3 Men on a walk 2017: January 2017

Monday, 30 January 2017

Along the Forest Trail

Groombridge to East Grinstead along the Forest Trail

Not a very nice day with heavy cloud and the constant threat of light drizzle, although this never appeared and we actually had a dry walk. Heavy rain over the weekend led us away from the fields and we decided on a nice stroll along the old railway line trail that links Groombridge to East Grinstead. This path is well drained and not overly muddy and being pretty flat we can skip along it at a good pace.

We parked up at Groombridge and "Plan A" was to catch the 10-00am bus to East Grinstead then walk back to Hartfield to give our old friend "The Anchor" a look in. However, the bus failed to arrive - we think because it broke down on the inward journey - so we quickly put "Plan B" into action and started the walk the other way around going from Groombridge out to East Grinstead with a bus ride back home later.

Whilst this path is good underfoot it's not the most interesting having no hills and in places is perfectly straight for several miles. Still we made good time and had to wave at "The Anchor" as we passed it well before opening time. Our next target was to get to the great little town of Forest Row where we also knew of a watering hole, so at 12-45 we arrived at "The Coach and Horses" ready for a spot of lunch. This is a lovely pub but apart from us three there was only one other customer in it and it goes to show how hard it is for local publicans to make ends meet these days and why so many nice country pubs are closing down.

We could have caught a bus back from outside the pub but we decided to carry on and do the additional 3 miles to East Grinstead making this one of the longest walks we have done this winter. There is a moving statue in East Grinstead as a memorial to Sir Archie McIndoe, the famous pioneer of "Plastic Surgury" who did so much for the badly burnt and disfigured fighter pilots of WW2. (See Archibald_McIndoe ) Sir Archie set up his clinic in East Grinstead and whilst many of the airmen had severe disabilities and needed long-term treatment at the nearby hospital, the residents of East Grinstead took these men to heart and treated them as normal neighbours, buying them drinks in the local pubs and respecting the sacrifices they had made. Photo of the statue below shows Sir Archi with an RAF pilot.

Not difficult to guess this was once a Railway line

The Coach & Horses in Forest Row

The statue commemorating the work of Sir Archi McIndoe in East Grinstead

Stats for the day were ...

Finished Hike: 30 Jan 2017, 16:21:18

Route: Groombridge to East Grinstead

Weather:

temperature	8°C
humidity	93%
wind	5 mph N

Explorer Link: http://walkmeter.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Hike-20170130-1013

Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Walkmeter-Hike-20170130-1013.kml

Hike Time: 3:22:12

Stopped Time: 1:00:53

Distance: 10.89 miles

Average: 3.24 mile per hr

Fastest Pace: 15:06 min/mile

Ascent: 1445

Descent: 1173

Calories: 1160

Monday, 23 January 2017

Around Knockholt

Knockholt to Downe loop

A cold start after a very heavy frost but the day was scheduled to brighten up after early morning mist and that's what it did. With Ivan in bed with a heavy cold it was Trevor and myself that parked up at Knockholt for this 8.5 mile loop walk via Downe.

As the crow flies we were only about 20 miles from central London yet the countryside and almost wilderness of this sector of the North Downs is amazing. The trail took us through open fields, woodland and the occasional piece of farmland, all in peaceful seclusion.

As we approached Downe we saluted the one-time residence of Charles Darwin and the place he wrote his initial papers on the theory of evolution. We couldn't help but wonder why evolution hadn't yet given us a new set of stronger legs because the steepness of the valleys we were heading straight for were real tough on our ancient original versions.

We arrived to early at the village of Downe for lunch - two great pubs in this village - and with an ETA for completion of around 1-15ish we decided to push on and complete the loop and then visit the pub in Knockholt. As previously mentioned, this second half of the walk has three big hills to climb and we huffed and puffed at all of them but generally agreed we needed the exercise to finally rid ourselves of the Christmas excesses. It was indeed a good sight to see Knockholt church come into view because the car was parked just outside it!.

We changed out of the dirty walking boots and drove the half-mile into Knockholt to the pub for lunch only to find it closed on Mondays as was the second pub in the village. Still in Kent you are never more than a mile or two from a decent watering hole and as we drove through Chipstead we spotted the Bricklayers Arms and what a find it was too. A lovely old pub with a lively atmosphere, good food and good beer. We enjoyed our visit so much we thought about planning a walk sometime in that area just so we can sample the wares again!

A frosty walk on a bright day

The Bricklayers Arms in Chipstead

Stats for the walk were...

Finished Hike: 23 Jan 2017, 13:01:18

Route: Knockholt Downe loop

Weather:

temperature	6°C
humidity	87%
wind	6 mph WSW

Explorer Link: http://walkmeter.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Hike-20170123-0959

Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Walkmeter-Hike-20170123-0959.kml

Hike Time: 2:51:49

Stopped Time: 9:39

Distance: 8.41 miles

Average: 2.94 mile per hr

Fastest Pace: 14:41 min/mile

Ascent: 678

Descent: 697

Calories: 888

Monday, 16 January 2017

Another "Up & Over" the South Downs

Plumpton loop over the Downs

Despite relatively favourable weather forecasts the night before, it turned out to be a pretty "dirty" day with light drizzle and low cloud, especially up on the top of the hills. Still we decided to brave it and this was a walk in an area not really familiar with us and particularly the hike up the face of the Downs from the tiny village of Plumpton.

We parked up next to the village pub - always a good incentive to walk fast and complete the trek! - and immediately hit a trail which goes straight up the escarpment and doesn't take prisoners. This was one of the steepest climbs for many a month and at the top we entered mist from low cloud and patches of snow from the recent blizzard that passed over us last Thursday evening.

Once up on the crest our route took us gently down the southern relief before we turned west and then took the long slow climb back up to the northern rim again. a quick turn east along the South Downs Way took us back to the trail we had climbed up from the pub and so we quickly descended it again right into the door of the Half-Moon for lunch.

Climbing up the South Downs

The trail and the mist

What a wet weather walker looks like !

Up on the top of the Downs

Lunch Stop !

Stats for the route were...

Finished Hike: 16 Jan 2017, 13:04:30

Route: Plumpton Loop
Weather:

temperature	4°C
humidity	93%
wind	5 mph E

Explorer Link: http://walkmeter.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Hike-20170116-1021

Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Walkmeter-Hike-20170116-1021.kml

Hike Time: 2:32:23

Stopped Time: 10:13

Distance: 7.33 miles

Average: 2.88 mile per hr

Fastest Pace: 14:19 min/mile

Ascent: 843

Descent: 830

Calories: 775

Monday, 9 January 2017

Around Groombridge to beat the rain

Groombridge loop

The only glimmer of hope in the weather forecast was to try and get some walking done by noon because a very cold, wet and windy weather front was slipping down across the UK and would reach us about lunchtime. So we planned for an early start - well 9-30 am is early in retirement - from a close location and that had to be Groombridge.

We quickly knocked out a 7.5 mile loop which is about 2.5 hrs walking and hoped that dear old Carol the weather lady had got her calculations right. As it happened she was spot on because we finished the loop at 12-15 and no sooner had our muddy boots been taken off when it started to rain.

The path took us along a couple of old favourites; The High Wealdway and the old railway track but at this time of year the muddy tracks get very sticky and slippery and today was no exception. Still we got in a decent dose of exercise on what didn't look like a promising day and once back at the car we were only a short hop to "The Crown" for lunch where it could rain as hard as it liked!

A grey winter day over the Weald

More grey

A ray of sunshine - The Crown at Groombridge

No rain in here!

Stats for the day were...

Finished Hike: 9 Jan 2017, 14:47:32

Route: Groombridge Loop 7.5

Weather:

temperature	10°C
humidity	94%
wind	8 mph SSW

Explorer Link: http://walkmeter.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Hike-20170109-0932

Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Walkmeter-Hike-20170109-0932.kml

Hike Time: 2:31:51

Stopped Time: 6:25

Distance: 7.53 miles

Average: 2.98 mile per hr

Fastest Pace: 14:08 min/mile

Ascent: 922

Descent: 889

Calories: 798

Wednesday, 4 January 2017

A leg-stretcher up the South Downs

Arlington to Alfriston - a two-peaks walk

Well as the first walk of 2017 and having not walked since before Christmas, we desperately needed to remove some of the seasons excesses and give the legs a good stretch. And the best place we know for doing that is our old friend the South Downs Way.

To make things a little different we parked up at Arlington Reservoir and walked from there to Wilmington and up the North face of the South Downs. As soon as we reached the top we reached the South Downs Way (SDW) and headed straight down into the Cuckmere Valley and the lovely ancient village of Alfriston where the Smugglers Inn awaited our custom for lunch.

Whilst Alfriston is a great place for lunch its position on the River Cuckmere means that any walk along the downs from it means a big climb up and out of the valley and we do hate big climbs directly after lunch! Still the wonderful views from the tops are worth the effort and it was great to be back up on the SDW. It wasn't long before we had to turn north again and traverse down the escarpment and make our way through the village of Berwick and back to the car at Alfriston.

We all agreed that the 10.5 miles and two hills was an excellent way to start the year. That was until we had to get out of the car after journeying home and found that the legs didn't want to move !