Arundel to Midhurst via Midhurst Way walk

Long walk though a remote and less visited part of the South Downs National Park

Walkers in Burton Park SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst
Walkers in Burton Park

SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst

Jul-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk217 walkicon banner 19251819550

View from Westburton Hill SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst
View from Westburton Hill

SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst

Jul-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk217 19443292861

Upperton Vineyard with South Downs SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst
Upperton Vineyard with South Downs

SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst

Jul-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk217 19443883301

1000 year old Queen Elizabeth Oak SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst
1000 year old Queen Elizabeth Oak

SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst

Jul-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk217 19252122778

Cowdray Castle SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst
Cowdray Castle

SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst

Jul-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk217 19251390028

Arundel Church from the A-Road SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst
Arundel Church from the A-Road

SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst

Jul-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk217 18821118373

Arundel from the A-Road SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst
Arundel from the A-Road

SWC Walk 217 Midhurst Way: Arundel to Midhurst

Jul-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk217 19441749045

Length 31.8 km (19.8 mi), with 640/623m ascent/descent. For a shorter walk see below Walk Options.
Toughness 8 out of 10, 7 ¾ hours walking time. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 12 ½ hours.
Walk Notes

The route leads through Arundel’s picturesque centre into a series of woods and heathlands to the highest point of the walk in Houghton Forest before crossing the South Downs Way near Westburton Hill. Surrounded by wooded downs you continue through the sleepy villages of West Burton and Bignor to lunch in Sutton and on to Barlavington, from where you descend into the Rother Valley through Burton Park with its pretty church and imposing mansion.
The afternoon takes you through a mix of flat farmland, some wooded hills and the Lod Valley, en route passing Upperton and Nyetimber vineyards, to the Cowdray Estate, with its golf course-with-views as well as several polo fields, and to the romantic ruins of Cowdray House, as captured by JMW Turner.
Climbing from the River Rother’s banks, Midhurst's Norman castle ruins are passed on the way to the old market town's attractive centre with its many tea options.

This walk is the southerly section of the unmarked Midhurst Way, which has been created by John Trueman, local to the area and a passionate advocate of outdoor pursuits. It runs between Arundel and Haslemere. The northerly section Midhurst to Haslemere is available as a separate SWC Walk.
Both sections have been written up in either direction (in separate pdf’s) to enable a through-walk of the whole 47.4 km/29.5 mi Midhurst Way with an overnight stay along the route in Sutton, Coultershaw Bridge, Tillington, Halfway Bridge (a little off route) or Midhurst.

Walk Options

Bus 99 Chichester - Petworth (6 buses per day, Mon-Sat) runs through Sutton, the lunch destination, and along the A285, enabling a finish at Duncton Heath End. This is a semi-flexible service, pre-booking is required: online via the Ride Pingo App or by calling 01243 858 854, 06.30-19.30 Mon-Sat! In Petworth you must connect to below Bus 1.
Bus 1 Midhurst – Petworth – Worthing (via Pulborough Station) travels along the A272 between Midhurst and Tillington, enabling a shorter walk. From Midhurst the bus runs: about hourly Mon-Sat, last at 19.00, and every two hours on Sundays to 18.30 (stops Tillington 8 minutes later, Petworth 15 mins later).

Maps

OS Explorer: OL3 (Arundel & Pulborough) and OL33 (Haslemere & Petersfield)
OS Landranger: 186 (Aldershot & Guildford) and 197 (Chichester & the South Downs)

Travel

Arundel Station, map reference TQ 024 264, is 79 km south west of Charing Cross and 4m above sea level. Midhurst, map reference SU 887 218, is 11 km south of Haslemere and 25m above sea level. Both are in West Sussex. Arundel station is on the Victoria to Southampton West Coastway Line. Journey times are from 84 minutes Mon-Sat (two trains an hour), and from 85 minutes on Sunday (hourly). Buses from Midhurst connect to Haslemere, Petersfield, Pulborough and Chichester. Bus 1 to Pulborough (on the same line as Arundel) runs hourly Mon-Sat and every two hours on Sundays.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take a train no later than 9.00 hours.

Lunch and Tea

The White Horse Inn The Street, Sutton, West Sussex RH20 1PS (01798 869 221). The White Horse is located 13.8 km (8.6 mi) into the walk.
The Badgers Station Road, Coultershaw Bridge, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 0JF (01798 342 651). The Badgers is located 18.8 km (11.7 mi) into the walk, 350m off route.
The Old Railway Station Waiting Room Coultershaw Bridge, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 0JF (01798 342 346). The ORS is located 18.9 km/11.8 mi into the walk, 200m off route
The Horse Guards Inn Upperton Road, Tillington, West Sussex GU28 9AF (01798 342 332). The Horse Guards is located 22.0 km (13.7 mi) into the walk.

Midhurst

Travel from Midhurst Updated Nov-21

Catch a bus to/from a station, preferably on the same rail line you arrived from. If not possible, buy a more expensive ticket to Chichester, which is valid on both rail lines.

Bus times change frequently. Check before you travel. Especially the time of the last bus!

  • Traveline - online timetable
  • Stagecoach South - NB: Stagecoach buses have family tickets, but no group tickets. A day ticket is £8.40 (mobile)/£9.10 (paper). This might make sense if you are travelling from (say) Brighton.

There are 4 bus routes to choose from.

Portsmouth Direct Line from Waterloo to Haslemere or Petersfield

  • Bus North to Haslemere (7 days)
    • Take Stagecoach bus #70 (destination Guildford or Haslemere) north to Haslemere. Fare: £5.40 (11/21)
    • Mon-Sat: about hourly to 17.05, then 18.10 and 19.15. Takes from 26 mins.
    • Sun: every two hours on xx:35 to 18.35. Takes 25 mins.
  • Bus West to Petersfield (Mon-Sat only)
    • Take bus #91 or #92 (destination Petersfield) west to Petersfield.
    • Mon-Sat: up to six buses per day between them, last at 17.50. Takes 25 mins (#92) or 41 mins (#91).

Arun Valley line from Victoria to Pulborough or Chichester

  • Bus East to Pulborough (7 days).
    • Take Stagecoach bus #1 (destination Worthing) east to Pulborough. Fare: £4.90 (11/21)
    • Mon-Sat: about hourly until 19.00. Takes 27 mins.
    • Sun: every two hours, last at 18.30. Takes 27 mins.

Both lines (a more expensive ticket to Chichester is needed, valid for all the above stations)

  • South to Chichester (daily, until late Mon-Sat)
    • Take Stagecoach #60 south to Chichester. Fare: £4.90 (11/21)
    • Mon-Sat: every 30 mins until 19.12, then 20.07, 21.37 and 23.07, Takes 36 mins.
    • Sun: hourly until 18.32. Takes 41 mins.
    • You will need a train ticket to Chichester.
    • Chichester's trains aren't evenly spaced, if you miss one you may have a long wait.
    • The bus station is opposite the train station. Buses leave from behind it.

Taxi from Midhurst

BJ's Private Hire (01730 716 327 or 07732 590 806). Uber is about £20 for Midhurst to Haslemere.

Profile
Help Us!

After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks!

You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:

swcwalks
swcwalk217
By Train

Out (not a train station)

By Car

Start BN18 9PH Map Directions

Finish Midurst GU29 9DJ, West Sussex Map Directions

Amazon
Help

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Version

Oct-23 John Trueman Thomas G

Copyright © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml

Walk Directions

Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.

This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk