Section 24
Ansty to Warninglid
Walk Details
Walk Instructions
FOLKESTONE TO FARNHAM ROBUST RAMBLE
Section 24 Out
Ansty to Warninglid
Map: OS Explorer 134 Crawley & Horsham
Distance/Time: 6 miles/3 hours
Start: The Ansty crossroads by the petrol station.
Comments: Farms, fields and forests with plenty of stiles.
From the Ansty road junction, by the mini-roundabout, go forward, along the A272, past a bus stop and shelter. Almost immediately, turn right, into Deak’s Lane, passing St. John’s Church building, then a playing field, on your right.
Continue downhill and along the road for over ½ mile. Ignore a bridlepath off left, and a footpath off right as you go.
Having passed several detached houses, the road begins to rise. On reaching woodlands on your left, turn left, on a footpath going along the top edge of a large field, but just inside the first row of trees. An excellent path.
At the end of the field, turn down left, for a few paces, then sharp right, into the woods.
Reach and cross a small, grassy, open space, by a metal fieldgate. Some 50 metres further on, in quite thick woodland, turn right on a footpath (currently and old wooden fingerpost marks the junction).
Continue, across a farm track, and keep on, downhill, for a good distance. Emerge, over a stile, onto a road by a stream.
Turn left, up the road, for some way, passing a house on your right.
At the top of the hill, go right, through a wooden fieldgate, into a sloping field.
Go down the field, by the hedge on your right. At the bottom corner, go forward, through an old metal fieldgate, then over a footbridge, to enter a further field.
Turn immediately left, along the field edge (it’s possible to go straight across the field but the PROW keeps to the edge), then round to the right then left again. Bear round, right, to reach the top side of the field and keep going along the top edge until reaching a metal fieldgate by a stile.
Turn down here on a broad farm track. Soon cross a stream and walk uphill to a metal fieldgate, with a substantial farm (Broxmead Farm) ahead. Through the gate, go diagonally left, across to a second metal fieldgate.
Go through and cross the field ahead, between horse paddock fences, to meet woodland, at the far side.
Here, turn right, up the side of the wood, to the top corner.
Drop down a bank to a stile into a field, and turn left along the field edge (the OS map appears to show the path inside the wood, but it isn’t).
Now is another instance of following a field edge right around a field. Keep along to a corner, then bear right, uphill, with woods on your left, to the next corner. Here go into the woodland.
Do NOT drop down into the wood, but keep forward, through ferns, to soon emerge into a further field ahead.
Go straight up the field, parallel with the trees on your left, to the top left corner. Enter the woods here, over a footbridge, and keep straight ahead.
Ignore a path off right, and keep on and up, to emerge into a field. Once again go forward in the same direction, to the top left corner.
Turn left, into the woods, and soon cross a stream. Turn sharp left and go, uphill, to a metal swing gate into a field.
Turn sharp right, along the field edge, and keep by the edge as it turns left, then right, to the top corner. Here a broad gap goes right, into the next field.
Go along the edge of this second field, with trees on your left, to an old metal fieldgate (there is a stile hidden in the undergrowth alongside). Go through the gateway and turn left, onto a broad grassy track. This soon enters a field. Keep on up, by the hedge and fence on your right.
Stay along the edge of the field, ignoring any gates, until reaching a stile in the top right corner.
Cross onto an enclosed path, by new houses, and soon drop down to a road, running alongside the A23.
Turn right, up the road, towards an overbridge. To reach it follow the road as it swings right and up to a T-junction. Turn left and walk carefully along the verge, to cross the A23 on the overbridge. Over the bridge, keep going, until reaching concrete steps on your right.
Go down these steps, to an asphalt path, and on, down this path, to meet the cycle track by the A23. Turn right and walk, facing the oncoming traffic, to go under the bridge just crossed.
Keep on, until a narrow side road goes off on your right. Walk on down this with a hedge on your left and the A23 beyond.
In a short distance, reach a stile into a field, on the right.
Cross this stile and go up the field, to the top left corner. Go through bushes, to a stile into a second field.
Over this, turn immediately right, and follow the field edge. At a corner, bear left, still keeping to the field edge.
At the next corner, turn right, through a rusty fieldgate, and then left, on a concrete farm track, by a ‘graveyard’ of tractors.
Take care not to miss the next footpath. When the concrete track begins to turn sharp right, by a hedge of holly bushes, turn left, down to a metal fieldgate.
Through this, turn immediately right, through a new wooden swing gate, into a narrow paddock (this is a section of the High Weald Way).
Keep straight on, by the hedge on your left, through several swing gates, and over a footbridge, into a large, open, grassy area. Go diagonally left across this, to a small gate and footbridge, out onto a road by a bungalow.
Turn left along the road, then, in a few paces, right, into the top edge of a field.
Go forward with a treeline on your right, Near the corner ahead, bear right, to an old metal kissing gate, into a wood.
Soon emerge, through a second kissing gate, into a field. Go up with a hedge on your right, to a third gate, into an enclosed, woodland, path.
This soon emerges into a field. Go along the field edge, with a hedge on your left (it’s very lumpy going), and eventually, emerge onto a road.
Turn right, up through houses, to a crossroads in Warninglid. The section ends at the Half Moon public house.
FOLKESTONE TO FARNHAM ROBUST RAMBLE
Section 24 Return
Warninglid to Ansty
Map: OS Explorer 134 Crawley & Horsham
Distance/Time: 5.5 miles/3 hours
Start: The Half Moon pub in Warninglid
Comments: Farms, fields and forests with plenty of stiles.
From the Half Moon pub, retrace the outward route back down the road. Pass the first footpath off left (used on the outward route), and keep on along the road.
Soon the road drops down and turns right (just past a house up on the right, formerly the pub called ‘The Rifleman’, 1906).
Here turn left, off the road, across and in front of Rifleman’s Cottage, to a stile into a field.
Cross, and follow the hedge on your left, to a second stile. Go along the field ahead, to a gap into a third field.
Turn diagonally right, to cross the middle of this field, to the far opposite corner.
Leave the field, to go along by a pond, to a further stile. Cross this, and go diagonally left, across the field to the top left corner and a double stile.
Over these, keep uphill, in the same diagonal left direction, between wire fences, to a stile, emerging onto a road.
Turn right on the road, and keep along, until reaching a road coming in on your left at houses, by a telephone box.
Turn left, down this side road, and walk along for some way. Just after an S-bend, by a house called ‘Firdene’, turn right, over a stile, onto a footpath going down a sloping field.
Go downhill to a stile. Cross a drive, and go on, down through trees, to a further stile.
Over this, bear left, still downhill, to a stile at the bottom.
Over this stile, go forward in trees. Keep on the main path, now uphill, for some way.
Pass un der power lines, to reach the top of the hill. Here, turn off left, over a stile, into an enclosed path.
Eventually, emerge onto a road, opposite a pub/restaurant.
Turn left, up the road a short distance, then turn right, on a road, to cross the A23 on an overbridge.
Keep forward, past houses on your right, to a footpath going off right, over a stile.
Follow the fence on your left, downhill. Bear right, into a second field, and cross to the bottom of the right corner, by the A23.
Go down an enclosed path. Ignore a stile on your left, and keep on, to concrete steps, down to a drive by an underpass.
Turn left here, upto a gateway. Turn right, onto a leafy path, down through trees, to a footbridge.
Go on, through woods, on an obvious path, for some way.
After a second footbridge, emerge onto a road. Turn left on this for some way, uphill.
Just past a low house, Pickwell Lodge, turn right, up a drive. At a gateway, turn sharp right, to a stile.
Cross this and bear left, to reach an iron fence. Follow this fence, on your left, all the way round to meet a gravel drive.
Go ahead on the drive for nearly a mile, through parkland, to emerge through a gateway, onto a public road, by Pickwell Farm.
Turn right on the road, up to a junction with a busy main road. Cross carefully to the country road opposite.
Walk along this for some distance, looking for a bridlepath going off left, between metal bars. Follow this up to a road (might be wet in places).
Turn right on the road (there is a pavement on the far side). Ignore a bridlepath going off left. Keep along a little way, passing cottages on your left.
Look for a farm track turning off right. Go a few paces up this track, then, bear left, on an enclosed bridlepath. Follow this out to a road.
Turn left, up the road, to soon pass a garage, on your right, and arrive at the Ansty road junction and the start of the section.
