Robust Rambles

Section 26 Out

Oakwoodhill to Ewhurst

Walk Details

Walk Instructions

With the Punchbowl Inn on your right, walk up the road. Soon reach a road junction, go straight on signed Walliswood. In 200 metres look for a footpath off right just after a house called Upper Sent. Go right down a gravel drive into trees. Soon reach a corner and a junction of ways. Ignore the path off right into Chapel Copse. Turn left over to a stile into an enclosed path between trees and a wire fence.

At a corner ignore a path off left. Turn right to follow the fence on your right and the field edge. Near the bottom corner of the field, turn left down through woods to enter a churchyard. Go up to pass Okewood Church on your right (well worth a visit). On reaching the porch and main door turn left down a narrow path with stepping stones. Go through a gate and down steps to a footbridge. Go forward through the woods to a junction of footbridges. Turn left to cross the lefthand bridge and begin a long rise up through the wood.

At a meeting of tracks by a metal fieldgate, bear right still on the main path. After some way reach a crossing of footpaths. Go straight ahead an eventually emerge onto a road at Walliswood. Turn right for 150 metres passing the Scarlett Arms pub on your right and a small village green and village pump on your left.

Turn left off the road along the top edge of the green on a tarmac drive. Ignore a path off right and keep straight ahead past industrial buildings. At the back go through a wooden kissing gate into an enclosed path and soon reach another gate. Continue on a grassy way. Pass the buildings of Walliswood Farm over on your left. Bear left across a grassy area to the entrance gate to the farm and cross a stile at the side to emerge onto a road.

Turn right on the road. In 100 metres, just past Foggets Farm (ignore a path off left), turn right up a drive to Northlands and Farthings. Keep on for some way. At the top of a hill, just before house gates, turn left over a stile into an enclosed path by a wire fence.

Soon reach a stile by a metal fieldgate. Cross and bear diagonally left down the field to a stile into woods. Enter the woods and cross a footbridge. At the far side of the wood cross a stile and then a byway to continue over a footbridge into the corner of a neglected field. Go forward along the edge with woods on your left. Skirt a pond and continue until near the field end and opposite old farm buildings. Turn right upto the buildings and pass through them and up the access drive to reach a crossing of tracks by a double electricity pole.

Turn left on a drive between hedges. Pass a house gate and soon reach an old wooden hut on your right. Turn right down the back of the hut into trees. In 50 metres, by a corner of fencing on your left, turn left downhill on an enclosed path. At the foot of the hill, cross a footbridge and stile, into an open stand of trees. Continue by the fence on your right.

At the far end of the trees on your right, bear right in an open area to an ancient stile and rotten footbridge leading to a section of wooden fencing in place of a stile (you might be able to use farm gates on the left) into a paddock. Bear slightly left up the paddock veering away from the fence on your right, to a stile and footbridge in the top hedge.

Cross to emerge into a polo field. Go straight up the side of the field with a band of trees on your right for ½ mile. At the top the trees swing away to the right. Stay by them to the very top corner and two rusty fieldgates leading out of the field into a woodland path. Soon exit onto a road at Plough Farm. Turn left on the road and in a short distance reach a T-junction. Cross to the footpath opposite and walk up the field with wire fencing and trees on your left. Reach and cross two stiles with a bridge between, then follow the fence on your right. Where this ends keep on up and across the field aiming for a corner of woods at the highest point.

On reaching this corner go forward now downhill with a fence and trees on your left. At the bottom of the field, cross a long footbridge and go up through trees on a pleasant path. At a junction bear left. At the next junction of paths turn right down a broad track between trees with a field on your left.

At the top of the woods the track swings right. Carefully look for a stile behind a holly bush and a feint path. Cross into a thicket and keep forward to a barrier. Step over and turn left up an enclosed path between fences. At the top, cross a stile onto a busy road.

Cross to a footpath opposite and go up a gravel drive. Soon cross a stile by an old wooden fieldgate into a field. Bear slightly left across to the far corner by trees and find a stile hidden in the corner. Go on up an enclosed path with woods on your left.

Look out for a stile on your left. Cross this into trees and then go over a footbridge into a rising field. Bear slightly right up and across the corner to a stile in the fence at the top. Cross onto a drive and turn left along it. Keep on the drive all the way down to a road (ignore bridleway off right about 100 metres along).

On reaching the road cross with care and turn right to soon reach the Bulls Head pub and green at the top end of Ewhurst village and the end of the section.