Length:
31.6 km (19.7 mi) [Much shorter walks possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent:
451/534m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 7-8 hour
Toughness: 8 out of 10
Toughness: 8 out of 10
Take
the 09.20 service from Victoria to East Grinstead (CJ 09.27,
EC 09.40), arriving 10.20. From LBG, take a train to East Croydon
no later than the 09.17 Caterham & Tattenham Corner service.
Return
trains from Wivelsfield: xx.11 and xx.41 (Thameslink), xx.14 and
xx.44 (to Victoria, direct) and xx.25 and xx.55 (to Victoria,
change Burgess Hill).
Buy an East Grinstead return, you then will have to buy an additional single from Wivelsfield to East Croydon, if you want to stay honest.
Buy an East Grinstead return, you then will have to buy an additional single from Wivelsfield to East Croydon, if you want to stay honest.
This
route in the East/West Sussex boundary lands descends from East Grinstead into
the Upper Medway Valley and past Weir Wood Reservoir and then meanders
through an undulating landscape of hills, streams, ponds, heaths and mixed
woodland, rich in bluebells and wood anemones in season. For the most part,
it largely shadows the course of The
Bluebell Line steam railway, and lunch is either in tranquil Horsted
Keynes or in Scaynes Hill, near the (Sussex) Ouse River. Later you pass through
several parts of the large Chailey Common heathlands and continue
westbound through flatter ground – mostly pastures with fine South Downs Views
– to Burgess Hill (for Wivelsfield station).
An Alternative Finish
at Sheffield Park, the terminus of the Bluebell Line, is not
practicable anymore, as the line has stopped co-funding the buses that ran from
there, but: you could walk out-and-back to the interesting station (adds
5.0 km) and then finish the walk at one of below bus stops for a shorter walk.
Shorter
Walks:
·
Start at Forest Row/Brambletye (i.e. opposite The Chequers
Inn, route from there described in the pdf, cuts 3.6 km) or even Horsted
Keynes/Lewes Road (right on the route, cuts 13.7 km): bus line 270 from
East Grinstead (09.13, 10.05, 11.05…) or Wivelsfield (09.03, 10.01, 11.03…) or Haywards
Heath/Perrymount Road – by the station (09.18, 10.18, 11.20…);
·
Finish at North Chailey/King’s Head bus stop (cut 7.9 km/4.9 mi)
– line 121 at 15.07, 17.07 and 18.07 to Cooksbridge Station and Lewes,
or line 31 at 18.02 to Haywards Heath Station;
·
Finish at a bus stop outside Wivelsfield village on the B 2112 (Ote
Hall Chapel stop, cuts 2.6 km; lines 33, 166, 271, 272).
For
summary, walk directions, map, height profile,
photos and gpx/kml files click here.
Lunch: The Green Man (Greene
King, food to 15.00) or The
Crown Inn (food all day) in Horsted Keynes (13.7 km/8.5 mi); The Sloop Inn in Scaynes Hill (19.2 km/11.9 mi, food to 15.00).
Tea: The Sloop Inn (as above), and one pub in Wivelsfield, 600m beyond the station; or The Bessemer
Arms (hot food to 15.00) in Sheffield Park. T=swc.27
8 comments:
Hello there,
Anyone up for the whole 31k this Saturday?
Sorry not sure why it shows as Anonymous :)
Right now, comfortably sat on my chair, I'm in!Let's see how I feel after 27 km...
Ok cool, same here :)
Hi. Is the mud on the East Grinstead descent unavoidable? Thanks.
I will stick my neck out and say there won't be any mud to speak of. It is early September. Mud does not get serious until late October. At this time of year you can get a teeny bit of surface mud immediately after rain, but only a teeny bit.
Thank you, Walker. Are the 5.9 miles of tarmac/concrete in one or two chunks?
Just n=5 intrepid souls (incl. 1 first-timer) up for this today in w=perfect-walking-weather, namely mostly sunny with some passing clouds and a very gentle breeze.
Plenty of mushrooms were out in the woods of the morning section, with one of the Italian contingent insisting that plenty of them were porcini, so a bag full were collected. We got to HK just after 13.00, and as one walker was already "starving", we obviously had to stop, and the Crown Inn had avails and some fine food. On to the Sloop Inn for tea & coffee, through more woods and gentle pastures, after that through Chailey Common, which was all bracken, birch, gorse and heather, with the heather a little subdued, but it still made for some good colours all in. The South Downs views on the remaining stretch were fewer than in the past on account of tree foliage, but still quite enjoyable against the mainly blue sky.
Mud? Paths were mainly rock-hard and streams low to dry, but the East Grinstead descent never disappoints: the very last bit, where it crosses a few streams, you guessed it: mud. On one stretch unpleasant enough sto divert through trees to get around that section.
At Wivelsfield Station in time for the 18.14, which 1 took, the other 4 decamped into the garden of the (re-opened) Watermill Inn (a G&T for £3.95!!!). A nice day in very fine company.
Post a Comment