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Directions

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1. Start at bandstand in centre of Horsham, next to war memorial. Horsham can trace its roots to 947AD and was a market town, serving the many farms in the area. Later it became known for its bricks, made of Wealden clay. Horsham stone, used for roofing many of the manor houses in the western Weald, was quarried in this area. The slabs are large, thick and heavy-looking and can be seen on a number of properties along your route.

2. Walk S along Carfax into Market Square, passing Grade II listed Town Hall building which is now a “Bills” restaurant. Walk down Causeway, the heart of Horsham’s conservation area, leaving Horsham Museum to L to reach St Mary the Virgin church, dating from 1247.

3. Turn L and walk through churchyard then turn L onto Normandy. Turn R at the Normandy Centre (which is on your L), then L on Chesworth lane to pick up Riverside Way FP.

4. Keep straight on to Chesworth Farm, 90 acres of flood meadows, hedgerows, ponds and wildflower meadows where skylarks and kestrels can be seen. The farm was once the home of Henry VIII’s fifth wife Catherine Howard. When you reach farm buildings, stop to explore Chesworth Wildlife Garden which includes a range of features designed for insects, reptiles, and small mammals; these have been created from recycled materials - pallets, discarded wooden benches, logs, rubble, and even a cast iron bath retrieved from the River Arun.

5. Keep following signs for Riverside Walk (green arrows). You see the River Arun on R. These wet pastures have never been used for crop farming and are a hotspot for biodiversity. You will next see the Arun on the last day of your walk.

6. Where FP starts to gently rise uphill, leave Riverside Walk and keep going straight (not L through gate). Turn R to reach road and cross to pick up FP to Amiesmill Farm. Cross over stream on footbridge and follow FP signs, climbing gently. Pass through Bulls Farm. Cross over farm track and keep straight following well signed FP.

7. Meet road and walk in direction of sign for Sedgwick. Sedgwick Park was once a medieval deer park within a spur of St Leonards Forest.  Now it is a private estate with gardens modelled on a nautical theme.  Do not go through the gates but turn L to take FP. Walk through small fields and woods of Sedgwick estate and turn R onto BW at crossways in woods.

8. Keep straight on BW following the BW to L and downhill and ignoring L turn for BW at bottom of hill. Leave Sedgwick Farm to L. Pass Villa Elena vineyard to L and carry on downhill on BW with distant view of Chanctonbury Ring. There may be alpacas in the field on the R.

9. Where path narrows continue downhill to stream ignoring path on L. Climb slightly to meet drive for the very tidy Elliotts Farm, with its lichen-clad fences. Turn R. The BW was closed when I walked this route so I diverted along the drive keeping house “Elliotts” to the R in the distance to meet FP beyond driveway, then turned L. Once the BW has reopened there is a more direct route from Elliotts Farm.

10. Eventually meet road at Steeds Corner. Go straight across onto FP. Just beyond Great Steed farm look out for FP in LH corner of field. Shortly you will meet the Downs Link, a shared path which runs 60 kilometres from Guildford to Shoreham on the course of two dismantled railway lines. It is now managed for nature, with regular coppicing, and provides shelter, food and an important corridor for wildlife to migrate along.  

11. Turn L and follow Downs Link for 2 km. Pass through West Grinstead Station, where an old carriage serves as an information centre. The Downs link carries you under the busy A272.

12. 500m after West Grinstead Station you will see a sign for a FP to the R. Take this, skirting round a domestic property to meet Park Lane. Turn L and follow Park Lane for 600m then turn R on FP through woods and alongside open fields.  

13. You now see the poor clay land that was abandoned to nature by Knepp. Cross the field downhill, heading SW to meet B2135. 

14. Cross B2135 and head gently downhill to 11th Century West Grinstead church. Walk through churchyard following FP and continue via sharp R and then L  You will now hear the A24. Go over stream on footbridge and reach gate. Cross A24 taking great care. 

15. Take BW at white gates off A24 to enter Knepp estate. After 200m turn L at orange arrow and follow marked path down to Knepp Castle, then cross river Adur and continue to pick up FP which you follow to minor road. Turn L and after 100m you will see signs for Swallows Farm and the Wilding Kitchen and Shop. 

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