2 met at the station under almost sunny skies. It soon turned cloudy, though, and on top of the downs we experienced what Scottish mountain weather forecasts call "walking becomes difficult". At some point we had to lean into the wind to stay upright. It started to rain sometime on the loop along the Arun. In Arundel one had a delicious lunch from the specials board in the Red Lion and was joined by the other, who had a picnic, for a drink. After lunch the rain became more persistent. We passed the cafe at Swanbourne Lake that was about to close due to lack of customers, ignored the Black Rabbit whose outside tables were wet and empty, had a look into South Stokes church and continued walking back to Amberley. The Bridge Inn had a roaring fire going (in the summer ?) and we ensconced ouselves at a cozy bar table for some cups of tea (why do they not serve tea in pots ?). 17:49 train home. Despite the weather a lovely day out in great company. sunny then stormy and rainy

... forgot to mention: The secateurs were used extensively.

15 on this walk on a fairly sunny and at times windy day. The wind was VERY strong in places but not present all day. There were a few dark clouds and half-hearted attempts at showers, but it never really got beyond spits and spots. Towards the start of the walk I saw a dozen swifts, then house martins and maybe swallows in quick succession. Stopping to look at these meant I lost two thirds of the group. The rear party then scythed their way through some rather overgrown patches on the riverside and the early part of the downs. Someone needs to give this path a strimming. There had been a deal of head scratching earlier about which of the tangle of GPX routes actually was the main walk, and this continued through the day. I don’t use GPX so had no issues, but I think these routes that loop back and across each other are confusing for those that do. Nevertheless my faction kept rigorously to the main route, doing the river loop and all. On the latter we met one of our party coming the other way muttering about spaghetti hoops (we think he meant the GPX). Getting to Arundel after 2pm we found some of the hares in the Red Lion. Nine ate here, one having drinks. Despite the glorious sunshine we sat inside for fear of a sneaky shower. The food was OK; not bad, but nothing special. Over lunch it transpired that some people wanted to watch some sort of football match, starting at 5pm. Going to Horsham (?) to do this was discussed, and others seemed to think the Sportsman in Amberley would be a good place to see the match (due to its name, you see). Those walkers (and one fellow traveller who I suspect just fancied a shorter walk) took a shortcut in the afternoon. Two decided to finish in Arundel, leaving just four of us to do the proper afternoon route. One of those also sped off to see the footie. The other three of us got to the cafe by the lake just as it was closing but they agreed to do takeaway teas and cakes. We ate these watched at menacingly close quarters by about 50 herring gulls and mallard ducks. After the Black Rabbit we kept to the riverside, then crossed the Gurkha Bridge and got to the Bridge Inn at 6pm to find the footie crowd watching the match there. Two had quick drinks and got the train, and one (me) ordered food (salmon in watercress sauce: delicious!). I write these lines outside on the terrace, while our nation’s fate lies in the balance….

The River Levels section on this walk's home page says there's a Flood Alert south of Amberley, and with all the rain in the last few days the Arun is well above its normal level. There's no rain forecast for the next few days so it might be OK at the weekend, but it would be worth keeping an eye on.

Just4 made our way to Amberley on a day when the cloud was low enough to touch the top of the south downs ridge (three on the train were joined by one who had already walked from Arundel). The initial riverside path was squelchy but passable. There soon followed a long stretch where we were often walking through standing water - luckily not up to our boots so feet stayed dry. By the time we got to the path up the hill, the front two had disappeared ahead. The next bit was not peaceful as pheasant shooters kept up a constant fusillade in a nearby wood. When we got to the top of the hill we saw lots of them departing, some on foot, some in land rovers and a trailer, but there were a few more volleys to startle us as we continued. Two of us had sandwiches by the lake then walked through Arundel past tempting market stalls to rejoin the front two who had lunched in the St Mary's Gate Inn. One returned to his car while the rest of us dallied over a glass of mulled wine. We set off to explore the street market but were disappointed to find it was closing. Two then headed for Arundel station and one gamely set off through the mud back to Amberley, which she reached in time for the 1617 train.

Does anyone know if there are any swimming opportunities on this walk?

7 met at the station and we quickly disentagled us from a very large group of Metropolitan Walkers. 2 picked up a slightly faster pace than the other 5. Waiting for them at the entrance to Arundel Park after a fun walk through woods drenched by a thunderstorm was unsuccessful, they just seemed to have been swallowed by the earth, or fallen into the river. The 2 walked on across the downs and along the Arun to Arundel. After a nice lunch at the Red Lion and another quick sharp shower we had to stop at a sunny bench right next to the river at the wonderfully situated Black Rabbit for some drinks. Back in Amberley one went straight to the station for the 17:17 while I myself preferred another drink at the Bridge Inn, where I encountered the missing 5. It turns out they were frightened by the first sign of lightening and immediately went back to Amberley after the first Arun crossing and only resumed the walk after the thunderstorm had passed. They did a shortened circular route to Swanbourne Lake without ever getting to Arundel. After more drinks we took the 18:17 home. Heavy showers but mostly sunny .

15 walkers, 4 of them fell prey to the train division in Horsham and had to backtrack from Barnham. One courteously waited for them. The others made it to Arundel, not without 6 of them first turning left towards the Black Rabbit at Swanbourne Lake, before reverting back. One had lunch at the Red Lion, the others had a picnic. 4 then walked back to Amberley along the river while the other 6 walked up to Arundel Park and descended a second time from the downs to the river past idyllic Swanbourne Lake where they met the 5 who started later and did the walk in reverse cutting out the Arundel loop. The 6 had a quick drink in the Black Rabbit after which 2 went back to Arundel and the remaining 4 made their way to Amberley where one decided to catch the 17:17 and the final 3 enjoyed a lovely late afternoon in the Bridge Inn, finishing off several pints of IPA and (still !!!!) cider before taking the 18:17 back home. A very enjoyable walk in one of the most scenic areas in Sussex on a sunny and warm day.

The River Levels link on this walk's home page shows the River Arun has just been reaching the 'flooding to low-lying land is possible' level at Arundel in the last few days. Parts of this walk are alongside the river so be prepared for a few waterlogged stretches...

Well, we will see, but I will be surprised if there are problems. The charts show the river just tipping over the normal level at Arundel in the last few days, but this is not entirely surprising as it was a full moon on Thursday. At Houghton Bridge (Amberley) the levels are well within range. And this river is tidal. High tide is at 1pm. Candidly, given that it is June and it has barely rained since Monday, I am not anticipating issues. If there are, this is a lovely area: we will find an alternative route.

Presumably if it gets too wet around paras 15-16 of the notes we can take the road (para 57?) into Arundel. Not sure what to do if the first bit is too wet, but from what you're saying Walker, that's not as likely to be a problem. It was supposed to rain all day today here in Kingston but it stopped before 10! Hopefully will be dry tomorrow

I can remember doing the river path from Amberley in November, in the midst of a very wet period, and at a time of year when the ground is saturated. I can't imagine it will be worse now. I am just going on a gut feeling here. But other gut feelings are available.

The River Arun mostly runs between embankments and I doubt if they'll be any problem walking along these raised paths. But there are places where it can overflow into the adjoining fields and in winter these are often flooded. I don't suppose that happens very often in summer, but there has been a *lot* of rain this month and I thought it was worth pointing out that the monitoring data was raising an amber flag, if not a red one.

14 on this walk, plus a guest appearance late morning from its author. The Saturday Walkers Club Data Ratification Committee could not decide if he walked enough of the walk to qualify as a participant, so I have left him out of the count. It was a lovely day, quite often hot and sunny , but with high cloud at times. The countryside looked lush and reed warblers scolded and chattered in the reed beds. Only a few butterflies though. This was a nice new variation on the existing walk route in this area. The combination of downland sections, riverside paths and watermeadows was perfect for a summer’s day. There was some head-scratching about the GPX in the valley in Arundel Park where the morning and afternoon routes crossed and diverged. Reading the walk directions would have solved the ambiguity, but no one was doing that. In Arundel various lunches were had in various places. Four got a lovely riverside table at a cafe-bar type place and reported that the food was good. Five of us lunched on the patio of the Red Lion - less scenic, but with reasonably efficient service (even if I did have to ask for ketchup three times…). In the afternoon I could not resist stopping for tea and cakes at the little cafe by the boating lake. Two joined me, one having ice cream. My cake was very nice: my companion found hers dry and barely edible. But the herring gulls had no hesitation about finishing what she could not (so many were hanging about that maybe this was not the first cake from the cafe that had suffered this fate..). Some others wanted to stop for drinks in the Black Rabbit but did not for whatever reason. Instead we all plodded on to meet up in the shady garden of the ever-reliable Bridge Inn, one of my favourite end of walk pubs. I had got two sips into my pint of cider when there was a mass stampede for the 6.17 train. Myself and another decided to wait for the 7.17. We then decided to have a walk by the river while we waited and it was so nice in the evening sun that we decided on the 8.17. Then a big cloud came and hid the sun, which was a bit disappointing. The 8.17 was then delayed by 15 minutes, giving us some anxious moments. But at least there was some nice birdsong to listen to while we waited. The river levels were fine, by the way. Not a hint of flooding.

Lovely romantic riverside ending to a great walk. Thank you to the author and inventor.

The Waterside cafe and boat hire riverside setting is perfect for outside Diane has mainly rave reviews. Sharyn runs it with military precision but it gets really busy so expect a wait for hot food. Large portions such as mussels and chips £15 could serve 2 people. Perfect location by the castle car park.

Thanks for the feedback. The Waterside Café now gets a mention as a possible Lunch stop, though it might not be the best choice in winter (see photo, which illustrates my earlier concern about river levels). [Sean]

To save yourself all those worries about flooding, you could do worse than try yet another diversion, involving the gentlest climb up to the South Downs Way I have ever experienced anywhere in the South Downs. This involves a different walk long the river towards a railway cottage, and up to the South Downs Way from a hamlet called Wepham, eventually dropping down to Amberley via the best-known route in the Book 1 walk. Will write it up and send to you. It also meant we burned a lot more calories following a delicious Tunisian orange cake consumed at the Motte and Bailey cafe in Arundel. We weren't so enthralled by the Riverside Cafe food - but it was passable and yes the setting is excellent.

A further three did this walk together the following day, Sunday, since that suited them better than the prescribed time. The forecast was for rain, and sometimes the skies were threatening, but actual rainfall was confined to the first ten minutes and the last three minutes. These numbers and weather reported without using the smart tags so as not to muck up the reporting for the official fixture. This is a good route which delivers on its promise after providing new perspectives of familiar territory, particularly the two sides of Swanbourne Lake. There were mushrooms, and a fungus of woody texture attached to a tree, oozing an amber liquid from many spots. Lunch was in the Norfolk Arms Hotel at Arundel, which was so slow to take our orders that we contemplated bailing but, once that was done, produced food of good very promptly. Tea at the place by the bridge in Amberley, one of my favourite such spots in all of our walks on a summer evening, though it does have a regrettable zeal for closing earlier than it might.