We typically post three or four Balcombe Circular walks of some description each year, and as the last was six months ago I've stepped in with this little-known variation. You'll recognise large chunks of the route from other SWC walks but there are some less familiar stretches to keep you guessing, including a new footpath right at the start.

The most conveniently placed lunch pub is the Ardingly Inn, but if you enjoyed the Gardeners Arms on a similar walk last year you could follow the longer route in §6b to revisit it. The extra 1½ km might imperil your tea stop, but if you call the Balcombe Tea Rooms they may stay open past 4pm. If not, the nearby Half Moon Inn is a good alternative. And if you've had a reviving cuppa, why not try the slightly longer alternative route back to Balcombe station, an arc around the hill on the other side of the railway.

You'll need to bring the directions from the Haywards Heath to Balcombe walk page. Clicking the 'a. Circular Walk' option before printing will save a good few sheets of paper on this multi-option walk.
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1 comment:

Mike A said...

n=12 I think (including the poster) on this walk in w=much_hotter_than_forecast_weather_with_sunshine_all_day. One walker (you know who I mean) possibly went off piste to explore the Ouse Valley Way passing Great Bentley and Ryelands farm. (The front gardens of Rylands Farm were apparently exquisite). There were may visitors at the sailing centre at Arlington Reservoir enjoying the balmy sunshine and water. I guess some walkers visited Ardingly for lunch with others continuing alongside the reservoir. A cricket game was in full swing (pardon the pun) back at Balcombe where the Cafe shut just after 3pm :-( however, the Half Moon was at hand as a plan B refreshment stop. Those walking down the public footpath back to the station would have spotted the game of bowls taking place en route. Nice to have two trains an hour back to London where there was plenty of seating (unlike the morning service!)