Length: 18.3 km (11.4 miles) 3/10
In my absence a regular Wednesday walker has volunteered this outing to the Sussex High Weald. The route begins through territory familiar from another SWC walk – but then heads into the rarely visited lands once owned by the notorious “Mad Jack” Fuller via Brightling, including an interesting tower and mausoleum.
Trains: 0943 from Charing Cross ( 0953 London Bridge) arriving Robertsbridge 1105. Return trains are 1610, 1644, 1709, 1744, 1814,1844.
Lunch: Unfortunately there is no lunchtime pub, so a picnic lunch is needed. A a small detour to Brightling village church is suggested, where there is a storm porch with seats; also the church should be open. After that, you can soon pick up a path passing a tower, the second of Jack Fuller's follies. Then you rejoin the walk 222 route passing through Darwell woods, Mountfield Court and back to Robertsbridge.
After Brightling you could also carry on to Battle (walk 222c, 12.2 miles) with a possible late pub stop at Netherfield about 4 miles before the end.
Tea: the Ostrich pub next to Robertsbridge station.
L=swc.222
#2026-09-09T09:40
2 comments:
There were #14 people gathered at Robertsbridge Station, and the day was #sunny-and-warm.
First the positives. This is a lovely walk, very remote feel, and the church in the village of Brightling well worth visiting. We saw 3 of the follies; the pyramid, the tower, and the temple in the distance.
Group Cohesion: Some people wanted/needed to cut the walk short, so the group split around Oxley’s Green. It would be very useful to know the short cut route they did, and whether they came across any impediments or problems navigating.
5 of us continued onto Brightling, 4 followed Brightling Road, as it was getting well past lunch time, and one followed the GPX route and said it was fine.
After lunch, and visiting the tower, the 5 continue, and soon became split as follows: 3-1-1.
The issues:
1) Start of walk, the PDF does not accord with GPX causing much confusion. One group who used the GPX, walked through the Ostrich Car park (as per PDF directions), but found GPX route was blocked, making us scramble over a gate, which we were later informed we should not have done. The other group were led by the walk proposer who had done a recce a few days before and also knew the area. He did NOT follow the GPX or written instructions, and found a much more straightforward route, and we did all reconnect somewhere around Scalands Farm.
2) Upon entering Darwell Wood we were stopped from following our route by a worker in Orange who said due to tree felling we could not proceed, and could go around another way thru the woods. Luckily we did manage by using other paths, and were then back on course for a short distance in the wood.
3) There followed a Tolkienesque nightmare, with fallen trees, paths which had moved or disappeared, and an inaccurate GPX for that part of the wood. Luckily 2 of us were with the walk proposer who knew the way (from previous visit ), and had created a marker in one spot by fashioning a directional arrow from bits of wood.
4) Finally, to add insult to injury, the footbridge and path near Glottenham Manor was temporarily closed, so we diverted to the road, and walked into Robertsbridge (again scaling the gate as GPX path was impassable). We fell gratefully into the Ostrich pub, and met one walker from our small group who agreed the GPX needs to be updated (as do some written instructions). After much needed drinks we got the 16.44 train back to our respective homes.
Short cutter here:
I agree the new start is much better than the footpath down the side of the Ostrich, which has stiles and at one time had some aggressive geese! The new start is through a small housing estate, Mill Rise, and leads directly to the start of Para 2.
Early on, one walker who is awaiting Hernia surgery returned to base as the stiles were a bit too much. We wish him well.
For various reasons some of us wanted a shorter walk or an earlier return to London, so we improvised a short cut by turning left into a field just after the (closed) Jack Fuller pub.
We continued down a car wide forest road to just before the Gypsum mine covered conveyor belt, where we turned left into Darwell wood.
We saw no men or machines but finding the path is not at all easy. You need to keep your phone in front of your face at all times and beat down the vegetation with your free hand. Just when you think you are hopelessly lost, a footpath marker post would appear before you.
A further shortcut was taken along a concrete farm road at Banks Farm, which is now , believe it or not, a tea plantation.
https://bankstea.com/
Back at the romantically dilapidated Ostrich we found the elderly owner in the same armchair as when we last saw him in the winter. We enjoyed a pint and a half of Harvey's in the lush garden thanks to some slight delay on the railway, (speed restrictions) Special thanks to Mr. E who provided home made wholemeal cheese bread for everyone. Well done, that man!
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