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Eartham Wood walk on 7th February 2024

Eight of us were lead by Isabel on a 4.9 mile walk starting at the car park in Eartham Wood. We were soon on Stane Street, the old Roman road and Monarch’s Way trail, marching in Roman fashion we headed in a straight line all the way through Eartham Wood. On reaching the six ways signpost, also known as Shippams Poste after the famous sandwich filler family, we stayed with the Roman theme and went straight on under the branches of the ancient trees until we got to the Gumber. Turning right we ducked into the Gumber Bothy covered picnic spot, spreading our coffee break fare on the tables and took the weight of our legs on the benches. The National Trust and West Sussex Council blue plaque’s reference to Hilaire Belloc caused some head scratching. Belloc's Sonnets and Verse (1923) contains the phrase "lift up your hearts in Gumber" which is why it is written on the plaque. Continuing through woodland in a southerly direction we came to Warren Barn where we forked right staying at the edge of woodland before head west and homeward towards The Plain and back into Eartham Woods. On reaching the road, turning right brought us back to the route of Stane Street and Monarch’s Way we retraced our earlier steps to the car park. Although the weather was drizzly and misty, our spirits were not dampened and once changed, we headed to The George in Eartham for our lunch.

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Petworth Park walk on 31st January 2024

We parked in the layby on the A272 and entered the Park at New Lodges. We began our walk of the 700 acre Deer Park walking along grassy paths down to Upper Pond where we took a left and headed up and over towards Lower Pond passing the old sweet chestnuts aged between 300 and 600 years old. Their gnarled forms make a magnificent sight and some of the trees bear witness to lightning strikes. There were Fallow Deer everywhere and tolerated our presence and were happy to pose for photos. Heading north east from Lower Pond up to Monument Hill and a gate leading out into Upperton village we walked single file along the road following the Park wall around to the right. We crossed the road overlooked by the ‘lived in’ Folly reportedly rented to the late Sir Simon Sainsbury and his partner before they moved to Woolbeding, on the edge of the Park. Easy walking down through the woods before taking a left up a short hill alongside the boundary of Pitshill House. Passing the Lodge House we walked down alongside the fence of Pitshill to our coffee stop with one convenient bench. Wonderful views of the house and its immaculate gardens. We headed back through the vineyards towards Tillington, admiring the recently pruned vines, and crossed over the road into the graveyard of the Church through the old lychgate and a beautiful display of snowdrops between the graves. On a walk with no stiles and no mud we suddenly encountered a few challenges. A road closed from a landslip of someone’s garden we took the decision to go around the barrier and walk to the end of the road. We crossed over to the path leading up to the Church and the public footpath leading back onto the A272 to be met with another path closure. Ignoring the warning we walked to the end of the grave yard to meet another barrier so decided to check out what was causing the closure: three men down in a large hole digging up the path with little space either side. At that point we heeded the warning of the men to back track through the graveyard and took the path alongside the main road back to our parked cars. We were given the party room at Halfway Bridge and had a delicious lunch.

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Alice Holt Forest walk on 24th January 2024

Sixteen of us met up in the carpark of The Bluebell pub in Dockenfield for our 4.3 mile walk in Alice Holt Forest. We walked down Boundary Road towards Three Ways, entering the forest in the South East corner. The level but slightly muddy path took us to the junction of Shipwrights Way and the Easy Access Trail which lived up to its name as we walked it, linking up to the Willows Green Trail. Opting to return to the Shipwrights Trail, crossing a stream and using the Lodge Pond and Habitat Trails past a tubular sculpture where we controlled our impulses to climb through, eventually turning left along a muddy path to pick up the Old Stagecoach Road. Our coffee stop was beside the Old Stagecoach Road on a couple of perfectly placed benches cheered up by an early bloom primrose and a static Robin that probably had bedecked a Christmas Tree earlier. Failing to meet any menacing gentlemen in tricorned hats brandishing antique flintlock hardware, we left the Stagecoach Road to take the Family Cycle Trail heading back towards our lunch. Unfortunately before we completed our circuit in the forest, a lame incident required a short backtrack to Boundary Road and The Bluebell where the healing aspects of beer set to work and we enjoyed a hearty lunch.

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Exton and Old Winchester Hill walk on 17th January 2024

We met up at The Shoe Inn in Exton for our 5.3 mile walk up to Old Winchester Hill and back led by Jay and Lindsay.  It was a dry and cold day that needed us to wrap up well.  Crossing the River Meon in full flow, we headed up Shoe Lane and crossed the Warnford Road onto the South Downs Way following it up onto the disused railway line.  Dropping off the disused onto Pound Lane we took the footpath across the fields onto Stock’s Lane and then up the Mill End Lane track where we picked up the Monarch’s Way climbing up to the Iron Age Fort on Old Winchester Hill.

One of the benches on the Hill gave us our resting place for our coffee break.  Crossing the Hill Fort, a boot emergency first aid was needed, luckily we had the material available to afford the repair.  We descended the hill on the South Downs Way, back onto the disused railway again before retracing our steps back to the Shoe Inn, stopping off to befriend a donkey on the way.  The lunch was excellent and a number of walkers succumbed to home made loaves of bread.

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Lurgashall walk on 10th January 2024

Thirteen walkers gathered on Lurgashall Green for a 4 mile walk on crunchy ground following cold weather which done its best to harden up the rain sodden earth. We exchanged stories about ice on the road on the journey there, consoling ourselves that a nice warm lunch would be waiting for us at the Noah’s Ark when we finished. The route took us into the graveyard of St Lawrence Church, over a stile, across a field onto a track to Park Farm, walking between the two ponds, over another stile and into fields again. We used the house at Shop Hill Farm to sight the path across the field and into a copse before venturing onto Jobson’s Lane for a short distance where we turned left up towards Ramsfold Wood. Before reaching the wood we took a path to our left, eventually dropping down onto Quell Lane, enjoying the downhill across Quellwood Common followed by a climb back up to the woods beside Blackdown Farm where we stopped for a coffee break. Buoyed by our caffeine boost, we marched smartly past the houses and Home Farm with glorious views in cloudless skies across to the South Downs and admired the wooden horse and foal before heading down the drive towards the gatehouse back down to Jobson’s Lane where we admired the chainsaw wood carving we had seen being carved last year. Turning north and immediately east on the bridleway towards Coochway Ground, we took the footpath away from the bridleway through Spring Coppice, an orchard and back to the Noah’s Ark for our eagerly anticipated lunch that lived up to our expectations.

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