For Good Friday: A Wealden Wander with a Windmill

Payments for the windmill visit are now due. Please give me £3 cash on the day, or pay via bank transfer (see under 'What Kit to Bring' for details).

The centrepiece of this walk is a private tour of Lowfield Heath Windmill, a Grade-II listed post mill of 1737 on the edge of Charlwood village, a place with over 80 listed buildings. These include Charlwood church which contains extensive wall paintings from 1350. Central to these is a depiction of 'The Three Living and The Three Dead', in which three fine young men are confronted by their mortality when they encounter three skeletons - a classic Black Death-era trope. Upmarket suburbanisation and the roar of planes coming into land at Gatwick may have erased most feeling of the past, but the views, woods and fields are charming, the low-flying planes exciting and what history remains, fascinating.

The sights:

Capel: 'One long and rather nondescript street along the [old] Worthing Road, a mixture of Weald cottages and the cheerful C19 brick of hamlets like Holmwood' (Ian Nairn: The Buildings of England: Surrey). St John Baptist Church is C13, but rebuilt in 1865. Lots of good Weald farms from the C16 and C17.

Charlwood: 'A Weald village on the Sussex border, near Crawley New Town (and now even nearer to Gatwick...). Plenty of old cottages remain, both tile-hung and timber-framed, but the remoteness and sense of place have gone' (Nairn). St Nicholas Is Norman, with a C13 aisle and windows. Grade I-listed. Wall paintings from c.1350, which include the story of 'The Three Quick (Living) and the Three Dead' in which three proud young kings meet three skeletons as a memento mori. Now quite faded. Large medieval rood screen.

Lowfield Heath Windmill: The website says: 'The survival of Lowfield Heath Windmill is almost as remarkable as the story of its restoration in the hands of a dedicated and committed group of local people. The Mill was originally built at Lowfield Heath in 1737/8 and now stands on the edge of Charlwood village [it was moved when Gatwick's runways were extended]. It took thirteen years of hard work and great skill to dismantle, repair and re-erect the Mill. It has four floors, with an external staircase leading to the second floor, from where internal ladders rise to two further floors. It also has a small visitor centre within the roundhouse.' The windmill isn't open on the day of the walk but I have arranged with the manager for him to open it for us and provide a guided tour. We'll have tours of it in shifts during our lunchtime. 

The route (please click the link in red to see it at the Ordnance Survey website):

We'll head east from Ockley Station along Coles Lane and cross the A24 in two goes as there is a wide grassy central reservation. We'll then use footpaths across the fields to take us to Capel church where we'll proceed along Vicarage Lane. At Temple Lane we'll turn south before turning east and using footpaths to go from Aldhurst Farm to Tanhurst Farm. At the Rusper Road we'll continue east along Duke's Road. At Boothlands Farm, we'll pick up Charlwood Lane, but soon we'll head north and east through Glover's Wood. At Charlwood Church we'll veer round and follow the Sussex Border Path southwest to Rusper, breaking off to see the windmill for lunch. At Rusper, Capel Road and then footpaths past Lyne Farm and Pleystowe Farm will take us north back to Capel where we'll walk down Coles Lane back to the station.

Dogs:

I love having dogs on my walks and this walk is suitable for them, but there will be some stiles, busy roads and fields with sheep and cattle. Any dog off the lead must be under control.

IMPORTANT! Participation Statement:

You MUST complete a Participation Statement, in addition to booking your event space before attending an OutdoorLads event. You only need to complete this Participation Statement once, not for each event you attend. 

(Photo credits: Lowfield Heath Windmill: Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0); Lowfield Heath Windmill: Photo © Tilly Mint (cc-by-nc-sa/2.0); Public footpath 308b Charlwood crosses Welland Gill: Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0); Sea Harriers at ASL Glover's Farm, Charlwood: Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0); Charlwood, St Nicholas: Photo © Dave Kelly (cc-by-sa/2.0); Wall Painting, St Nicholas, Charlwood: Photo © Colin Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); Footpath 321 Charlwood on Russ Hill; Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0); Woodland track with bluebells; Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0); Windmill near the Sussex Border Path: Photo © Chris Thomas-Atkin (cc-by-sa/2.0). All photos are copyrighted but are here credited to their copyright holders and are licensed for reuse under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA/2.0 except for the second photo which is licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA/2.0.)