Extra Walk 128 – Pulborough to Petworth Length: 15¼ to 18¼ km (9.5 to 11.3 miles). Toughness: 5/10
09:06 Portsmouth Harbour & Bognor Regis train from
Victoria (Clapham Jct 09:12, East Croydon 09:23), arriving
Pulborough at
10:17. You need to be in the rear portion, for Bognor Regis. Buy a
return to Pulborough.
There's no station in Petworth. Unless you choose to complete a much longer circular walk (see below), you'll need to catch the Stagecoach 1 bus (towards
Worthing, not Midhurst) for the 15-minute journey back to Pulborough station. It leaves from Market Square at 45 minutes past the hour to 16:45, then at 17:55 and 18:57 (last bus).
Return trains from Pulborough to Victoria are at 23 & 55 minutes past the hour until 18:23, then 19:05 and hourly from 19:35.
This year is the 300
th anniversary of the birth of
Lancelot “Capability” Brown so it seems appropriate to have a walk ending at one of his finest creations,
Petworth Park. If you're a member of the National Trust (or pay the entry fee) you can visit
Petworth House (which currently has an exhibition about him) but there's no charge to enter the beautifully landscaped deer park.
Petworth is a three-hour walk from Pulborough station, so bring some provisions if you think you might need a mid-morning snack before reaching the lunch pub in the town. If you visit the house and/or park you'll probably feel like calling it a day and catching the bus, but directions are included for a full circular walk back to Pulborough if you have the energy. In fact the return route is never far from the bus route and with a bit of planning you could take the bus to (say) Fittleworth or Stopham Bridge and walk the rest of the way, or vice versa.
You'll need to print the walk directions (with details of Petworth's lunch and tea places) from the
Extra Walk 128 page. If you don't plan to do the long circular walk, clicking the 'Main Walk' option will significantly reduce the amount printed. T=swc.128