Wealdway: Stone Cross to Camp Hill

NEAREST LOCATION

Stone Cross

RECOMMENDED BY
DISTANCE

8.5 miles (13.7kms)

ASCENT
745ft (227m)
TIME
3hrs 20min
GRADIENT
DIFFICULTY
Easy
STARTING POINT
TQ522390

About the walk

This route spans chalk downlands, river valleys and wooded farmland in often remote country. The Wealdway crosses the centre of the overcrowded southeastern corner of England, but the chosen route manages, for almost its entire length, to avoid main centres of population. This particular section includes a full traverse of Ashdown Forest, hacking purposefully across the Five Hundred Acre Wood to finish on a high note at Camp Hill. Before that it joins forces with the Sussex Border Path for a jaunt along the River Medway.

Walk directions

From Stone Cross, the Wealdway is narrow and enclosed for a short distance. It then follows one of the finest sections of the walk, along a sloping, grassy hillside. Over the next 0.5 miles (800m), the view ahead into Sussex steadily widens, with the heights of Ashdown Forest now clearly visible across the valley.

For the second time, the route descends into a valley carved by the River Medway, bearing slightly right to pass under a railway line. For 0.5 miles (800m), the Wealdway and the Sussex Border Path coincide, marked by two solid wayposts. Over the stream on the Kent–Sussex boundary, a bridge, designed and built by local ramblers, stands in memory of one of their colleagues. The Medway, crossed near Hale Court Farm is, in these higher reaches, little more than a modest stream.
For the next mile (1.6km), to the road at Summerford Farm, the Wealdway is never far away from the river.

Beyond the farm, the way is clear and obvious at first, along a metalled way. After the end, in another 100yd (91m), watch carefully for a narrow, unmarked path which drops left down some steps.

Shortly, cross the old railway, now the Forest Way; a 10-mile (16km) route linking East Grinstead with Groombridge. The tall shingled spire of Hartfield Church is a prominent landmark and the lychgate into the churchyard has been fashioned beneath a half-timbered house dating from 1520. Continue
through fields to the B2110 near Withyham, where you will find the Dorset Arms and a weekday school bus to Tunbridge Wells. The church, on high ground beside the Wealdway, replaced an older building, destroyed by lightning in 1663. It contains various monuments to the Sackville family, many of whom are buried in a vault beneath the church.

The Wealdway bypasses the village to follow the access drive to Fisher’s Gate for over a mile (1.6km). Then begins a long climb through Five Hundred Acre Wood on Ashdown Forest. After 2 miles (3.2km), the Wealdway reaches its highest point, at Greenwood Gate Clump. At 715ft (218m) above sea
level, this is also the highest point in Ashdown Forest.

 

From here to Camp Hill is a fine open walk with superb views.

Additional information

Heathland paths, road, woodland paths (can get muddy) and riverside paths

Heath, flood plain, farmland, woods

Mainly off road but some livestock in fields

OS Explorer 135, 147

No parking nearby – park in Ashurst and take the Sussex Border Path south until it reaches the Wealdway

None on route

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WALKING IN SAFETY

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Find out more

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