Bolney and Crabtree

By Eddie Start

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Colourful flowers and quiet lanes make this walk particularly pleasant

This eight-mile walk goes west from the village of Bolney, passing through undulating High Weald country. The summer brings fine displays of rhododendrons in the sandy soil and the paths are quiet and little used.

The return route retraces some of the outward journey but there are plenty of fresh sights and hidden corners to be amazed by. There are a couple of short sections of road walking but these are quiet lanes used by local traffic and do not present a serious problem.

1. From the top end of The Street, where Top Street turns right, continue straight up the track ahead, with houses left and right. At a metal farm gate, follow the signed rising footpath under trees, passing beneath a stone arch in 300 yards. In 100 yards, go left through a gate and across open meadow on the enclosed path, with views to Wykehurst Park house.

The path descends fields, passing through a gate around the mid-point, going half-left to a gate and entering trees. Follow the path through the trees, cross a bridge and bear left over a meadow – a swing hangs from a tree away to the right.

The path re-enters the trees, passes through a couple of gates and drops to take a signed path left, around the edge of a well-kept garden.

At a gravel drive turn left on to a minor road. Turn right along the road, passing the end of Colwood Lane and dropping to arrive, in just over a quarter of a mile, at a sharp, right turn.

2. With the gated residence of Westlands on the left, take the signed footpath leftward just on the bend in the road, crossing a stream and stile, climbing across open meadow and passing between two prominent beech trees. Go over a stile and re-enter woodland on a rising path.

In 400 yards arrive at a drive, with a white modernstyle house opposite, called Ramatuelle.

Turn right down the drive to a minor road junction. Cross the road and in a few paces, turn right across the drive in front of the Beehouses cottage. This bridleway is known as Earwig Lane and continues for just over half-a-mile to a minor road.

3. Turn left along the road for 100 yards and take the footpath on the right. Follow the undulating path for 300 yards, which is joined by bridleway from the left.

Continue to a path junction in 200 yards, with a meadow on the right, take the right, rising footpath option. At a clearing with power cables overhead, cross a stile and walk through a plantation, dropping to a junction. In a few yards, pass the end of a furnace pond and walk up the slope to a gate, crossing the field ahead to go through a gate opposite.

Cross the lane, take a few paces right, climb a stile and follow the path outline across the field. At the mid-point, go half right towards a stile – there is a red roofed cottage to the left.

Walk on for a few paces and then take the right footpath up to Violet’s Barn. Turn left and walk down Mill Lane towards Crabtree. At the main road junction, turn left and walk down the pavement, by The Crabtree pub, left.

4. From the pub, continue down the pavement for 150 yards, take a left signed footpath turning, which soon passes beside a new housing development. Walk across a field, beside crops, drop towards a water course and small garage, climb a bank, tend right and cross the field ahead.

Cross a further meadow arriving at a junction we were at earlier, take the right path option and walk down past Violet’s Cottage for half a mile.

At a gate, pass through and take the rising path to the right towards Graffields. Turn right and walk across in front of the cottage, the path curves to the left and soon arrives at a minor road. Turn left up the hill. In 200 yards, just after a bend, cross a stile, left, and walk across the top of the meadow, passing through a number of gates.

In three quarters of a mile, the path goes half-left to a stile in the field corner, at the entrance to Long House. Turn left along the minor road, following it around the right-hand bend, passing Bull’s Cottage.

Stay on the road for the next 450 yards. On coming to a sharp left turn, take the signed footpath along a drive ahead in front of houses. Take a few paces to the right, cross a stile, walk over a lawn to a gate and minor road.

5. Turn left along the road for 100 yards and by the entrance to Little Chatfields, take the footpath, right, down through the woods.

In 100 yards, the path goes briefly right and then left to join Earwig Lane, opposite a fence. Turn right to re-trace our earlier steps, coming to the road junction at Beehouses. Cross the road, enter the drive to Broomsticks, take the footpath opposite Ramatuelle and follow the route taken on our outward journey for the next half a mile.

Arriving at the minor road, with Westlands to the right, continue up the road for 200 yards to a stile and footpath sign in the hedge, right, opposite Colwood Park.

6. Cross the stile and follow the obvious path to enter trees and keep to this for nearly half a mile. At a path junction, with Old Mill House Farm to the left, take the left path around the farm, cross a bridge and take the left, rising path through Nailard’s Wood.

At its far end, the path passes by paddocks and comes to a minor road junction at East Lodge. Walk straight ahead on the opposite road, which soon goes right and then left and in a few yards arrives at The Street in Bolney, close to our starting point. Turn right, down the road for buses, the village shop and the Eight Bells pub.