Section 27
Copsale to Coolham
Walk Details
Walk Instructions
FOLKESTONE TO FARNHAM ROBUST RAMBLE
Section 27 Out
Copsale to Coolham
Map: OS Explorer 134 Crawley & Horsham
Distance/Time: 5.5 miles/2.5m hours
Start: The car park by the Downs Link railway trail, opposite the Bridge House housing on the site of the old pub.
Comments: Farms, fields and forests with plenty of stiles. Some road walking on the final section into Coolham. Unfortunately the busy A24 has to be crossed at a dual-carriageway section. Great care is needed. Thankfully the Selsey Arms pub in Coolham is currently open.
With the Bridge House housing sign on your right and the car park for the Downs Link trail on your left, walk on along the road, which soon bears left and slightly uphill. Keep on the road for some way, looking for a bridlepath going off right, along the drive to Pollardshill Farm.
Keep on, past the farm buildings, and then past cottages on your right, to reach the busy A24, dual-carriageway road.
Unfortunately, the path makes a flat crossing, but there is a broad, clear opening, in the central reservation. Look carefully RIGHT and do not cross if any vehicle is in sight. Look LEFT before crossing the far carriageway.
Over the road, keep forward, on a grassy track. Continue in the same direction, weaving slightly right, then left, past a redundant stile, then on. Soon reach a second stile in the fence on your right.
Cross, and bear left, down a rough slope, into trees. Pass a further stile, and drop down to a footbridge.
Cross this and go up a steep bank, to a stile into a field.
Turn right, along the edge of the field, between old trees on your right, and new planting on the left.
At the top of the field turn left, still along the edge and still between old trees on your right and new on your left.
At the top of this side of the field, bear right, out of the field, on an enclosed track, to a road.
Cross the road to a bridlepath, the other side. Follow this broad track through trees, then through a gate into a field.
Go ahead, with a hedge on your right. Soon drop downhill, to cross a deep stream, and then go uphill a short way, to reach woodland ahead.
Do not go into the woods, but turn left, along the edge, uphill, past old cowsheds. Soon follow the path into woods at the end of the field.
Keep on through the woods, eventually dropping down to a footbridge. Cross and go up to a stile into a field.
Keep on in the same direction, with woodland on your right.
At the end of the field, cross a footbridge, and turn immediately right, to go over a stile, by a green swing gate.
Follow the track into woods, as it bears right, to pass a restored ‘Wagon’ Pond, then bears left, to a wooden hurdle into a field. Cross into the field and go forward along the edge, with trees on your right, to the next corner. Cross a stile by a wooden fieldgate, onto a road.
Cross the road to a footpath beyond, and cross a stile, by a green gate, into a field.
Go along the edge of the field, with trees on your right, to the far corner ahead.
Go through a gate and on, through woods.
At the far side, cross a stile in a hurdle fence, into a sloping field, and go on, downhill, by trees on your right, to a corner.
Cross another hurdle, and go through trees to a road.
Turn left on the road for a short distance. Then turn right, on a footpath, up the entrance drive to Baker’s Farm. Walk up the drive to the farm. At the entrance, bear right, to skirt the buildings, over on your left.
After the last building, and just past a sand paddock for training horses, turn sharp left, on a rough grassy path.
Soon emerge onto a farm yard. Keep forward along a farm track.
Where the hedge on your left comes to a corner, the track forks. Go left down to a gateway.
Through this, continue uphill, with a double hedge on your left. Go through a gate into a field, and keep on uphill, by a fence on your left.
At the top, go through a gateway, and keep forward, now downhill. Go over a stile by a fieldgate, and keep on, by a fence on your left.
At the bottom, by farm buildings over left, reach another metal fieldgate. Cross, and turn immediately right on a drive, then, almost immediately, cross a stile, off the drive in to the field on your right.
There are two footpaths diverging here. Ignore the path going diagonally right across the field; instead, bear left, almost parallel with the wooden fence on your left. Diverge very slightly, away from the fence, and continue to the very furthest corner of the field.
Find and cross a footbridge into a field, and keep forward with a hedge on your right, for some way, ignoring two metal fieldgates on your right.
At the far corner, leave the field. To go into trees, and cross a footbridge and stile, into another field.
Go straight forward, up and across this field. Aim for power line poles, and follow them to a stile by a gate, at the far side. Cross, out onto a road by a depot (take care in the field; currently it is rough and has a deep trench across the centre).
Turn left on the road for some way, uphill, then on past houses and a school, to a crossroads with the A272. The ‘Selsey Arms’ is over on the left at the end of the section in Coolham.
FOLKESTONE TO FARNHAM ROBUST RAMBLE
Section 27 Return
Coolham to Copsale
Map: OS Explorer 134 Crawley & Horsham
Distance/Time: 5.5 miles/2.5m hours
Start: The Selsey Arms in Coolham
Comments: Farms, fields and forests with plenty of stiles. As ever a devious and constantly changing walk. Some short sections of roadwalking. Unfortunately the A24 must be crossed again on a flat crossing; enormous care is needed.
Pass the Selsey Arms on your left, and cross the A272. Go on down a minor road (B2139), south, away from the crossroad.
Soon reach a bridlepath going off on your left (it also goes to a WW2 remembrance site).
Leave the road and go through a metal fieldgate. Stay on this broad, easy to follow bridleway for a mile. In the middle it twists and turns a little, but the path is obvious – ignore all fieldgates.
Pass a row of trees (in remembrance of fallen from WW2). Finally the path reaches a junction of tracks, before a wooden fieldgate.
Go forward, through the gate, and on, over the field ahead.
On reaching a hedge and fence, keep it on your left, and go onto the furthest corner of the field.
Go through a gate into an enclosed path, which eventually, emerges onto a road.
Turn left on the road for some way, going down to cross a small bridge, then uphill.
Just before the top, turn left, off the road, over a stile by a metal fieldgate, onto a drive.
Go down the drive and cross a stile, by a metal fieldgate. Go on, past buildings on your left, to a Y-fork of tracks, by a small pond.
Bear right, up to a long, narrow pasture.
Continue forward to the very end, and go through a wooden fieldgate, onto a farm track.
Turn right on this track. Where the track swing s left, continue forward on a narrow path, through bramble bushes.
Keep ahead on this, to eventually emerge, with some difficulty, over narrow stiles by gates, onto the busy A272, by an engineering works.
Turn left along the road verge for a short distance, then cross with care, to a footpath opposite, leading into a field.
Turn immediately left, to follow the field edge, with hedge and road on your left, to a corner by a stile. Ignore the stile and turn right, up the field edge, with trees on your left.
Halfway up the field, by a footbridge on your left and a stour power lines pole, reach a junction of paths.
Bear right, diagonally across the open field, to a stile, midfield, and on, up, in the same direction, to a further stile by gates.
Cross and turn right, following the treeline on your right, down to a wooden fieldgate. Go through, and turn left, to follow the hedge on your left. On reaching a belt of trees, bear right, to stay along the field edge, with the trees on your left.
Keep on, to a corner of the field, and turn sharp right, still along the field edge, with a hedge on your left.
At a corner, bear left, over to a stile by a fieldgate, and emerge onto a road. Turn right and follow the road for ¼ mile, passing the ‘George & Dragon’ pub on the right. Keep forward, past road junctions, to eventually pass ‘Well Cottages’ and your right.
The road soon swings right. Here leave it, to go forward onto a bridlepath. This soon leads into a field.
Keep going, with trees on your left. At the end, go through a gate, to a junction of tracks.
Turn sharp left, through a swing gate, onto an enclosed grassy track. Go on un der power lines, to a T-junction.
Turn right on a farm track to Goffsland Farm. Go through a gate and pass between farm buildings, onto the entrance drive to the farm, by a small car park.
Turn right on the drive, and follow it, as it bears left, then up and away from the farm. Pass a house on your left and continue out to a road.
Turn left on the road for some way. Walk uphill, passing cottages on your right. At the top of the hill, turn right on a bridlepath, which is the entrance drive to Brick Kiln Farm.
Go through a gate, by a cattle grid, and follow the concrete drive for some way, turning left to pass by farm buildings.
Turn right, on the main concrete track, passing a small car park by the farm; itself on your right. Keep on down through trees (ignore a path off left).
The drive passes ‘Brown’s Barn’. An isolated house on the right, and then bears left, over to a wood, and down to a stream.
Cross the stream. The main track swings off left here. Bear right, off the track, up into a field, and swing right, to follow the field edge, with trees on your right, to a corner.
At this corner turn left, over a ditch, into the next field. Immediately turn left, up by a hedge on your left.
At the top corner, go forward, on a rough track, through trees, to a swing gate. This leads to a very busy dual-carriageway. Unfortunately, this needs to be crossed. Pedestrians are left with a flat crossing and a gap in the central reservation.
So turn left, up the grass verge for a few metres, looking for a rough gap and track in the centre reservation. LOOK RIGHT AND ONLY CROSS WHEN NO VEHICLES ARE IN SIGHT.
Cross the entre reservation take similar care with the traffic coming from the LEFT.
At the far side, cross to a footpath going along a field edge, with a hedge on your right.
At the end of the field, bear left, to an old wooden fieldgate, and emerge onto a road.
Turn left for some way, back to Copsale and the start of the section.
