10 off the train at Cowden. 3 lunched at The Bear Inn, Hartfield. Good sunny weather for the time of year.

Pub Opening Hours on Saturdays:

The Anchor, Hartfield food served: 12 noon to 11.30pm

the Dorset Arms, Withyam: 12 noon to 20.30

Huntsman pub Eridge: 12 noon to 10pm

There were12 of us gathered at Cowden platform. I understand that 2 other walkers had got off the train at Ashridge to walk to Eridge so I have not included them in the 12. The weather started off drizzly turning sunny after lunch.

Only one of our friends did the whole walk via Hartfield, although he did not stop at the pub in there but popped in to see the diners at The Dorset Arms in Withyam. Seven walkers had lunch at The Dorset Arms which although busy, served us very quickly and all enjoyed the quality food. That leaves 5 walkers who had lunch outside the church in Withyam

The terrain was Muddy with a capital M, but most of us had come well prepared for this. I believe that at least 8 people gathered in the Huntsman Pub at the end of the walk for a final drink, joined by the two who had walked a slightly different route. The walk poster just made it onto the 5.50 train where she met six of the walkers, and we had a speedy and jolly return to London.

1 off the train at Cowden where there was light drizzle which soon petered out. It was a soft day which remained dry and mild with warm sunshine in the afternoon until a rumble of thunder heralded a downpour shortly before 5pm. Faster walkers would have escaped the rain but this walker made very slow progress over slippery paths. It was very autumnal with plenty of leaf colour on the ground, a lovely day to be in the middle of the countryside. Grassy fields and woods with streams, some muddy stretches and after Withyam a lot of paved paths which made the going easier. I took the shortcut to Withyam and reached Eridge just after 5pm. Luckily the Huntsman was open and I had a very refreshing cider there before catching the 5.51 train.

No trains from Oxted to London due to a fallen tree in Purley. Waiting for news of replacement buses to East Croydon.

I am recuperating from a back injury at the moment, so will join you for the last leg from the Dorset Arms at Withyham. I'll keeping my boots on this time!

9 people and 1 dog assembled at Cowden station for this undulating route through the Weald under clear bright skis . Many decided to by-pass Hartfield and enjoyed picnics on the hillside just outside Withyham or in its church yard. During lunch, 2 regulars were spotted doing a short Withyham circular, a bit later on the promised Dorset Arms starter was spotted near "the rocks" and finally on the outskirts of Eridge we found loads of the promised wood anenomes and another regular walker walking independently. So 10 in total for people doing most of the walk. Most enjoyed a drink in the sunshine of the Huntsman's garden before catching the 4:51 and a few did an extra circuit around Harrison's Rocks before catching the 5:51pm.

Intend going..

21 at Cowden, including 2 waiting for the train, who set off across n=very-muddy,-in- some-places-barely-passable paths to Ashurst under n-bright-sunny-skies. The conditions underfoot then improved markedly to Withyham, where many enjoyed lunch at the Dorset Arms and someone mistook my mud-plastered boots for their mud-plastered but more expensive ones.

The path from Withyham to Eridge was delightfully autumnal (and not so muddy) through sun-dappled woods and across bare fields to Eridge, where some confused walkers set off for a rail replacement bus to Tunbridge Wells, which turned out to be a replacement for the steam train on the Spa Valley heritage line, not the regular Southern service! The rest enjoyed the conviviality of an unusually packed Huntsman before catching the 17:50 to London Bridge. Oh, and I spotted my boots on the platform at Eridge just in time to effect a swift transfer.

muddy and sunny

16 on this pleasant walk. sunny with threat of rain. 11 of us got off the train and got moving quickly to stay ahead of a French group (we were unnecessarily concerned about pub space). 2 started from Ashurst at different times, 1 had got the earlier train, 1 met us having walked from the pub & 1 caught up having missed the train, but wearing the right boots. 3? did the full route. A perfectly timed arrival at the Huntsman rounded off the walk before getting the train back.

2 hot and sunny

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Just FYI, there is only supposed to be ONE n= number in the report = the TOTAL number on the walk.

the solution is, I believe, to copy and paste the old post w/o the n=xx (but with the total number added) and to then delete the old post. sorry... but it's all for the integrity of the stats...fwiw

copied and pasted from earlier:

David said...

9 caught the early train and started from Cowden and 5 or 6 did the shorter walk from Ashurst, for a total of 14 or 15 walkers. The weather was dry with early sunshine becoming increasingly overcast and breezy . Most chose to eat at the Anchor Inn in Hartfield, but there were a couple of benches in the nearby churchyard for those who had brought sandwiches. After lunch, some of the walkers stopped to visit Hartfield Church, while others pressed on. At least three walkers caught the 3.50 train back from Eridge. Overall, a very pleasant day. The going was largely firm underfoot, with a few boggy patches, and the usual muddy field corners.

Saturday, 18 March, 2017

is anyone doing the short version please ?

Where can I find the walk direction ? It is not in the linked page.

From the linked page click on the respective tab: 'Download Walk (pdf)'

I found it. Thank you, Thomas.

7 dry then wet then dry

5 intrepid souls alighted from the train to start the slide through the muddy fields and hills. 2 others had taken the later train to walk from Ashurst ('caught' at lunch). V beautiful countryside, quiet and undulating, with a fair amount of far views and gushing streams. Muddy paths, slithery hillsides, churned paths and lots of standing water turned this into a proper workout. We decided early on that the Withyham pub would be our lunch choice, so from the church in Hartfield spared ourselves the short out-and-back into the village. Fabulous lunch at the Dorset Arms (we took over the table from the short walkers). Welcome bevvy stop at The Huntsman in Eridge. 15.50 train for some, 16.50 for the others.