After packing up at Cholsey Grange we have the relatively straightforward trip to our next site just outside of Wadhurst in East Sussex. Most of the journey is on motorways and the M25 is relatively quiet (about as quiet as you could hope for on a Monday) and there are no holds ups. When towing the van I like to use a certain website when planning the final stages of a journey, it allows you to get a street view of the roads leading to the site. This has, so far, proved a useful aid to ensuring that we know where we are heading.
Had I not viewed the internet I would have been unsure about turning up the final lane to this site. It is narrow and looks on first impressions to be potentially challenging, however, I know only a very short section is like this and there are passing places if needed.
Our first impression of Waghorns CL is very positive, we are given a warm welcome and shown where everything is and the site is level so we are soon pitched up. Lynnie is immediately taken with the Irish Cob’s that are grazing in the adjacent field.
After a cup of tea and look at the map it is time to stretch our legs. We always enjoy going for a wander from a new site to get a feel for the area. We leave the CL and turn right along the lane (Newbury Lane) and then turn right at a junction to walk down Windmill Lane to Cousley Wood.
We cross the B2100 and take the lane to the left of the Old Vine pub (Butts Lane) and follow this tarmac lane as it gradually descends. At a sharp bend we ignore a footpath on our right and continue on the tarmac drive getting glimpses over the hedge of Bewl Water.
Around the corner we see the oast houses of Little Butts Farm. This is our first time in this part of the country so these buildings are a bit of a novelty for us. We have passed a few on our journey but this is the first time we have been so close.
Approaching Little Butts Farm we take a footpath through a kissing gate on the left and follow it through woodland to emerge on the Sussex Border Path as it skirts Bewl Water. We turn right and follow this path but soon take a detour down to the edge of the reservoir to admire the view.
It is truly stunning on this late afternoon.
We stop and watch the birds and just enjoy the tranquillity of this beautiful place.
Lynnie assumes that before the week is out we will be trekking around the reservoir, we have not yet discussed it, but she instinctively knows it will be on the agenda.
We return to the path and head in a south-westerly direction through Bewl Water Woods with the odd glimpse of the reservoir on our left.
After a mile or so the Sussex Border Path leaves the edge of the water and via a stile heads up to Cousley Wood, we follow it. After the stile it is a steady uphill climb to another stile we then follow the path along the edge of a couple of fields. All the time steadily rising. As the path levels we are again treated to views over Bewl Water.
The path then joins a track that leads slightly downhill to Butts Lane that we walked along earlier. We turn right retracing our steps back to the village and from there back to Waghorns CL. Our little walk has clocked up just over three miles; it has certainly given us a taste for this area.
On arrival we were told the Old Vine is worth visiting for good food. So after eating we stroll down for a drink and a look at the menu. It looks enticing so we book a table for the end of the week, looking forward to it already!
To view this walk on OS Maps Click Here
To follow our walk you will need Ordnance Survey Explorer Map 136 – High Weald
19th September 2016
© Two Dogs and an Awning (2016)