Robust Rambles

Section 30

Graffham to East Dean

Walk Details

Walk Instructions

Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble

Section 30  Out

Graffham to East Dean

Map: OS Explorer 121 Arundel & Pulborough

Distance: 4 miles/2.5 hours

Start: The Forester’s Arms, Graffham; close by is the side road to the Recreation Ground and a small car park.

Comment: This is a shorter section because this and the return involve crossing the South Downs. The incline is more acute on the North face so this section has a mile of really steep going, up to meet and cross the South Downs Way, before a long and enjoyable decline to East Dean. There are some stiles at the outset. This is secluded country well away from road access so take care and take supplies to cope with likely weather.

With The Forester’s Arms behind, turn left along the road. Soon pass the War Memorial and continue along. At a junction go straight ahead up a no through road. Pass a stile on your right opposite Guillod Cottages and keep on up the hill.

At the top, opposite Chelsea Cottage, turn right up an enclosed path alongside a house. Pass between gardens, through trees, to a stile into a field.

Go along the top edge with a hedge on your left. Follow the hedge briefly left, then right and continue to the far end of the field. Exit over a stile by a metal fieldgate. Go on down an open field towards bushes at the bottom.

Leave the field across a farm bridge (stile by the side), and continue up the edge of the next field. Reach and go through a metal fieldgate with a stile at the side. This is a junction of ways. Turn left uphill with a hedge on your left.

At the top of the field, cross a stile in the hedge (also an equestrian gate) and emerge onto a bridleway. Cross this to a stile opposite and continue up between low fences.

Part way up, cross another stile and keep on, steeply up, to a stile at the edge of woods (stop for a moment to admire the view). Cross into the woods and climb up to a path. Turn left uphill a few metres to a T-junction.

Turn right uphill on a broad byway (ignore a footpath off left) and begin a long climb up to the top of the South Downs. At a Y-fork keep left uphill. At the top reach a junction with the South Downs Way.

Turn right on this and continue to walk steadily but less steeply uphill. At the top of the incline reach a junction of ways (the SDW swings off to the right here).

Turn sharp left, downhill, on the West Sussex Literary Trail for nearly a mile.  Soon cross a forestry road. Drop gently down now for ¼ mile, then notice a spot where two tracks go off left (one grassy). Soon after, reach a forestry parking area on the left and a forestry road off diagonally right. Keep straight on, on a grassy track.

Shortly reach a Y-fork of two bridleways. Bear left for ½ mile always downhill on a very pleasant track, ignoring any side tracks. Eventually the track becomes enclosed between hedges and reaches a metal fieldgate with a farmyard beyond. This is Pond Farm.

Cross into the farmyard and bear right around the front of a barn. Immediately past it is another small farmyard on the right with barns on three sides (this is well before the farmhouse). Turn right into this yard and go right up to gates at the back giving onto a sheep pasture (there is a waymark disc here).

Turn left along the back of the barn on a narrow, overgrown path. Reach and cross a concealed stile, pass the back of the farmhouse and go steeply up the pasture with a fence on your left to a wooden fieldgate in the top corner.

Go through into the wood and climb steeply up for ¼ mile. At a Y-fork keep straight on with a wire fence on your left.

Emerge into a field and join a bridleway coming down from the right. Turn left on this along the edge of the field. Soon come down to a seat by a stile and gate with village of East Dean below.

Cross the stile and continue downhill. Eventually veering left towards East Dean church. Finally drop steeply down to a metal fieldgate. Go forward on a track to soon reach a road.

Turn right down the road past the church to a T-junction. Here turn right for some way passing the village hall midway. Finally reach the Star and Garter pub on your left and the end of the section.

Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble

Section 30  Return

East Dean to Graffham

Map: OS Explorer 121 Arundel & Pulborough

Distance: 4 miles/2.5 hours

Start: The Star and Garter pub in East Dean. On road parking is possible here, also the car park at the village hall seems generally open.

Comment: The return is not long in mileage but obviously demands a climb up and over the South Downs again. The incline is long but a little less demanding than the outward section and pleasant walking on a Summer’s day. But the going may be slower and the way down at the far side is very steep and the chalk slippery in wet weather. This return needs plenty of daylight and careful footwork; only two stiles.

From the Star and Garter turn down the side on a No Through Road. At the end of houses, go forward on a shady byway.

In 50 metres turn left up steps to a stile and go on up the side of a field towards houses. At the top, by metal fieldgates, exit via a metal kissing gate onto a road. Turn right along it.

After the last house on the left turn immediately left up a stony byway (ignore a footpath off right up a bank). Go up this gently rising byway for a mile.

In a short distance pass a footpath off left and keep on up. Much later ignore a cross track. The byway becomes a bridleway near the top, but just keep going up. Finally reach a barrier at the entrance to the Forestry Commission’s Charlton Forest and a junction or ways.

Ignore the bridleway bearing right downhill and keep on up on the main track. Where this track begins to swing right, turn left off it (there is a waymark post) onto a narrow grassy footpath. Follow this all the way down the wood to a stile at the bottom into a sloping field.

Go slightly diagonally left down and across the centre of the field just right of an isolated group of trees. Reach a stile in the fence at the far side. Cross and drop down to a chalky byway track. Turn right a few paces to a junction of ways.

A fingerpost indicates a bridle way and a byway turning left off the chalky track and climbing the Downs up a sheep pasture to trees at the top. Follow the line of the bridleway. There is no track on the ground. Go up parallel to the fence over on your left (do not go close to it).

Halfway up, bear right, on the shoulder of the hill, to find chalky wheel tracks and follow these and a grassy track beyond up to a single equestrian gate at the top of the field with trees beyond.

Go through the gate (take a look at the view behind)

and on up a grassy track. Soon cross a forestry road and keep on uphill. In a good distance cross a second forestry road and keep on uphill. Pass the gates the Graffham Down Conservation Area and soon come to the South Downs Way.

Cross straight over. Go down the path beyond for ¼ mile very steeply ignoring a footpath off left. Eventually come to a broad cross track. Go over this to a raised footpath the other side and go into and down through a pine plantation.

At the bottom of the plantation meet a wide path coming down from the right. Turn left downhill on this. Soon reach another junction with a wider track coming down from the left. Turn right on this downhill.

At the bottom, exit through gates to a road. Turn left down this on the outskirts of Graffham. Keep along the road a short distance to an open grassy area on the right at the entrance to Lavington Stud. Turn right up the entrance drive by a high flint wall.

Go through an automatic gate (press switch), and on up the drive to a crossroads. Turn sharp left here, to go along on grass, with a wooden fence on your left and the back of outhouses on your right.

The path narrows and emerges with white gates ahead. Go through and up a grassy way. At the end reach a gateway with broken gate into a rough meadow. Go straight up the meadow to emerge onto a drive. Turn left to immediately reach a main road by the War Memorial in Graffham. Turn right to swiftly return to The Forester’s Arms and the start of the section.