Leisure, Culture and Tourism

Slaugham

Start & Finish: St. Mary's Church, Slaugham.

Distance: 4 ½ miles (7 kms). Allow 2 ½ hours.

Terrain: Rolling open countryside between two very pretty villages.

Stile Count: 11

Toilets: See below.

Refreshments: Excellent pub lunches at The Half Moon, Warninglid from 11:30 am. Open all day Sunday.

Park tidily by St. Mary's Church in Slaugham and walk through the lych gate to pass to the right of the church.

There is much to admire in the village, which is perhaps best appreciated at the end of your walk.

Keep the hedge on your right and follow the fingerpost heading downhill away from the church. The field on your left has a range of beech, oak and holly, planted just over ten years ago.

When you reach the Mill Pond follow the raised path around the eastern edge to some old buildings, which are being cleared. Turn right here and in just 20 m turn right again following a fingerpost to walk along the southern edge of the lake. Ignore the stile to your left by the boathouse and continue ahead as the path narrows along the lakeside.

You will almost certainly spot a pair of mallard ducks here and with some patience should see the grey heron. The heron nests in the tops of trees and is a carnivorous bird - happily feeding on tadpoles, frogs, small birds and reptiles, as well as fish. This lake is the major headwater of the River Ouse, which flows out to sea at Newhaven, past the cross channel ferries.

At the end of the lake turn left over a stile and walk up the field to a double stile between two oak trees. There is paddock fencing on your left, but do not keep to this. Instead aim a little to the right between two large barns in order to reach a stile in the fence at the top of the field. Pass between the barns to enter a narrow path through the farm. At the gravel track ahead turn half right following the fingerpost through a gap in the tall hedges. The farm track you are on becomes grassy and swings right along the hedge line but you must leave it here to continue straight ahead up the middle of the large field. As you cross the brow of the hill a gap in the hedge ahead will come into view. Pass through the kissing gate here onto the tarmac road and turn left into the village of Warninglid.

There is much speculation about the evocative name of the village. The most likely origin is from Werna + Gelad - meaning Werna's path.

Continue straight over the crossroads with the welcoming Half Moon on your left and walk through the lovely row of tile-hung houses.

You cannot fail to notice the entrance to a private estate on your right. This is one of the homes of Sir Jack Hayward, until recently the sole owner of Wolves Football Club. He now lives in Grand Bahama where he has used some of his £160 million fortune to buy the airport, seaport, tanker terminal and the electricity and water companies.

Just 25m before the 30 mph de-restriction sign, besides Herring Cottages, follow a fingerpost left to soon cross a stile and follow a narrow path with splendid allotments to the left. At the open field ahead keep to the hedge line on the right and shortly cross a stile into a small dark copse. A kissing gate leads out of the wood with some good views opening up to the south.

The aerials you can see on the hilltop in the distance are at Truleigh Hill on the South Downs, just to the north of Shoreham-by-Sea.

Keepto the hedgeline on your left and two more kissing gates will lead through the next copse to an open field and a tarmac road opposite Paddocks Farm. Turn left at the road then immediately right over a narrow plank bridge and through a gate to follow a fingerpost diagonally to the top left corner of the field. Now follow the hedge line on your right and pass a quick succession of gates to reach a T-junction of paths. Turn left here and left again onto the concrete drive leading through Southgate Farm.

Sussex has a long tradition of training and breeding fine horses. Stables such as this complement the internationally known establishments of Guy Harwood, John Dunlop & Josh Gifford.

At the B2115 turn left and walk carefully along the road for 175m. At Grove Place cross the road carefully and continue ahead for 25m to a fingerpost in the hedge on your right, where a stile leads into an open field. Aiming towards the large pylon, follow the path into the woods ahead.

You'll walk beneath some beautiful old beech trees here, some perhaps 200 years old. In bygone days farmers would bring their pigs into beech woods, such as this, to feed on the nutritious beechnuts, which had fallen to the ground.

The path descends through the woods to a plank bridge and a stile opening into a large field, at the bottom of which, by a fingerpost on your right, branch away from the tree line going slightly left towards three small ponds in the dip ahead. Follow the fingerposts between the ponds and in the far corner of the field ahead cross a stile and turn half left with the hedgeline now to the right. Cross a further stile to join a broad, delightful pathway between maturing oak trees. This leads to a tarmac drive heading downhill towards the Mill Pond where we close the circle of the walk. Turn left around the end of the lake and retrace your steps back up to Slaugham Church.

Take time now to explore the church and village. The lychgate has a lovely inscription of three Latin words:

‘Amavimus, amamus, and amabimus' - ‘We have loved, we do love, we shall love'.

The post box beyond the Chequers Hotel is a rare Edward V11. The white telephone kiosk is even more rare, being one of only three in the country. (It seems the Lord of the Manor paid the Post Office to paint it white in the 1920's and it's never been changed!)

Look at the lovely house called ‘Foyles' opposite the water pump. This was once the village workhouse and the sun & moon signs on the wall look like old insurance plaques - but are, in fact, quite modern. 

On the green, Bosworths' tile-hung frontage is typically Wealden but is set beneath a Horsham Stone roof, indicating that this is, in fact, a very early timber-framed building.  Finally do look at the Old Rectory, next to the church, and its wonderful roofline.   Slaugham is a delight - what price modern architecture?

This walk was researched and written for Mid Sussex District Council by Footprints ofSussex who lead local guided walks throughout the year.www.footprintsofsussex.co.uk

© 2007 Footprints of Sussex

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