Early Morning Light |
After another lengthy absence I am keen to resume
my journey along the Sussex Border Path, especially as underfoot conditions
have dried out and I have moved past that difficult section through
Gatwick. I had a window of opportunity to do just that over Easter and so
after a hiatus of six months I found myself back in the village of Copthorne to
resume where I had left off back in July last year.
Whitebell |
I didn’t find the village too easy
to park in surprisingly but eventually found a spot just off the path. It
was a warm spring day but with many clouds in the sky that would affect the
mood of the weather on a constant basis depending on whether the sun was in or
out. When the sun was in the chill of the air was still very apparent
while it was rather too warm when the sun was out. I was thankful that
the first part of my walk was in the shade of the trees that dominated the
patch of countryside between Crawley and East Grinstead.
Woodland Retreat |
After crossing the gruesomely busy A264 I soon
left the roar of the traffic behind and walked down a fairly substantial track
through the woods. Birdsong dominated the air now although every so often
it was drowned out by the roar of another jet landing at nearby Gatwick Airport. Eventually the track ran
out as it reached its destination of a little hideaway in the woods. My
path continued onwards past a large farm complete with some very attractive
looking houses as part of the estate. I imagine that prices are tempered
slightly by the sound of jets passing overhead on a regular basis. I
wonder if you ever get used to that sound?
Bluebell Show |
After passing some more open countryside I soon
plunged back into woodlands that seemed to be quite popular with runners.
I on the other hand was more concerned with the profusion of wild flowers that
carpeted the woodland floor. I had arrived at that happy time when
bluebells and wood anemones were both out in full flush. Clearly we have
had a much warmer time of it this year compared to last as it was May before we
saw any proper bluebells back then.
Rowfant House |
I soon came to the rear of Rowfant House, a place
that was once important enough to have its own railway station although the
line is now long since defunct (see my entry on the Worth Way from a few years
ago). The house itself is now a very well appointed country house
hotel. As I wandered through the grounds the staff were gearing up for
what looked like it would be a very busy Easter weekend and beer
festival. Sadly it was all a bit early for me on this breakfast time walk
on Good Friday!
Worth Way Primroses |
At Wallage
Lane I then faced a short unpleasant stretch of
road walking. Thankfully due to the early start there was little traffic
but nonetheless I was very pleased to escape back into the countryside and
within a few yards of the main road I found myself on the Worth Way and a
stretch of the old railway that the Sussex Border Path shares. Last time
I came along here it was a summer evening and I was on my bike. This time
I have to say that my experience was rather nicer than then as the trees were
just budding and the banks were festooned with primroses, greater stitchwort,
bluebells and campion, all contributing to a colourful scene. There did
seem to be large numbers of great tits, blackbirds, chaffinches and robins
along here too – must be a good habitat for small birds.
Crawley Down Bridge |
Along the course of the old railway line the
walking was easy going and I covered the next mile or so very quickly until the
railway track gave way to the slab of suburbia plonked in the middle of the
countryside called Crawley Down. When the railway ran this way there was
a small station here called Grange
Road but that disappeared under the housing estate
now known as Old Station Close. It seems ironic that the existence of
this place could have saved the railway if it had been built a few years
previously. With some of the railway land used to build it though any
chance of the line being reopened has surely been lost forever.
Crawley Down Cherry |
The path left the railway line here and continued
out of the village along a leafy residential lane that eventually gave way to a
track. I passed by a very strange looking yard that was all shut up but
where there was a fleet of derelict looking trucks behind a very large
fence. If the owner had gone bankrupt it seemed amazing that the vehicles
were just left behind to rot. The track continued past a number of houses
set in large gardens before finally heading out into open fields. For the
next couple of miles the walk was through open ground that wasn’t terribly
exciting but was most pleasant, with views across to the High Weald to the
south.
High Weald Views |
Eventually the track doubled back to the Worth Way, where it
would continue into East Grinstead. For
me though I had reached the end of my stint on the official path today and
continued straight on for my route back to Copthorne. After a couple of
miles of not seeing anyone it appeared that I re-entered dog walking country
for the next stretch to the edge of Felbridge seemed to be really well walked
by those with canine friends. I passed by the historic house of Gullege
and the adjacent farm before wandering along the most delightful tree lined
track that I took to be the original entrance drive.
Gullege |
At the end of the track I turned left and had
another lengthy stretch of road walking, which was fairly unpleasant as there
was no pavement for much of its length. The road was mostly residential
although a huge building site was starting to develop on my left as the once
extensive Felbridge nursery had succumbed to progress and was now being
developed as a housing estate. A look at Google Street View on my return
home showed me that it hadn’t been that long since the whole site was covered
with greenhouses.
Gatwick Country |
At the sharp corner of the road I was pleased to
see that my path continued straight on and across a field. As I crossed
the stile I got a strong whiff of garlic and realised that I had trodden on a
Ramsons flower, sometimes known as wild garlic. If anything it reminded
me how long it had been since I had had breakfast!
Ransoms |
Once across the field I entered the slightly
strange world of Furnace Wood. This was a large private estate with
sounds of lawnmowers filling the air as gardeners took advantage of the Good
Friday warmth and mowed their extensive lawns. I wandered through the
estate feeling slightly out of place and was pleased when the path dropped down
away from the estate and past the quite large Furnace Pond, undoubtedly another
example of a hammer pond from when this area was alive with an iron ore
industry some 200+ years ago. The pond itself was well protected from
interlopers as it now belongs to a private fishing club that obviously are keen
to protect their estate.
Furnace Pond |
My path then continued through a number of
fragments of woodland, all carpeted with the lilac blue colour of bluebells
before eventually reaching the A264 once again. A short section of road
walking again followed before I was able to complete the last leg of my journey
back to the car along Green Lane.
Effingham Park Chapel |
As walks go this was far more rural than the map
suggested and although extremely pleasant on account of all the woodland
flowers, it will not live particularly long in the memory. I think there
are better sections ahead of me and certainly behind me on this walk.
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