Robust Rambles

Section 20

East Chiltington to Hassocks

Walk Details

Walk Instructions

GREATSTONE TO GILLINGHAM ROBUST RAMBLE

Section 20  Out

East Chiltington to Hassocks

Map: Explorer 122 Brighton & Lewes

Distance/Time: 6 miles/ 3 hours

Start: The Jolly Sportsman, East Chiltington; parking at the pub with permission; limited parking by the church.

Comment: A straightforward outward section with long stretches of easily walked bridleway. There are some excellent views of the South Downs and interesting churches and houses. The route goes through Ditchling village because it is such an interesting place. There is some road walking in Keymer because of the paucity of railway crossings, but on quiet residential roads. Be aware that the return is longer and more complex so leave plenty of time and daylight for the whole circuit. The circuit may easily be split in two in Ditchling.

With The Jolly Sportsman behind, turn left past the car park and up the country road to East Chiltington church. Pass the church and the war memorial cross, and look in the bushes at the back of the little parking area for a wooden fieldgate.

Go through the gate, ignoring a path off left, and go forward on a grassy path, past an abandoned caravan and on between hedges. Go right up to a brick outbuilding ahead and bear left to a stile in an old fieldgate right in the corner.

Cross and turn right along a flint wall. Where the wall swings away right, bear left across and down the field to a stile into woods at the bottom.

Cross and go steeply down steps to cross two footbridges, then up to emerge into a field. Go forward along the edge with a hedge on your left. Keep close to the hedge to exit over a stile and footbridge onto a quite busy road.

Turn right with care for 50 metres. Cross a whitewalled bridge, and just beyond, by a white gate, turn left off the road into an enclosed path. This is pleasant and easy to follow for some way, eventually reaching a stile into a field. Turn right along the field edge with a hedge on your right.

At an open space at the end of the field is a junction of tracks. Turn right up a bridleway on a farm track. Walk uphill past an organic farm on your left to a T-junction at the top. Turn left on a gravel vehicle track which also a bridleway. Follow this for ¾ mile passing a path off left halfway. Finally reach a road at Streat (ignore path of right just before).

Turn left down the road a few paces, to pass the impressive flint Tudor mansion of Streat Place, and the entrance to the church. Bear right, off the road, onto a bridle way which skirts the churchyard wall. Continue on this for 100 metres. Just after the last house on the right, turn left over a stile and go diagonally right downhill.

Cross a stile and go down steps at the bottom to a meeting of bridleways and a farm road. Go straight ahead on the farm road, passing the farm on your right, for ½ mile.

Finally reach a road. Cross to steps opposite and go up to join an enclosed path with woods on your left. Follow this for some way to eventually cross a stile into a small playing field. Continue up this and cross a footbridge into a larger playing field. Keep on across this with a hedge on your left, to reach and continue up a wide grassy way.

Soon go through a barrier and continue on a roadway, ignoring paths off left and right. Reach and cross a road and continue up a path along the side of a cottage with hanging tiles. Reach a metal kissing gate and continue on a narrow, enclosed path.

Emerge onto a main road and keep forward through Ditchling village, over the main crossroads and on past the church up on the right (well worth a visit). Past the church turn immediately right up Lodge Hill Lane past the Museum and Art Gallery.

Follow the lane uphill, round a left bend. Where the lane swings right, turn left off it over a ladder stile into an enclosed path. Excellent views here of the South Downs. After a long stretch on this Roman Road, cross a footbridge and squeeze stile. Bear diagonally right across a meadow.

At the far side go through a wooden kissing gate into a further meadow. Keep on slightly diagonally right across the centre (ignore path off left towards houses). At the far side, exit through a wooden kissing gate onto a road. Cross to go forward on the road opposite, called Grande Avenue (The Thatched Inn, Keymer, is on the left here).

In 150 metres, go right up the first turning right called Mackie Avenue. In 15 metres turn left on a narrow path enclosed between wall and fence, at the side of a bungalow.

Cross a footbridge and turn left along by a stream, with new houses on your right. Keep on for some way, ignoring a path off left. At the end reach a T-junction with a wide tarmac path. Turn left on this to soon join a road. Keep up this road for 150 metres.

Immediately after house 39, turn right on a track under the railway. At the far side keep forward on a narrow footpath to emerge at the corner of a road. Turn right along Friars Oak Road for some way, eventually reaching a T-junction. Turn right past St. Francis Church and cross a bridge over a stream to come to a T-junction.

Turn left a few paces then right. up Shepherd’s Walk. Follow this a short distance but where it swings right turn left across the grass to a stile. Cross and bear left around the field edge and onto a path which soon cross a bridge and goes through gates to a main road. Turn right a short distance to reach the Friars Oak pub and the end of the section.

GREATSTONE TO GILLINGHAM ROBUST RAMBLE

Section 20  Return

Hassocks to East Chiltington

Map: Explorer 122 Brighton & Lewes

Distance/Time: 6.5 miles/ 3.5 hours

Start: The Friars Oak pub, Hassocks. Parking here with permission.

Comment: This is an interesting walk with excellent views, but time consuming with constantly climbing stiles and searching for paths. Take special care on the railway crossing. Interesting section through free range chicken farm. Outside the Summer season, split this section at Ditchling where the out and return routes are very close.

With the Friars Oak pub behind, turn left along the road a short distance, soon going left through a wooden gate and over a bridge into a large field (this is the route of the outward section). Go straight up the field ignoring the stile over on the right to Shepherds Walk. Pass houses on your right as you climb to the top.

Cross a stile in the top corner into an abysmal muddy path leading to steps up to a flat crossing of the railway. Take special care as trains pass at speed and both lines are reversible. At the far side drop down steps to a stile into woods. At the far side emerge onto a private road by a house.

Bear left on a path along the top edge of a field with a hedge on your left. Continue beyond the field on a clear track to eventually reach a road. Turn right on the road for 100 metres. At a bend cross with care, and turn left up a bridleway on a private road.

Stay on this road to reach Oldland Mill an impressive smock mill of 1703. There is a Y-fork in the path. Bear right into woods. Now there is another Y-fork. Ignore the footpath off right and keep left on the bridleway through woods.

At the end of the wood, turn left through a gap by a metal fieldgate and soon reach a ladder stile. Cross into a large pasture and turn immediately right along the top edge. Exit over a stile into a side road. Turn right a few paces to reach a main road.

Turn right along the pavement for 100 metres, then left up Dumbrells Court Road towards a craft centre. Bear right up to the end of the close (ignore turnings off left). At the top find an enclosed path by an arched mews. Go up between houses then on through a more open section.

Reach a wooden kissing gate on your left. Go through this and down a small paddock to a metal fieldgate and wooden kissing gate by stables. The path forks. Bear right down to a stile.

Over this the path divides again. Ignore the path going sharp right, and bear slightly right down to a pond. Ignore a stile in the fence into woods. Instead bear left right into the corner to cross a four plank footbridge and stile into a field.

Go ahead along the edge of this field ignoring all stiles into woods on your right. Eventually come to the end of the field with a wire fence and power lines ahead, by another stile on your right. Here turn left up the side of the field with a wire fence on your right.

At the top cross a ladder stile and footbridge and go forward through a tall wire gate into chicken grazing area. Go straight across to another wire gate which leads to a stile and footbridge. These in turn    lead to a junction of farm tracks.

Bear right to another tall wire gate. Through this, cross grass, towards trees. This is a huge area for free range chickens. The path is not clear but goes diagonally right across the site, passing a large chicken house on your right and down by a fence to a tall wire gate out of the site.

Go into woods, soon cross a footbridge and go on to another footbridge and ladder stile into a field.

The path divides. Turn sharp right along the bottom edge  to a stile in a hedge. Cross and bear slightly left across a field to a lone tree in the hedge stile. Cross and again bear slightly left to a stile in the far opposite corner.

Over this now bear sharper left up to a metal fieldgate and ladder stile in the top opposite corner, passing a farm on your left. Over the stile, bear right to a road. Cross to a stile by a metal fieldgate opposite. Over this, bear diagonally left across the field to a telegraph pole.

Beyond the pole is a ladder stile (also a little enclosure with a seat around a jubilee oak). Cross the stile onto a narrow grassy path through an oak plantation. It’s a slight shock to emerge into a storage and rubbish area, but the path has reached a golf course.

Turn left to go up and across a car park then on, to pass the club house on your left. Keep on, straight up the grass ahead, with a hedge on your right. Soon reach a footbridge in the hedge. Turn right over this.

Emerge at a junction of tracks and a waymark post. Go straight ahead on a clear path between greens (this is the only path without a pointer on the post but signs appear along the way). Eventually drop down a slope to exit the golf course over a footbridge and stile into a field.

The path divides here. Turn sharp left to walk across to a metal equestrian gate in the hedge. Continue in the field ahead with a hedge on your right. At the far end, exit via another equestrian gate onto a gravel track.

Turn right on this for five metres, past a metal fieldgate on the left, to reach a footbridge and ladder stile, also on your left. Cross into a field and walk across to a stile at the far side. Beyond, continue up the field with a hedge on your left.

In the far corner, by a metal fieldgate, cross a ladder stile and bear right to a squeeze stile. Through this, bear diagonally left towards a distant farm building. Follow the hedge which veers off diagonally right. At the far side pass through horse paddocks to reach a stile and footbridge leading out to a farm track and road beyond.

Turn left on the road a few paces, passing a barn on your right. Turn right off the road over a footbridge and stile into a field. Bear diagonally left across the field. At the far side meet a gravel track. Turn right on this.

At a flint stable block, turn right over a stile, then immediately left to another. Go up a scrubby area past a garden on your left to a crossing of ways. Go straight on through a hedge with a stile into a vast field (currently planted with rape).

Bear slightly left across the centre, heading about 50 metres right of the far corner. There is a gap and narrow path in the hedge and trees which leads to a wooden gate and stile.

Cross and bear diagonally right up a paddock to a wooden fieldgate and stile by the side. Cross three stiles, in and out of paddocks, to reach a railway crossing. Do not cross but turn right, on a track away from the railway, past buildings on your right.

Keep on up the side of a large field to a hedge running off right. Here turn left, through bushes, to a stile. Cross and go between paddocks to a stile by conifer trees. Continue to a ladder stile beyond (racecourse in distance).

Over the stile turn right by the conifers and follow a grassy way past stables. Bear left to a ladder stile onto a concrete track. Turn left on this track up through green metal gates. Keep forward down the racecourse approach road (ignore a path off left) by a flint wall, to reach a T-junction with a tarmac bridleway. Turn left on this. After some way reach a road.

Cross and go forward on a gravel track. Pass through an iron gateway to follow the broad track through gloomy woods for some distance (ignore a path off left). Eventually emerge by Chiltington Church. Go forward to a road. Turn left down the road to reach the Jolly Sportsman and start of the section.