Ashdown circular

By Ben Perkins

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Although almost entirely within the boundaries of Ashdown Forest, this walk has an entirely different character from the open heathland experienced on our recent walk in the forest from Poundgate.

The northern slopes of the forest between Coleman’s Hatch and Forest Row have been penetrated by some large dwellings as well as the tentacles of the 36-hole Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Course.

After a fine start across high open terrain with superb views, this short but intricate walk weaves a route between the houses, then beside and across part of the golf course, always using good paths or tracks.

A word of caution, however. The Explorer map is a little confusing in places as not all the paths are marked and some of the officially designated rights of way either do not exist on the ground or differ from the mapped route.

Also, since the whole area is covered by a tangle of paths and tracks, it is easy to be led astray.

You can proceed with confidence, however, even if you do go slightly adrift, because the whole of the golf course, as part of Ashdown Forest, is also public access land where you can wander freely, though it might be tactful and sensible to avoid the greens and give way to golfers when crossing fairways.

The walk starts and finishes next to the Ashdown Forest Centre, open at weekends from 11am to 5pm and on weekdays from 2pm to 5pm during the summer months, where you can purchase a map of the forest which shows the main rides and tracks and provides a useful supplement to the Explorer map.

1.From the far end of Ashdown Forest Centre car park, start the walk along a path which passes immediately to the right of a picnic table and heads northeast across the open forest heathland.

Ignore a narrow path off to the left signed with a red arrow. After another 200 yards or so, turn left to follow a wider forest ride down into a valley. At the bottom of the hill the track bears right with a stream in a deep gully on your left at first.

Follow this wide, shady path along the valley, crossing two small streams, after which the path begins to climb and soon leaves the trees.

2.At the top of the hill, pass to the left of a well-placed seat with a fine view to the north and go ahead on a fairly level route along the hillside, ignoring a path off to the right. Go straight across a hard track and along the path opposite which runs parallel and about 40 yards to the left of a road.

Go straight over a crossing path and another hard track, continuing, soon with the forest perimeter bank and a field to your right. After leaving the trees, go ahead within a wide grass strip with a large house on your left. Go forward along the drive from the house.

3.After a little over 100 yards along the drive, double sharply back to the left along another drive. Beyond Shepherds Gate Cottage, where the drive ends, go ahead along another forest path which soon descends to cross a stream.

About 70 yards after crossing a wide, hard track, turn right along a wide crossing path, soon passing another large house on your right, now with part of a golf course to your left.

Where the path comes out into the open, go ahead, passing to the left of a golf green, crossing a small stream either via a ford or the footbridge beside it.

4.After a few yards, go straight ahead across a tarmac drive and along a shady woodland path. After leaving the trees, go more or less directly ahead across the golf course, keeping within areas of rough grass between the greens and fairways.

5.On reaching a small pond on your right, bear half left along a gravel golfers’ path. After a few yards, at a T-junction, turn right, leaving a tee on you right and following another gravel path as it curves round to the left to cross a fairway.

At another T-junction, with a tarmac drive, turn left to follow it gently uphill, passing to the right of a bungalow and a row of red brick cottages.

6.Where the drive ends at a house called Bank Cottage Farm, go ahead along a grass path. After a few yards, ignoring a path which goes squarely left, go ahead on a path which soon runs within the right-hand edge of the wooded area and then up through the middle of the wooded Broadstone Warren.

At a Y-junction, fork left and, at a second junction, fork left again and, after a few yards, join a metalled drive. Turn right to follow this drive gently up to join the Wych Cross-to- Hartfield road. Turn left along the nearside verge for the short distance back to the car park.