A Wealden Wander in Ashdown Forest (East Sussex)

Join me for a walk exploring Ashdown Forest, the largest public open access space in the south east which, surprisingly despite the name, is not particularly heavily wooded.

** Be aware that this walk is on the long side (16miles) for an ODL walk this time of year and given the still shortish days we'll need to set a good pace. **

Instead here the term "forest" refers to the fact that the land was once subject to "forest law" - essentially land set aside for hunting by royalty.  Thankfully for us this means that, instead of views obscured by trees, we get large areas of heathland whose open spaces provide great views down to the South Downs on a clear day.

Starting the day we briefly head south to explore Buxted Park before joining up with the Wealdway long distance path. The Wealdway takes us north passing by the small village of Fairwarp where we leave it to gradually climb up onto the heathland to visit the Airman's Grave - a memorial to six crew members of a Wellington Bomber which crash landed here in July 1941.

Heading further up the slope we're rewarded with great views back towards the South Downs. Eventually we reach a car park where we cross a road and wander over to Camp Hill where we'll likely stop for lunch.

Post lunch we briefly continue north before reaching the intersection of the Wealdway and Vanguard Way, just over halfway through the walk.  Here we leave the Wealdway again and pick up the Vanguard Way heading back south. 

The Vanguard Way was put together by a walking group back in 1980 to celebrate their 15th anniversary (http://www.vanguardway.org.uk/)  Maybe we'll see an OutdoorLads Way in 2021!!  We follow the Vanguard Way all the way back to Buxted where we started.  

It's likely we'll venture into a local pub to enjoy a post walk recovery beverage.