Just off the M23 on the southern outskirts of Crawley in West Sussex, Green Flag award winning Tilgate Park boasts stunning lakes, lawns and gardens, and miles of woodland and bridleways for long leisurely walks.
Tilgate Park
Loxwood – Wey-Arun Canal (westbound)
Known as “London’s lost route to the sea”, the Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 18.5 mile (30km) canal running southwards from the River Wey at Shalford in Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham in West Sussex. This walk takes you west from the canal centre by the Onslow Arms in Loxwood, through the countryside and back along the canal.
Roosthole, St Leonard’s Forest
Roosthole (some say Roost Hole and others say RoostHole*) is an area of St Leonard's Forest, an ancient woodland between Horsham and Crawley in West Sussex, which forms part of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and consists of just over 700 acres of mixed deciduous and conifer woodland, as well as some areas of open, wooded heath.
Churt Common (The Flashes) and Stony Jump
Churt Common, known locally as The Flashes, comprises 106 hectares of heathland and bog to the south-east of Frensham Common.
Bedelands Nature Reserve
Rena and I visited Bedelands Nature Reserve for the first time in late May 2016, less than one month after I adopted her for a group walk organised by the West Sussex Greyhound Walking Group.
Hankley Common south (Pitch Place)
Hankley Common is a 560-hectare nature reserve near the village of Elstead in Surrey comprising lowland heath and woodland. The site is part of the Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Cowdray Forest (and Worth Forest)
Cowdray Forest is part of the Paddockhurst Estate, a privately-owned woodland which allows some access to the public. Here, you'll find a grid plantation of different types of trees so there's quite a lot of variety to be had on any walk as you pass from section to section. Cowdray Forest adjoins Worth Forest, although there's nothing to tell you when you pass from one into the other.
Ashdown Forest – Friends’ Clump, Nutley Windmill and the Garden of Eden waterfall
down Forest is in East Sussex and it has some absolutely stunning locations to enjoy. More than 300 years old, Nutley Windmill is a grade II listed open trestle post mill, which has been restored to working order. The Garden of Eden waterfall is tucked away, just off one of the main rides and formed by a stream cascading down over some rocks. Manage your expectations, you’re not in the Yorkshire Dales or the Peak District, but it’s a pretty little spot all the same.
Loxwood – Wey-Arun Canal (eastbound)
Known as “London’s lost route to the sea”, the Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 18.5 mile (30km) canal running southwards from the River Wey at Shalford in Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham in West Sussex.
Ashdown Forest – Garden of Eden waterfall from Ellison’s Pond
The Ashdown Forest is in East Sussex and it has some stunning locations to enjoy. Ellison's Pond is one of 126 ponds dotted around the forest. The Garden of Eden waterfall is tucked away, just off one of the main rides and formed by a stream cascading down over some rocks.
Walks with Rena 