Robust Rambles

Section 26

Storrington, Smock Alley to Cootham

Walk Details

Walk Instructions

Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble

Section 26  Out

Smock Alley, West Chiltington, to Cootham

Map: OS Explorer 121 Arundel & Pulborough

Distance: 4 miles/2.5 hours

Start: The Five Bells, Smock Alley. There is no parking except at the pub; do ask to park if intending to take refreshment later.

Comment: An interesting and varied walk with lots of contrast from lanes with detached houses in many styles, to open fields, woods and hidden valleys, and even a grassy airfield to cross. However, there are many stiles, and many streams. With low-lying fields, the paths become extremely muddy in winter and saturated fields hold surface water. After rain, wellington boots are the easiest option.

With the Five Bells pub behind, turn right back down the hill a short way. Just before the road junction ahead, turn right, up a private road, called Lordings Lane. Follow this uphill for its complete length, ignoring side paths, to reach a T-junction at the top.

Cross the road, bearing right, to an enclosed footpath by an electricity substation. Follow this crossing two drives to reach a wooden gate into fields.

Cross a stream and follow the path uphill, then left along by a hedge. At a junction of paths, turn right uphill on a broad track. Near the top of the rise, turn left, by a metal fieldgate and large tree, onto an enclosed footpath.

Eventually pass a windmill and reach a road. Turn left and walk along with care (there are some grass verges). Soon reach the Village Hall on your right. Turn right through gates into the car park and walk across, dropping slightly left to a gateway into a playing field.

Go forward along the bottom of the field passing the pavilion on your left. At very end of the field in the corner, pass a footbridge and go forward over a two plank bridge, then over a pipe and a stile into a field.

Ignoring paths off left and right, go downhill to a narrow footbridge in the bottom corner. Cross and continue with a ditch on your left to a metal fieldgate. Through this go straight uphill, ignoring paths off left and right, and crossing a stile midway.

At the top cross a stile by a metal fieldgate and go forward a few paces on a road to reach a meeting of gateways. Here turn left into a narrow, enclosed path on the West Sussex Literary Trail. At the bottom reach a rough vehicle track. Cross to wooden gates into trees on Nutbourne Common. Go forward in the same direction as before with the edge of the wood over on your right.

Reach a corner with a wooden gate and go through to leave the trees and follow a wire fence along a field edge. Near the top of the field reach a metal fieldgate on your right. Go through and across the corner of a field to a stile by a metal fieldgate out onto a road.

Turn left along the road. Go downhill past a nursery entrance, then over a brick bridge at the bottom. In a few paces turn right over a stile onto a wide path between trees with a stream on your right. At the end cross a stile by a rusty fieldgate and continue on by the stream for a short way.

This field is very wet. At the corner ahead the stream splits off left. It is necessary to cross this before turning left up a wide grassy way between a line of trees on your left and a fence on your right. The broad way soon narrows to pass bushes.

At the other side cross two footbridges over a wet area and go uphill through trees. At the top go through a gate to enter a golf course. Bear slightly left between tall pine trees.

Cross a green towards yellow posts (not path markers) and an old silver birch tree. Continue over a fairway to a wooden gate in trees at the far side.

Bear left downhill on a bridleway. At the bottom cross a stile by wooden fieldgate and turn left on the golf club access road. Follow this uphill for some way. Pass the Club House and continue. Go through a gate then on again.

Pass through the buildings of Hurston Place Farm and stay on the drive down through a gate to reach a little triangular junction with a rather potholed country road.

Turn right on the road. Soon cross a brick bridge and stay uphill on the road for some way (ignore a path off right into fields. Eventually the road swings right by barns. Here turn left off the road on a path through trees.

Go through a wooden gate and keep on downhill, ignoring a path off to the right. At the bottom zigzag left (twice), then right, to follow the bottom edge of a field with a stream on your left. Continue on as the path becomes enclosed between a fence on your right and the stream.

Pass a water treatment works up on your left. Here the fence end. Leave the streamside path and turn sharp right uphill, to the end of a fence at the top. Go forward in the same direction, for some way, towards a windsock. The South Downs are in the distance.

Pass the windsock and keep on across an airfield for gliders. Exit through posts at the far side with the noise of a road ahead. Turn immediately left along a narrow muddy path enclosed between fence and bushes. Pass  through farm buildings and eventually over a stile.

In a few paces reach a vehicle track. Turn left on this to a junction with a drive and then go right a few paces to a busy road. Turn left along this (there is a pavement the other side), and soon reach the Crown Inn in Cootham and the end of the section.

Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble

Section 26  Return

Cootham to Smock Alley, West Chiltington

Map: OS Explorer 121 Arundel & Pulborough

Distance: 3 miles/2 hours

Start: The Crown Inn, Cootham; ask to park if intending to visit later, limited on road opportunities.

Comment: A  shorter return but very muddy paths and a very waterlogged area make slow going. An undulating route mostly along field edges with some fine views of the South Downs. Many stiles as usual.

With the Crown Inn behind you, turn right and walk up through the car park, parallel to the road, to reach a lane called Duke’s Row at the top. Turn right along this lane. Soon turn right and walk along with cottages on your right.

After the last house stay on the lane as it drops around to the right and enters a mobile home park. Go right up the park. At the end is a brick house. Go to the left of this, passing some detached garages, to find a narrow sunken path.

Go forward on this into woods. Sections can be very muddy. Cross a footbridge and climb up through trees to a junction of paths. Turn right and go up to the corner of a field.

Bear left to go along the top edge of the field with a hedge on your left (there are two parallel paths which go in the same direction and soon merge). At the far end of the field emerge onto a road.

Turn left along the road for ¼ mile. Use the detached pavement slightly raised above the road. Ignore all alleys off to the right. Eventually the pavement ends. Keep forward on the grass verge.

Just before the road swings left, pass a footpath off right up the drive to Fryerd Park and continue past a house to a second path off right, enclosed in bushes.

Reach a horribly high stile. Cross, to go down the side of a pasture with a fence on your right. Cross a stile in the bottom corner.

Now bear right across a very wet reedy area to a stile by a metal fieldgate at the far side. Continue up a muddy pasture with trees on your left.

Look for a stile in the fence on the left. Cross this and a stream into a sloping field. Bear right up the bottom edge of the field with stream and hedge on your right.

Follow this a good way (don’t cross the stream). Eventually reach a wooden post by a tall tree. Enter a small pasture and bear left across to the top corner (the stream falls away to the right).

Reach a junction of paths. Turn left over a stile by a wooden fieldgate and go up an enclosed path. At the top reach another junction of paths.

Turn right over a stile and continue straight ahead across an open field (ignore a path off left by the stile). Eventually reach a stile on your right and cross to a gravel drive by a cottage. Turn left down to a road.

Cross and continue up a drive to Bartons. Soon reach a second road. Cross to a stile by an old wooden fieldgate and continue along a field edge to the far side.

Cross a stile and drop down to a sunken track. Turn left on this. It soon becomes a metalled road at Threal’s Farm. Follow it all the way down to its end at a road junction.

Continue up the road ahead to return to the Five Bells at Smock Alley and the start of the section.