I woke to raindrops on the window. How long since that happened? It had the good manners to clear away by the time the walk started, but oh how glorious to walk on damp ground, past moist vegetation, and to feel the plants all around having a big Ice Cold in Alex drink. The birds seemed pleased too. Blackbirds chortling everywhere. Maybe now the ground has softened and they can get at the grubs they will start second broods…

So, 12 happy campers on this walk. Actually 12 happy non-campers. Nearly everyone else we met in the countryside seemed to be young and doing their D of E, groaning under packs almost as big as themselves. They were probably NOT so pleased it turned out to be a wet weekend, (but they are young: they will get over it…)

Two of our group split off right at the start to do the short start and main afternoon, mumbling something about evening commitments. The rest of us showed good group cohesion as far as lunch, taking the main walk route. The weather was cloudy and humid . Occasionally there was a puddle underfoot or a bit of mud (it must have really poured down overnight). In the afternoon it was a bit fresher with glimmers of sun.

At lunch group cohesion disintegrated a bit. The Chequers was drinks only (no chef, and seemingly no electricity) so five pub lunchers and one latte drinker defected to the Swan. This had a so-so garden enlivened by glorious blackbird song and the food came quickly and was generally well liked.

Midway through our meal three sandwichistas came and snatched away one of the diners to do the longer afternoon. Another diner got the bus back to East Grinstead. The remaining four debated which afternoon route to do. Or rather did not debate. No one had an opinion. It was left to me to be Man of Destiny and choose for them. So we did the longer afternoon too.

This was nice, even the road bit, where I personally enjoyed being able to walk for without looking at my feet, enjoying the birdsong, breeze and greenery. A question was if we would get to tea at Standen in time, but we did easily, arriving at 4pm. A vegan walker was particularly happy to get vegan scones. I had the “scone of the week”, which was rhubarb and rosemary. Err…yes…

We met one of the sandwichistas here, so were five for the rest of the walk, which we polished off without incident, myself thinking of absent friends as we passed the Old Dunning’s Mill pub without a glance. We got a train by the skin of our teeth (the 5.36? I always forget to note the return train time). A nice chat on the train and then back to London’s random chaos.

There were4 on this walk. Morning started cloudy changing to sunny warm weather . This was a lovely walk with pretty woods with dappled sunshine, and fields with varying amounts of mud. All going well until we were crossing a field and heard increasingly loud and continuous bellowing of bull(s) and cows. As we rounded the corner of the next field we were confronted by a melee of cows, bullocks and one massive bull carrying on. We skirted the field giving them a wide berth, and then walked through a hedgerow to try and cross through to the next field. We started to go through a slightly dilapidated barbed wire fence, when suddenly the huge bull came crashing through same fence and bushes just a few feet away from us, and into the field we were trying to get into, followed by most of the cows and bullocks. A logjam occurred so remainder of bullocks and cows started to spread out towards us. We beat a hasty retreat, and diverted down to the reservoir and picked up the route into Forest Row later on. The diversion around the reservoir was actually very attractive. We refreshed ourselves in the Java and Jazz and two took the bus from there back to Forest Row and the other two had a very relaxed walk back to East Grinstead and caught the 17.42 train (I think). An exciting walk.

Even given the absence of many walkers in sunny Scotland, I was surprised that only 7 turned up on this walk. This despite it being a gloriously sunny day when even a walk around a car park would have been a delight.

Luckily we did not have to walk around a car park (except briefly at the start). Instead we enjoyed gorgeous meadows dotted with buttercups and all the wonderful greenness of this time of year, but still with the cow parsley and hawthorn in full bloom. The ground underfoot was (finally) dry…apart from a few pockets of Battle of the Somme-grade gloop lurking by gates in shady spots.

Two of our number strode ahead, but then took a wrong turning at Standen and disappeared for a while. Five of us carried on to Forest Row, where three elected to do the main walk and took a short cut to Tablehurst Farm to have their sarnies. Two of us went to Forest Row, where we ran into one of the missing hares. He had a coffee and we two ate at the Java and Jazz Cafe. Speedy service because we could order at the counter and nice outside tables. But the food, it has to be said, looked more interesting than it tasted.

We then set off to do the longer afternoon, much of which was absolutely idyllic. Climbing a long hill to a panoramic view we came across a dozing figure who turned out to be the other missing walker. There was then the rather overlong road section (the one slight flaw in this option), at the end of which we saw the astonishing (and somewhat sinister) sight of about twenty cormorants nesting and perched on a dead tree overlooking the reservoir.

Approaching Standen the hares were once more some way ahead - too far ahead to call out to when we two diverted onto the back way into the National Trust site to have tea. My companion surreptitiously ate a vegan cake she had bought at the Java and Jazz - one thing they make that IS very tasty, apparently.

We then did the field route back to East Grinstead in golden sunshine, having encounters with some frisky bullocks en route. Fortunately they fell for our authoritative farmer act and stood aside, but then followed us all the way across the field to the gate.

At East Grinstead station we found that the 18.12 train mysteriously did not exist (not cancelled, just not on the roster), but we walked up the old railway line a bit and got the 18.42, satisfied with our day out.

This walk option starts at para 147 of the pdf, the Chequers Inn. What is the direction from the Brambletye Hotel bus stop to the Chequers Inn?

The Brambletye stop is right next to the Chequers. Just cross the main road from the bus stop and you'll find the signposted footpath mentioned in ¶147.

8 at the station and 1 more waiting at the Brambletye made 9 on a day best described as cloudy (slightly damp, but not really damp enough to call rain). The walk started ominously with seven stiles in quick succession but that was it. No more. There was mud, though. God was there mud. Somehow not as debilitating as yesterdays mud. Quite a brisk pace but, at one point, the group did stop to let poor old Mr Tiger catch up (not that he was far behind).

The lunch stop was Standen’s ‘Coffee Barn’ which seemed to be free to access. A choice between soup or cake. Two more joined us here, making the number 11

Then on, maybe going a little off-piste in Rockinghill woods (I blame the others), but not seriously so.

Mr Tiger’s assertion that at least today he’d get home without wet socks was cruelly demolished by a large puddle near the end.

At last, mercifully, the Dorset Arms loomed out of the encroaching murk. A litre or so of cider later, a short walk to the station.

I understand that there were about 14 on the walk, including one who arrived 30 mins later on the next train. We were walking quite speedy so that was impressive.

Good weather, tons of mud.

Five of us lunched in the Hop Yard Brewery, which did good pizzas, from nearby, and veggie burger. The beer was sadly kraft keg and fizzy and cold, ugggg.

In East Grinstead, some went to the cafe with a book library, don't know what it is called. The cask real alers went to The Engine Room, off the London Road, on the way to the Station for the beautiful cider and smokey porter, in what is a haven.

Lovely walk and recommended.

15 off the train at East Grinstead, plus 1 local, so 16 in all who set off in overcast-but-mild-becoming-sunny-later conditions. A pleasant stroll through woodland near Standen, with 2 of our group vying for the title of Worst GPS Navigator, became more demanding when the High Weald lived up to its reputation for mud (it's the clay - when wet it assumes the consistency of Vaseline without any of its redeeming qualities) making field gateways, thoughtfully churned into deep mud by cattle, trick to traverse, to say the least. Our group was treated to some loud and fearsome oaths by the male half of an older couple, clutching the walk instructions but rightfully fearful of following our wandering trail, who found the mud more of an obstacle than he expected. Still, we all made it through to Horseshoe Farm, (but not before the writer slipped in a gateway and went base over apex into the mud, necessitating his trousers being washed for the second time this year) where conditions improved. Past the ruins of Brambletye Manor (surely a project for a TV make-over programme?) to Forest Row where walkers lunched variously at the Hop Yard (so-so) The Swan (looked delicious) Cafe Coco (good) and the churchyard (very autumnal.)

After lunch we elected to take the northern route via Cansiron Lane (did anyone take the lower, reservoir, route?) in what we agreed was ideal walking weather and scenery, arriving in East Grinstead in time for tea and very chocolately brownies at The Bookshop before heading for the station.

I couldn't possibly comment.

But those of us who walked past Thornhill House near Ashurst Wood might be interested to know that it is currently on the market.

https://www.knightfrank.co.uk/properties/residential/for-sale/ashurst-wood-east-grinstead-east-sussex-rh19/tnw012193544

18 on this walk, on a day that was windy with intermittent light rain , but far from the storm apocalypse forecasted by the weather people. Only once or twice were there gusts that were somewhat worrying, bending the trees to an alarming degree, but the showers rarely lasted more than a few minutes, even if they came quite frequently. A bit more sun would have been nice, though. Once or twice it seemed to be about to break through, but only late in the day did the weather really clear.

We got lost once in the morning because I misread my own directions. See? I can admit it. There were gripes about the complexities of the various options on the GPX, but there is not much I can do about that as they all overlap. All I can say is the written directions explain everything perfectly clearly....

Funny to see this walk at the height of summer, with the Himalayan balsam and bracken head high, brambles groaning with blackberries. There was a bit of mud on the paths to remind us that autumn is near.

We arrived in Forest Row to be told the “whole village” was suffering a power cut. This left the Chequers and neighbouring lunch places in darkness. But our informant was telling porky pies because walking 100 metres up the high street we found the electricity was on. Five of us went to the Hopyard Brewery. They have a nice concept, which is allowing independent Thai and pizza concessions to operate in their bar: we sampled both and the food was delicious.

What happened to everyone else? Did you get food? We saw half a dozen pass us on the way to do the main walk and one of our number joined them. The remaining four of us set off to do the longer afternoon and we saw no other members of the group after that.

A pleasant and uneventful two hour walk got us to Standen at 4.10pm, where we found the back gate locked and the gardens apparently deserted. We debated whether to hop the gate regardless, but did, and found that parts of the garden had been closed due to the high winds. But the tea room was open and we had a cosy tea. (Cosy. That is a word I have not used since March.)

We stopped at Dunnings Mill on the final leg for a snifter and got the 18.36 train. It would be nice to know how the other fourteen of you got on. Majority report needed!

All National Trust and English Heritage sites with gardens across the country were shut on Saturdays due to high wind.

Err...not all, since Standen was open. Only parts of its garden were closed.

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9 disembarked from the train on a hot sunny day with some fluffy clouds

Three separated from the group to visit Standen House and Gardens. We three all agreed the house and gardens were worth the visit, particularly on such a sunny day the full colourful display of gardens, in particular the tulips, could be appreciated.

One observation - although it is not always exact, the GPS track from Standen House to Forest Row was significantly "off-course" and I would suggest it is reviewed.

I was using the GPX track with Open Street Maps on the OsmAnd app on an Android phone.

Moon Brain, you were right. I did a careful check of the GPX files of all my walks a while back, but this route obviously slipped through the net. I have tidied up the GPX and posted it to the site, but it might take a while to go live there. I have also checked the other walk options.

The walk author

I was thinking of joining this one on Saturday, SWR permitting, but I'm struggling to understand the map. Is the purple line the short morning and long afternoon? Sorry if I'm being dim.

Yes. The purple line is the short morning and long afternoon and the green line is the “main walk”

17 on this walk, I hear, with 3 doing the longer afternoon. If anyone who was on the walk wants to post a more detailed report, please do

Didn't do a count up at the station but 17 sounds about right. Initial sunny spells becoming more overcast as the day progressed with a chilly breeze .

The Chequers Inn Hotel - the recommended lunch time stop - looked somewhat forlorn when I walked in: just one other customer tucked away in a side room, no one behind the bar and a sprinkling of Halloween decorations trying their best to brighten the place up. An overheard conversation between the owner(?) and a subsequent customer suggested that it had been without a chef for a while and had only recently started serving food again. That said, the veg lasagne I ordered from the specials menu was very good, though it bore more resemblance to a ricotta filled cannelloni (also on the specials menu) covered in a tomato and béchamel sauce, and the salad it was supposed to come with never appeared.

While I sat waiting for my food I saw half a dozen of our number - sandwich eaters I think - pass on the other side of the road, never to be seen again, at least not by me. The main contingent of our motley crew arrived some time later, bringing some much needed life to the pub, but by that time I had finished my meal (and a very nice pint of Harveys) and was keen to be on my way.

Two of us left the pub together and save for passing one late (or early?) starter encountered no other members of our group on the walk back to East Grinstead. On reaching the centre she stopped of for some retail therapy whilst I pressed on for the train, stopping at the Bluebell Railway buffet carriage (very cosy looking) next to the station for a takeaway tea and cake.

As to wildlife, Walker will no doubt be interested to know that it was limited to the odd buzzard, jackdaws, pigeons, cows (various), sheep and some fine saddleback and British Lop(?) pigs in a barn behind the farm shop and café just outside Forest Row.

Not a walk that I particularly enjoyed, though that probably had more to do with my mood and the weather than any shortcomings in the route. On which subject …

… the fenced orchard referred to para 42 of the instructions as being "to your right" in in fact to the left. And in a similar vein, in para 123 the instruction to "Veer slightly left across it [the field], to exit it in 130 metres by its far left-hand corner." should read "Veer slightly right across it to exit it in 130 metres by its far right-hand corner."

I was in the "main contingent" and the group on the longer afternoon. Not much to add though, we went slightly astray near the phone mast in the morning hence the late arrival at lunch; I agree the proprietor of the Chequers only just seemed to be holding things together. Also agree that the walk wasn't a classic but the encroaching gloom didn't help. The three of us got to East Grinstead just before 5, failed to find an open tea shop and resorted to a swift half in the Ship before a surprisingly long walk back to the station; still got the 1736 though.

Trail notes - the stiles at the start of paras 181 and 182 are now solid metal gates and the field is a vineyard. Follow the left hand edge to get to the second gate.

15 on this walk: more possibly set out for it and got stymied by the closure of Victoria tube station due to "passenger action" in the half hour before the train was due to leave. As it was, two managed to catch up the original 13, having been forced onto later trains.

It was not quite the blazing hot sunny day forecast, but actually the bright cloud with some sun , combined with fresher temperatures than of late, was perfectly pleasant. At Standen four peeled off to make a detailed visit to the National Trust house and gardens. I got separated from the rest at this point when I stopped to wait for one of those who had missed the train, so I hope the others enjoyed the rest of the walk (feel free to file your own report). The two of us had a lovely day, with beautiful buttercup meadows, pleasant sits to enjoy views, and one or two butterflies.

While most lunched at the Chequer's Inn, we tried the Java and Jazz Pizzeria which did very nice pasta, served quickly. We just arrived at Standen too late for tea but this also had the good effect that we went up into Old East Grinstead where CJ's Cafe Bar - which has been recommended to me before but which I have never tried - proved an excellent tea stop. It has a good cake selection and an upstairs terrace with a direct view out over the churchyard.

It seemed too nice an evening (and time of year) to rush home, so we walked up the old railway line to the west of East Grinstead station for a short walk to listen to the evening birdsong. Then the 9.07 home.

26 on this walk on a day of lovely sunshine and sun through high cloud . A beautiful day out in lovely company, but OK, OK, OK, the new "winter" morning route did not quite make the grade. Quite large bits of it were firm and dry, but where it crossed fields there was a tendency for boots to sink down 6 inches into the gloop. Luckily this was mitigated by frozen or part frozen ground in lots of places, but in our new "normal" 13 degree winter temperatures it would have been distressing.

Having said this, am I allowed to say as the walk author, that I thought the new morning route delightful, and I think it will make a lovely spring, summer or autumn route? At least two people took advantage of the fact that it passes the National Trust property at Standen early on to visit that house - another big advantage of the new route.

Our experiment with untried pubs in Forest Row was also mixed. The Swan was comfortable and pleasant, but its food was priced at the gourmet end and then turned out to be more of corner cafe quality. You don't expect to get cheap MacDonald's style fries with a £15 fish and chips, nor pre-sliced factory bread with a pub sandwich. Either food quality or the price points need to change. Ho-hum.

These minor niggles were shrugged off in a very nice afternoon, largely firm underfoot, when the sun, which had been a bit hidden by cloud around lunchtime, reappeared. A few gloopy fields towards the end were thankfully freezing solid by the time we crossed them. We got to East Grinstead just in time for dusk (always nice to feel one has made full use of the day). Some of us tried a new tea place in the centre called Agora, but I found it a bit pedestrian. It is not often you find me wishing I had gone to Caffe Nero....

12 sunny warm

I'm not entirely sure how to add meta data to this comment! Anyway, on the East Grinstead Circular there were 12 people. The walk poster had promised it would be dry underfoot, however, it was actually quite muddy in parts. This was the first time I had done this walk and was presently surprised how pretty it was. The reservoir looked particularly attractive in the sun. One walker asked, with impeccably good manners, whether we could have tea and cakes in the National Trust property and they thankfully said yes. All in all an enjoyable walk with good company. Thank you 'Walker' for posting it before the mud builds up to such an extent, to make it, shall we say, challenging!

9 w= dull-with-light-rain . 7 men and 2 women. The other chap first walked with NA 25 years ago! Weather disappointing and by the afternoon we had a light drizzle for the rest of the day. Still we had an excellent days walking and we all did the longer tour around the reservoir.(You could take a path on the other side of the reservoir where you are much closer to the water and thus avoid a lot of road walking so if you have a map this could be worth checking out.

The path across the first fields you enter are now enclosed (fences put up 6 weeks ago) so no problems there with direction finding. On other sections of the walk you have to pay attention with some stiles well hidden.

The Chequers Inn was virtually empty (Is it long for this world?) but there are other options on the High Street in Forest Row with the Swann a fairly posh looking place near the church a possibility.)

Refreshing tea at Standens and then the 5.12pm train home

In fact 7 women & 2 men!

Thanks. I really must check my posts before hitting send!!