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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.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

Wednesday walk Balcombe to East Grinstead - Wakehurst Place, Priest House and Weir Wood

Book 1 Walk 34 - Balcombe to East Grinstead

Length: 17.2 km (10.7 miles)
Toughness:  6 out of 10     Probably over-rated. No serious hills.

Either
London Bridge: 10-05 hrs    Thameslink service from Bedford to Brighton.  East Croydon  10-19 hrs
Arrive Balcombe: 10-46 hrs

Or
London Victoria: 09-55 hrs  Brighton service   CJ 10-02 hrs
Arrive East Croydon: 10-11 hrs   Change trains
Leave East Croydon: 10-19 hrs   Thameslink service as above
Arrive Balcombe: 10-46 hrs

Return

East Grinstead to Victoria: 06 and 36 mins past the hour up to and including 17-36, then 17-51, 18-06, 18-21 and 18-36 hrs.  Change at East Croydon for return to London Bridge.

Rail ticket

A little tricky: a Balcombe return is not usually accepted by rail staff at East Grinstead station, They usually require you to possess a ticket from East Grinstead to East Croydon. So you choose: either a day return to Balcombe, plus a single from East Grinstead to East Croydon, or buy separate off peak singles, London to Balcombe, and East Grinstead to London, or buy a day return to Balcombe and try sweet talking your way though the barriers at East Grinstead: again, your choice !

This pleasant walk takes you via Balcombe Lake through gentle wooded hills as you make your way to Wakehurst Place, the seed conservation and germination centre for Kew Gardens aka the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Free access to the facilities for National Trust members. The public footpaths through the complex are open to all. The Seed Cafe in the complex makes for an early lunch stop (after 3 miles). Otherwise, the walk continues through woodland and open land as you make your way to the village of West Hoathly, where you stop for lunch at the popular - and usually very good - Cat Inn

After lunch you pass through more woods as you cross the embankment for the Bluebell Railway. You then head for Stone Farm Rocks where rock climbers practise their skills on the sandstone rocks. Onwards then around Weir Wood Reservoir, at times on the Sussex Border path, then on into East Grinstead. 
T=1.34
Walk Directions are here: L=1.34



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

there are some absolutely treacherous steps down at the beginning of this walk where I had a really awful fall many years ago . Hold tight to the hand rail . maybe see u all jfk

Mr M Tiger said...

I second that .... broke my arm on these steps a few years back. The mossy stone is slippery when wet.

Marcus said...

I am informed n=4 on this walk, with w=rain-during-the-lunch-stop, but otherwise mostly dry and autumnal. The diners enjoyed an excellent lunch at the Cat Inn, West Hoathly. I'm sorry I was unable to be with you.