Hitchhikers, Hunter-Gatherers and Horticulturalists

There will be a wealth of High Wealden beauty, antiquity and curiosity on this walk, which will include: Hitchhikers: Arthur Dent's timber-framed farmhouse which was demolished to make way for a bypass (likewise the Earth by the Vogons) in the 1981 BBC adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Hunter-Gatherers: mesolithic stone tools have been found in caves adjacent Big-upon-Little rock, where the neck of a sandstone outcrop has been eroded to leave it shaped like a mushroom; Horticulturalists: a public footpath runs through Wakehurst, Kew's country cousin, allowing us to admire some specimen trees and glimpse the Elizabethan mansion, plus take tea and cake at the café. 

The sights:

Balcombe: One small, pleasant tile-hung and stone main street with housing estates. Some large Victorian, mock-Tudor homes such as Balcombe Place. C17 Edmond's Farm was Arthur Dent's home in the 1981 BBC adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was demolished to make way for a bypass, an event paralleled when the Vogons demolished the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass. 

Ardingly Reservoir: A 198-acre (0.80 sq km) reservoir, formed in 1979, that tops up the River Ouse. A local nature reserve with two bird hides and a recreation site for windsurfing, canoeing and fishing. 

West Hoathly: On a superb hilltop site with a commanding view north over Surrey and south over the Downs. St Margaret of Antioch Church: simple in appearance but not in development. Shingled broach spire over tower and early Norman nave; C12 and C13 aisles and windows. C17 manor house, sandstone, handsome and symmetrical. C15 Priest House, timber framed. Other C15 buildings such as The Cat Inn, the exposed beams visible inside, the outside tiled.

Wakehurst: The mansion was originally Elizabethan, 1590, built by Edward Culpeper and now Grade I listed. It will be seen at a distance. The formal gardens and arboretum of fine specimen trees adjacent to a public footpath are owned by the National Trust but used and managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild seed conservation project in the world, is housed in a modern building which we'll see at close quarters on the public footpath that goes through the site.

Big-upon-Little rock formation: A locally-famous rock formation of a big boulder perched on a narrow base. It became quite a tourist attraction in the C17 and C18 as the period graffiti attests. The neck of the formation in the hard Ardingly sandstone has been eroded over thousands of years by running water leaving the top like a golf ball perched on its tee. There are a number of crags near it, set in a woodland glade of larch and birch trees near ponds and waterfalls. Mesolithic (11,000–5,500 BP) tools and weapons have been found in the caves in the base of the crags.

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

Heading east from Balcombe Station we'll go up Newlands then Oldlands Avenue. Crossing Haywards Heath Road, a footpath will take us the the northern end of Ardingly Reservoir where we'll meet Mill Lane. At Edmond's Farm, a bridleway will take us south to the reservoir which we'll skirt until the Causeway where we'll rejoin Balcombe Lane which becomes Street Lane which will take us into Ardingly. We'll cross B2028 to pick up the High Weald Landscape Trail (HWLT) and Hook Lane to go to West Hoathly for lunch. The HWLT heading southwest twill take us to Chiddinglye Wood and a crossing of the Ardingly Road. A footpath heading west through Wakehurst will cross the Ardingly Brook before continuing to Paddockhurst Lane which we'll cross to use footpaths to go back to Balcombe.

Dogs:

I love having dogs on my walks and this one is suitable for them as it has few fields with livestock. Some of the route is along lanes so dogs may need to go on leads. Your dog must be responsive if it is off the lead. 

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(Picture credits: View south from Church Hill, West Hoathly: Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0); Edmond's Farm, Mill Lane, Balcombe: Photo © Kevin Gordon (cc-by-sa/2.0); On the Kingfisher Trail at Ardingly Reservoir: Photo © Shazz (cc-by-sa/2.0); Seams Meadow: Photo © Simon Carey (cc-by-sa/2.0); Upper Hind Field: Photo © Simon Carey (cc-by-sa/2.0); House at Hook Farm on Hook Lane: Photo © Shazz (cc-by-sa/2.0); The Manor House: Photo © N Chadwick (cc-by-sa/2.0); Topiary and Priest House West Hoathly: Photo © Ted Symonds (cc-by-sa/2.0); Big on Little - side detail: Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0); Path with bluebells in little Sheepwash Wood: Photo © Shazz (cc-by-sa/2.0); Wakehurst Place: Bluebell woods: Photo © Alan Hunt (cc-by-sa/2.0). These images are copyrighted but are here credited to their copyright holders and are licensed for reuse under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA/2.0.)