27 on this walk in unexpected sunshine - a real tonic after the week’s gloom and rain. I have to confess that as a result of said rain, and this being the Weald, I expected a massive mudbath. Perhaps due to such negative expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by how un-muddy it was. Others may disagree, particularly the three who slipped over on the walk. One ended up looking like a building site worker and was too ashamed of his appearance to come to the pub at the end.

Four had booked for lunch at the Hare. Eight more of us tried to book and were told No Way, José. So most of us shunned the place, though I am told 7 did eat there, while one had a latte that he said was so nutritious it was like a meal. Two felt victim to what we will call Excess GPX-ism - “we just followed the green line” - and did the main walk, ending up at its pub and having a mulled wine (?) there.

The rest of us ploughed on to the lovely Crown in Groombridge, where we all SAT OUTSIDE - in January!!! - and enjoyed pleasant food and efficient service. It was warm except when the wind blew (which it did occasionally). At its peak I counted 15 of us there.

This left a short afternoon, but this adequately filled the remaining daylight. We got a bit split up but some of us got to Eridge to see the last steam train leave. (We had earlier tried to get tea at the Groombridge station kiosk only to find it had just closed.)

Most of us then met up in the Huntsman at the end of the walk, different groups arriving at different times and giving reports on their day - the perfect end to any SWC walk. We exhausted the pub’s supply of tea pots (very big ones!) but they were reasonably good natured about it.

Many got the 16.50 train, while a few of us nobly waited for the walk poster, whose meal had been delayed at lunch and who had thus been left behind there. It then turned out she had got the 16.50 too, without coming to the pub. However some other SWC stragglers turned up and we had a convivial hour near the fire, talking of this and that. We then got the 17.50.

How is the mud forecast looking like for this one?

9 alighted from the appointed train at Eridge -- after train doors failed to open at Ashurst -- making for a slightly awkward start! Not wanting to miss out on either the fine pub in Speldhurst or the always entrancing Huntsman....a swift decision was made to reverse the walk to Speldhurst and then circle back to Eridge using some of the alternate routes. We lost one early on to lunch in Groomsbridge -- but collected him later on our return....after lunch, 2 continued the reverse walk to Ashurst where one took the train back to Eridge to meet the others for drinks before catching the 6:50. Aside from a couple of super gloppy patches on enclosed paths, the mud was mostly manageable -- define signs of evaporation! The daffs were glorious and we were treated to some early wood anemones....Conditions were surprisingly sunny .

Groombridge Place's website says "you can visit the Cafe and the Plant Shop without purchasing an admission ticket". However, when I was there a few years ago it was busy and quite noisy. I think Groombridge Station is a nice spot for a tea stop.

I was at The Crown in Groombridge yesterday. Had a lovely Polish meal.

Are there any walks planned for BH Monday!!

Ah, whatever happened to the good old days when 40 people turned up on a walk? When it was not too cold and not too hot and sunny all day . When the lunch pub had plenty of space and allowed you to order at the bar. When the group stayed together for tea and end of walk drinks.

Well, reader, such days still exist. 36 got off the train and at least four who had not been at the start joined us by lunchtime. The countryside looked gorgeous under a bright blue sky. I think this may be the greenest September ever: the grass fully recovered from the summer drought, the trees no longer stressed by lack of rain.

I am not sure what time we arrived at the Spedhurst pub, but it was almost empty, its patio bathed in sunshine. There was a wedding going on across the road and some of its guests spilled over into the pub, but otherwise we seemed to have the place to ourselves. Around half the group ate here and the pub had no trouble accommodating us, uttering no warnings about how overloaded the kitchen would be.

For tea (drinks of a stronger kind mostly) at least a dozen of us stopped at the Crown in Groombridge. At the end of the walk some of us saw a steam train pass (belching enormous amounts of black smoke) and eighteen or so assembled in the garden of the Huntsman pub as the sun set.

Many got the 17.50 train and some the 18.50, by which time it was getting a bit chilly. Extra layers unused all summer came out of rucksacks - a sign of things to come…

The George & Dragon at Speldhurst is definitely closed. The Hare at Langton Green, about 10.5 km on the main walk, is good, but booking is essential at weekends. The Crown at Groombridge is also good, but much smaller. Both pubs have outside seating.

But we cannot go into pub unless from same household?

Tunbridge Wells is a medium level alert area. According to gov.uk that means that "you must not socialise in groups larger than 6, indoors or outdoors."

So ok to sit round the same table as 5 others, but remember you will need to wear a face covering "except when seated at a table to eat or drink" and try to maintain social distancing of 1 metre if possible.

Just to clarify - the 5 others DO NOT have to be in the same household as you.

Sounds inherently wrong though, to go from a declared high infection rate area (London) to a medium infection rate area (the rest of the Southeast bar Essex) and do stuff you couldn't do at home. No? What are the locals supposed to make of that?

You expect me to make sense of this? A lot of people in Tunbridge Wells (although nowhere near as many as formerly) commute to London for work.

One possible solution would be to order, eat and pay outside. That way you keep both within the legal remit and spirit of the law.

Gov.uk website says "When seeing friends and family you do not live with (or who are not part of your support bubble), you must not meet in a group of more than 6, indoors or outdoors." So, no distinction here between inside and outside. I'm taking sandwiches.

As stated above the highest tier of where you live and where you are applies. In Tier 2 there’s no socialising allowed indoors. If you live in London you can socialise outdoors in groups of 6 but not indoors. So pub lunch outdoors in group of 6 is ok.

Picnic makes so much sense

See you outside with packed lunch

P Eckish

Around 17 off the train, along with a couple of smaller walking groups. We departed hastily, but thinking about it should have taken a minute to establish who was doing the short route. A very enjoyable walk and perfect for walking and almost for sitting outside . I was with a picnic group, but the short cut pub lunch people got a table without booking. Our little group managed two great views of a Spa Valley excursion train going to Eridge & then on the return before we crossed the railway. Perfectly timed, we had 50 minutes to enjoy good service outside the Huntsman, as did at least two others inside.

Arriving Ashurst at 10:57 (according to National Rail website)?

Corrected

Dire warnings on the weather forecast about winds from the Arctic and “feels like” temperatures of 6 degrees put me in a rather grim mood as I set off for this walk. But in fact it was not a bad day at all. Sunny for the most part, with a cool breeze when exposed to it, but warm enough in shelter, of which there seemed to be a lot. Then after lunch a series of showers when the temperature seemed to drop by ten degrees, but these never lasted long. So sunshine with some chilly showers later

20 were on the specified train, with one early starter revealing herself later, so 21 in all. The countryside was full of the joys of spring, with lots of wildflowers, and there were several bluebell woods, all fading but some - especially towards Eridge - still producing decent amounts of blue. One big surprise was a profusion of bluebells on verges, all of which were still in full flower.

Arriving at the pub in Speldhurst I was a bit nonplussed to find the group all sat inside: I had decided it was warm enough to dine al fresco. But the showers started as we ate, so inside turned out to be best after all.

Attempts to order food at the bar were repulsed, so we had to endure the unhurried rituals of the bringing of menus, the taking of drink orders and the delivery of drinks before we could be admitted to the privilege of choosing our food. Two of our party who arrived late and went direct to the bar, posing as private individuals, had ordered and received their food by this time. But when, over an hour after arriving, our food emerged from the kitchen it proved delicious and generously portioned.

Mid afternoon we got a text saying Burrswood, the intended tea place, had gone into administration. This was a surprise to me, as I had tea there only two or three weeks ago. Warned, we took the short cut to Groombridge and several who had planned to do the shorter circular walk to Ashurst did the now shortened main walk to Eridge instead, which was nice because it meant we all stayed together. The Crown Inn in Groombridge did tea in pots but only I got a pudding, because I had the clever idea of asking before the bar staff realised there was a big group of us.

The walk down to Eridge past Harrison Rocks was very idyllic, far more idyllic than I would have dared to hope when looking at the forecast: except, that is, when it rained, which it did once or twice, with sun swiftly returning.

Several got the 5.50 train, but five of us stayed to have a sunny outside drink at the Huntsman, then dinner inside, before getting the 6.50.

There was apparently another walker on the early train, so 22 in all

18 on this walk. There were flashes of brightness as we got off the train and the six of us who persisted to Eridge enjoyed full sunshine for the last half hour. But stow your jealousy because otherwise the sky was that familiar grey we have grown to know and love in this winter without end. At least it did not rain, except for briefly during tea, sending those rash fools who had sat outside in the mistaken belief that it was spring scuttling back inside.

The Good Friday deluge had alas turned the top layer of soil to slithery mud. Otherwise I do believe the walk might have been reasonably dry. The lunch pub spurned us, then relented, so ten ate there. About half had the vegetarian strudel.

There were masses and masses of bluebell woods on this walk - not out yet, of course. This made the walk poster feel guilty that he had not picked this walk for three week’s time. There were lots of wood anemones towards the end but all closed up in the cold. I twice heard a chiffchaff, our first migrant bird visitor, an unimpeachable harbinger of spring.

One walker was bitten by a dog. I was not there to see it but blood was drawn. Its owner explained that the animal was a rescue dog that did that sometimes. It was not on a lead. We hope its victim managed to get a tetanus shot. Shots of another kind came to my mind when contemplating its owner.

Lots of us got to the hospital for tea (some of us after forking too early and ending up at a pub called the Red Lion, not in the walk notes: we had to backtrack). Some headed for Ashurst after tea, some without having tea. Six of us went to Eridge, just before which is a charming stone basin with a stream gushing out of it in which we washed out boots. Could a network of these be set up near rural stations?

14 including Mr. Squash! calm still hot day . A perfect walk for today's weather conditions and this time of year and all dry underfoot. A nice balance of open stretches and woodland and some wonderful views, especially on the morning section. It always seemed that just when we were getting hot that there was a stretch of very nice woodland to cool us down. At Spedhurst,we sat in the pub garden for lunch. It wasn't too busy and food arrived quickly. Later we had tea in the grounds of Burrswood, overlooking the beautiful view. Most took the train back from Ashurst, with two going on to do the long walk to Eridge.

Cold without a breeze and very sunny weather, with frosted grassy fields, firm-ish ground, some mist still rising from the valleys in the early stages, and with the sun breaking through the clouds, and later dominating a blue sky all afternoon, and with the few fluffy clouds reddened by the setting sun just as we walked past Harrison's Rocks; what more can one ask for on a winter's day? (ok, so there was no snow...)

The pre-booked table at the George & Dragon turned out to be on their upper floor, quite possibly the best lunch room ever in any SWC lunch pub. And the food was pretty good as well (just ask the SWC Lunch Monitor when you next meet her)...

Admittedly the p.m. route falls off a bit, with less good views, a few annoying road bits and some indifferent fenced paths plus softer ground due to the continuous sunshine and the 'pain' of walking into the blazing sunshine, but all in all: eerie, atmospheric, fascinating, with great views, some lovely woods and oast houses, and Harrison's Rocks.

10 walkers (incl. one US of A-tourist over for a Xmas break) had a great time.

The sandwichers had missed the 15.50, so were still at The Huntsman when the rest of the troupe arrived, and then we all (bar 2) decided to let the 16.50 go and settle for the 17.20. Only that the 17.20 didn't exist (several people confirmed though that it had been listed on the website as late as this morning). So we went back to the pub and then took the 17.48 train for 7 (1 had driven down from Tonbridge).

Recommended.

28 including at least three late or alternative starters. warm and sunny till mid pm then cloud with rain after 5pm This new version of the walk worked well, with a particularly beautiful start climbing onto a ridge with fine views. Some substantial mud in places but largely OK. The new lunch pub was charming and coped well with such a large influx: it was idyllic sitting out on their terrace. However they were mysteriously slow to produce fish and chips and forgot altogether about two such orders.

The cloud covered the sky by mid afternoon, a bit of a shock after such lovely weather earlier. I lost track of most of the group in the afternoon but most seemed to be at The Burstwood hospital tea room: we were all inside, though, rather than enjoying the terrace. Some talked of short cuts to avoid the imminent rain. At least five of us pushed on to Eridge. Good wood anemones on this section but they had unfortunately all closed up now against the increasing rain.

After a drink in Eridge we went for the 18.50 train but it disappeared from the departure board at the last minute. The problem turned out to be a signal failure in Ashurst. After lingering in hope of the 19.50 being run, as was originally indicated it might be, we ordered a taxi to Tunbridge Wells where "our tickets were accepted on alternative services" as the jargon goes.

At the risk of sounding smug, the 10 or so who got the 17:50 from Eridge had no problems

At risk of sounding even smugger, the 2 of us who caught the 16.50 also had no problems (1 of whom who managed this thanks to doing the shortcut to Groombridge).