There were14 people gathered at Robertsbridge Station, and the day was sunny and warm . First the positives. This is a lovely walk, very remote feel, and the church in the village of Brightling well worth visiting. We saw 3 of the follies; the pyramid, the tower, and the temple in the distance. Group Cohesion: Some people wanted/needed to cut the walk short, so the group split around Oxley’s Green. It would be very useful to know the short cut route they did, and whether they came across any impediments or problems navigating. 5 of us continued onto Brightling, 4 followed Brightling Road, as it was getting well past lunch time, and one followed the GPX route and said it was fine. After lunch, and visiting the tower, the 5 continue, and soon became split as follows: 3-1-1. The issues: 1) Start of walk, the PDF does not accord with GPX causing much confusion. One group who used the GPX, walked through the Ostrich Car park (as per PDF directions), but found GPX route was blocked, making us scramble over a gate, which we were later informed we should not have done. The other group were led by the walk proposer who had done a recce a few days before and also knew the area. He did NOT follow the GPX or written instructions, and found a much more straightforward route, and we did all reconnect somewhere around Scalands Farm. 2) Upon entering Darwell Wood we were stopped from following our route by a worker in Orange who said due to tree felling we could not proceed, and could go around another way thru the woods. Luckily we did manage by using other paths, and were then back on course for a short distance in the wood. 3) There followed a Tolkienesque nightmare, with fallen trees, paths which had moved or disappeared, and an inaccurate GPX for that part of the wood. Luckily 2 of us were with the walk proposer who knew the way (from previous visit ), and had created a marker in one spot by fashioning a directional arrow from bits of wood. 4) Finally, to add insult to injury, the footbridge and path near Glottenham Manor was temporarily closed, so we diverted to the road, and walked into Robertsbridge (again scaling the gate as GPX path was impassable). We fell gratefully into the Ostrich pub, and met one walker from our small group who agreed the GPX needs to be updated (as do some written instructions). After much needed drinks we got the 16.44 train back to our respective homes.

Short cutter here: I agree the new start is much better than the footpath down the side of the Ostrich, which has stiles and at one time had some aggressive geese! The new start is through a small housing estate, Mill Rise, and leads directly to the start of Para 2. Early on, one walker who is awaiting Hernia surgery returned to base as the stiles were a bit too much. We wish him well. For various reasons some of us wanted a shorter walk or an earlier return to London, so we improvised a short cut by turning left into a field just after the (closed) Jack Fuller pub. We continued down a car wide forest road to just before the Gypsum mine covered conveyor belt, where we turned left into Darwell wood. We saw no men or machines but finding the path is not at all easy. You need to keep your phone in front of your face at all times and beat down the vegetation with your free hand. Just when you think you are hopelessly lost, a footpath marker post would appear before you. A further shortcut was taken along a concrete farm road at Banks Farm, which is now , believe it or not, a tea plantation. https://bankstea.com/ Back at the romantically dilapidated Ostrich we found the elderly owner in the same armchair as when we last saw him in the winter. We enjoyed a pint and a half of Harvey's in the lush garden thanks to some slight delay on the railway, (speed restrictions) Special thanks to Mr. E who provided home made wholemeal cheese bread for everyone. Well done, that man!

Hope to make this, may try and catch the earlier train

My original intention was to catch the train one hour earlier so as to ensure that I'd comfortably make it to the Ash Tree Inn for lunch (22.5km into the walk). I ended up catching the 7:08 train out of Charing Cross. Arrived at at very busy Ash Tree Inn just after 1pm to be told there would be a fair wait for food - okay with this. Just past 15:00 after main, dessert and coffee I set off now with a slight drizzle which slowly intensified for the remaining 12km. 1 on this long walk. cloudy with rain late afternoon

Glad to see we have a walk posted.

So happy to see a walk! ��

Wanderer wants an email before we turn up on a walk. Do all schedulers require the same? If so, absolutely fine. Thank you very much.

It is fair to say the walk posters are experimenting with the best approach to tackle collecting track and trace details.....I am still considering the options and will likely add an email or other pre-registration link to the post in the next day or so....

Thank you.

15 on this first post lockdown day walk. I am pleased to report most had pre-registered, making the contact tracing detail gathering process run more smoothly...Although efforts were made to depart in smaller groups -- we got a bit muddled following the first few instructions -- however, the group did then quickly disperse into 4 separate parties for the day (it helped that some of us went rather wrong early on) -- one group did the Robertsbridge circular, two groups did the shorter route to Battle separately and one group explored another route to Battle that follows the main route along the reservoir before heading south. We enjoyed it very much and would recommend it as an option to the walk. It was a great day out and fun to see everyone, including those very briefly at the station....even if the weather was a bit damp with persistent light rain for several hours .

Intend going.

Someone told me he was on this walk. "How many others?" I asked. "A few". "More than five, less than five?" (Using an old journalist technique there..) "Yes, about five". So 5

Is heavy rain forecast ? jfk

Au contraire...... Mucho Scorchio! (Walter Weatherman)

Perhaps it was the requirement to bring three sets of instructions or perhaps it was the reference to "experimental" or "reading instructions backwards" or perhaps many were simply resting up for a nice long walk on Saturday....whatever the reason, just 6 brave souls alighted from the train at Stonegate into bright and blustery conditions for an interesting exploration of the high weald. The morning route to Burwash was as pleasant as ever including some time spent enjoying the whimsical sculptures on a farm property and the surprise of discovering a few more art works on the approach to Burwash. Shortly after lunch 5 of the 6 (one doing a shorter option due to evening commitments) set of on the longer than advertised experiment -- which mainly went well -- gpx routing providing some guidance in just a couple of key spots. We passed through Brightling visiting both the Jack Fuller mausoleum and tower (which we climbed); then there was a slightly long road section to join the Battle route. The White Hart in Netherfield was a delightful spot for early evening refreshies with excellent views from its terrace over the surrounding area. Upon arrival in Battle we had just enough time to stop at the Tesco Express near the Station for some provisions before catching the 20:07. A very full day at the office.

I was completely put off this walk for all the reasons given above. When only one walk is posted during the week those of us who do not want this level of exploration are really hard done by. We have had up to 21 walkers when we keep the walks simple and easy to read. Please could these experiments be done privately or at the weekend when there is more choice on offer. Thanks

Intend going on the Robertsbridge to Battle walk via Brown Bread Street (222c) - catching the 8:18 train.

Intend going on the extended walk 222c (catching the 8.18 train!) as this is probably the last chance for a good long walk this year. Will report on any otherworldly structures we come across.

4 overcast and a little humid but mostly dry Robertsbridge to Battle (long option, 34.5 km) 2 off the train at Robertsbridge, having traveled on the advertised 08:18 train from Cannon Street. 1 walker traveled on the service half an hour earlier, and another an hour and a half later. All managed to meet up at the Ash Tree Inn at Brown Bread Street, 22.5 km into the walk, and finished the walk together. Overcast in the morning and a little bit humid, but actually very lucky with the weather, with only about 2 minutes of rain as we put our boots back on after lunch. The sun attempted to break through in the late afternoon. A quick pace all day in order to get to Battle before it got dark. Lots of ponds on this walk. And lots of animals - miniature goats, regular-sized goats, Belted Galloways, geese, sheep, squirrels. Hobbyist mycologists would have been pleased with the variety of fungi along the route. Nice autumn foliage. From Robertsbridge to Brown Bread Street, many of the stiles are in a poor state. The section from Brown Bread Street to Robertsbridge was very easy to navigate as it follows the well-signposted 1066 route. 1 walker had lunch at the Ash Tree Inn, the rest had snacks and sandwiches on the hoof, and a drink at the pub. Food reported to be good, but service a bit slow. Arriving at Battle, 1 went immediately for the 'train' (replacement bus) and remaining 3 had a drink at the very nice Chequers Inn. Then onto the bus to Robertsbridge where we decided to have dinner at the Ostrich Hotel next to the station. Plain fare but tasty, cheap and very cozy, friendly staff. Took the 21:14 back to London.

About 7 in the 9:18 train contingent, going from Robertsbridge to Stonegate. Satisfactory lunch in the Wheel Inn, Burwash Weald, which was reached at about 1410. The rather long morning, some very high stiles, and mud, modest by winter standards but slightly surprising at this time of year, made the walk feel something of a route march and seem rather longer than the 11-12 miles advertised. Humid in the morning leading to rain for about half an hour after lunch then clear .

Historical duplicate/misleading attendance numbers cleanup project: 11