Length: Main
Walk: 16¾ km† (10.4 miles).
Toughess: 4
out of 10
Train: Take the 10.00 train from London Bridge; Norwood Junction 10.12; alight at East Croydon at 10.16 and change onto the 10.33 Uckfield train to
Eridge.
Return
trains: xx:02 mins past the hour
Ticket type:
Return to Eridge
Description: A very attractive High Weald walk, which
should yield some lovely swathes of wood anemonies and bluebells. Walk past the impressive Harisson Rocks with climbers scrambling about, and you
may hear toots from the local steam railway (if running).
Lunch Pub: Both the suggested lunch pubs are in
Groombridge. The more characterful one
is the Crown Inn, but the Junction Inn is a bit
more spacious. The village also has a grocery shop.
Tea (or something
stronger): The Huntsman pub in Eridge
few minutes from the station is a good place to while away the time until your
train arrives.
Details of
the walk can be found here: https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/walk/eridge-circular/
L=swc.120
4 comments:
Has the train time from london bridge changed to 10:15?
Any train from LB to catch the Eridge train from E Croydon.
I thought an earlier train to EC would give more time to change trains in case of delays etc.
N=18 on this walk, on a gorgeous w=mostly-sunny day (some static cloud in the afternoon): the kind of day you dream about all winter…
Almost immediately we ran into a huge field of oilseed rape in absolutely tip-top condition; merely stopping to take a photo (or two) of this meant I lost sight of most of the group. There were then flowers and butterflies (lots of green-veined white, a fair number of orange tips), along with birdsong and bright green foliage. This did not help me to catch up.
Also bluebells. It is a good many years since I came to this area in bluebell time, and I was astonished: they were everywhere and absolutely at their best. I even upped the quotient with a little deviation through Marchant Wood, which was a thick blue carpet. Two stray walkers joined me on this, but later I did the valley route from Mott’s Mill alone (though I subsequently learnt one other did it separately). This was first a wood with thickly covered bluebell slopes either side, and then a meadow full of green-veined whites and flowers (cuckoo flower, bugle, dandelion). Absolute heaven.
Into this reverie broke the awareness that it was nearly 1pm and I was in danger of missing lunch. So I crammed on all available sail and hurried through a field of yellow charlock and on into Groombridge. Some inexplicably went to the Junction Inn here, but seven or eight of us went to the lovely Crown Inn and ate at an outside table. This pub is run by an old couple who are not the speediest at taking orders or producing food, but it has an interesting and varied menu of the kind that has largely disappeared from other pubs. We had a tasty and congenial lunch.
In the afternoon we had differing views about the best route past Harrison Rocks. Fans of Scottish folk songs will know that taking the low road is quicker than alternatives: by heeding this advice I ended up well in the lead (somewhat to my surprise). Approaching Broadwater Warren I found that Birchden Farm is now a vineyard and has an open air cafe. Four other walkers caught up with me here and we stopped for tea, with two also buying asparagus. Other walkers further back (I later learned) were unaware of this and carried on to the Huntsman, thus getting there before us.
We must have arrived at the pub just after they got the 6.02 train. (I hear others got the 5.02 and the 4.02: we hope no one got the 3.02 on such a lovely day…) We had drinks in the garden and got the 7.02, shocked to find that it was 8pm (and still light) as we approached London. And so ended the most perfect SWC walking day, with congratulations to the poster for a great choice.
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