The detailed route follows this narrative.

19^th March 2000

Staffhurst Wood

A couple of houses and a pub are the sum total of this community. You can't even call it a hamlet, but for a country pub, The Royal Oak Inn has a wonderful location, with delightful views from the beer garden.

The interior is pleasing to the eye and the beer good enough for the place to be recommended by CAMRA, the organisation which campaigns for real ale in pubs. They do a Mitchells XI and Adnams among others.

The food is probably what draws most of the clientele though. Much of the pub is given over to dining, with plenty of space, spilling over into the rear garden if necessary.

The licensees are continentals and their influence is evident. Not only do they have good English food, but a great selection of Mediterranean dishes too and at continental prices, i.e. a lot cheaper.

Louise had a salad Nicoise, which was better than any she has had in the UK before. Likewise, the Moussaka tasted pretty authentic. The apple and raspberry crumble is worth a drive for too.

It's not really the sort of place to draw local characters; there can't be many within walking distance anyway, never mind staggering distance. Which reminds me of some West Country pubs, you have to calculate for crawling distance from the pub to home. Some of that farmhouse scrumpy either sends your legs in the wrong direction or paralyses them. Try it once and then leave it to the locals.

Spring is really making it's entrance now. For the past couple of weeks, the dreary grey-green has been replaced by a fresher green over the land and the air temperature has become quite mild.

Soon after starting the walk, we entered an open wood with bluebell plants in profusion. One or two have actually started to flower, incredibly early. There aren't many places as well covered with bluebells. By late April and early May, this will become a carpet of misty blue.

In the same wood, we saw a couple of Common Heath butterflies (ematurga atomaria) (or are they moths?) and a Comma (polygonia c-album).

Further on, we disturbed a woodcock and shortly after, came across a tiny airstrip on a farm. A microlight plane frequently flies over the area and it is kept here.

Later, we saw a light aircraft landing on another grass strip alongside the footpath.

We made a short detour to see if Haxted Mill was open for teas, but it had just closed. There is an expensive brasserie there, but I don't think it opens for teas until April. The mill has been restored and it is a pretty location to sit and watch the mill race and water wheel.

Shortly after that we passed the beautiful farmhouse and courtyard of Dwelly Farm. It is a lovely red brick building and looks Elizabethan in origin.

The going underfoot was pretty dry. There hasn't been much rain over the past two weeks, if any.

The Route:

Map: Ordnance Survey 147

Distance: 8 miles

Start: Royal Oak pub, Staffhurst Wood. Leave Limpsfield along Red Lane and turn right at major junction.

Ref: TQ487405

Leave the Royal Oak Inn and turn left along the road. After about 30 metres, turn left into a gateway and cross a stile into the field.

Turn left again and follow the field edge back towards the pub. When you reach the point below the pub, follow the boundary as it bends right, turning away from the pub.

At the top of the path, climb over a green gate in front and head roughly half left towards a stile by a water trough and another green gate, behind which you can see a building with a sharply gabled roof. Cross over the stile and keep ahead.

After crossing this rough meadow in an easterly direction, go over another stile into a small wood. Follow the well-defined path to a road. Cross the road, and turn right along it for 10 paces, before turning left into a public footpath into the wood.

After about 30-40 metres, you come to a couple of old trees, one leaning at a 30° angle, and the other twisted and gnarled. By this second tree, turn right onto a narrow footpath, which soon takes you to a pond.

Follow the pond around to the left and cross over the narrow outlet to rejoin the narrow footpath going roughly east.

After some 250 metres, you will meet a broad crossing track. Turn left to join it and continue downhill to a wooden walkway. Keep ahead after the walkway.

After passing a pond on the left, you come to some large tracks. Turn right and follow a path some 4 metres from the right hand fence, bordering a field. When you come to a wooden gate on the right, bear left to a major track and turn right along it.

Presently you will reach a lane. Turn right along the lane and follow it around the bend to pass Black Robins Farm. About 30 paces from the farmhouse, turn left onto a footpath and almost immediately, aim to the right of a pond to an opening into a field.

Head half left, keeping the pond to your left and aim for another gap in the fence ahead.

Once through the gap, follow a sheep track towards the far right corner of the field. Nearer the corner, aim for the second telegraph post into the field. Beyond that you will see a stile which leads you up the steep railway embankment on wooden steps.

Cross the rails with care and down the long flight of steps to another field. From there, aim half left to a gateway in the far corner. Cross a stile onto a lane and turn right for 5 paces. Next turn left over a footbridge and follow the stream, keeping it to your left.

At the end of this paddock, cross over a stile and continue ahead. At the next stile, cross over and over a plank bridge and keep ahead in this little meadow.

When you reach the end where there is just a hedge before you, turn left over a stile, crossing a broad grassy bridge into a narrow field.

Look out for a pond on your right, go just past it and turn right, to cross a stile in the fence beyond it.

This takes you onto a golf course. Head left, keeping a pond to your left. Follow the left hand fence up the course. About 40 metres from the end, where you see another stile on your left, turn right and pass through a narrow strip of woodland with a pond on the left.

Once through the woodland shaw, aim just to the left of a raised embankment and follow it ahead.

When you reach another raised embankment going right, turn right keeping it on your left. Behind it is a golf driving range.

When it ends, head across the fairway towards a post with a yellow strip in a line of young trees. Make sure it is safe to cross first.

Beyond the wooden post, cross another fairway slightly left, towards a farm building.

When you reach that, you will see a large pond ahead. Keep to the left of the pond and join a path at the opposite end. Follow this track left until you reach an enclosed path, which you join off to the right.

If you prefer, you can also turn right at the pond end and follow the track which goes between that and another pond.

Just past the ponds, you meet a junction of paths. Turn left here and go through a narrow woodland shaw across a ditch to the next fairway.

Keep to the gravel path and when it runs out, keep to the left hand fence going uphill. When you meet another gravel path, follow it to another fairway. Aim for the far left hand corner.

In the corner, cross a stile onto the enclosed footpath and turn right. Follow the same direction downhill, keeping the ditch to your left.

At the bottom of this field, you cross a stile onto a road. Cross the road and turn left along it for 100 metres to a footpath on the right, by a set of metal swing gates.

Go through the metal gates, and head downhill on a broad track, keeping the hedge to your right.

At the bottom of this field, cross a wide stream and turn right. In the right hand corner of this field, by the stream, cross over a stile and continue ahead, aiming for the left hand edge of the wooded hedge before you.

At this point, if crops allow, head for the right hand edge of a thin line of trees slightly left of centre ahead.

Once you reach the last tree, you will see a farm before you; turn left to follow the tree line downhill.

Cross the boundary into the next field where you join a footpath going right.

When you reach a track, turn right. Soon you go over a stile by a red painted gate and some sheds and proceed ahead. This takes you through some more gates, past a white cottage to a road.

Cross the road and turn left along it, passing East Haxted on your left and a stream on your right.

Soon you will turn right into Dwelly Lane. If at this point you fancy a meal or tea, ignore Dwelly Lane and continue downhill to Haxted Mill some 100 metres distance.

Back to Dwelly Lane, continue along the lane to pass Cherry Tree Cottage on the right and Dwelly Farm on the left.

Shortly after the farm, turn right into a field by a footpath sign. From the field entrance head half left across the field to the far corner. There you will see tow trees about 8 metres apart. Hidden in the hedge close by, you will see a stile.

Over the stile keep ahead, keeping to the right of the hedge. At the end, turn left through a gateway and then right, following the field boundary round as it makes it’s way towards a brick barn.

Pass between the barn and a pond and aim for a gateway just to the right of centre. Go through the gateway and continue ahead, keeping the woodland shaw to your right.

As the field curves left, enter a wood by a stile on your right. Turn left for a few paces, where you will two stiles. One ahead and one to the right. Take the one on the right to enter a field.

Turn left to follow the edge of the wood. Soon, the path swings left towards the wood's end. Passing a sleeper on the ground and a post marking the path, go over a footbridge and a stile.

From here, go half left, aiming for a metal gate. If there are sheep in the field, the gate will be locked, so you will have to climb over it.

Once over the gate, you turn right along the lane. Just after some buildings, turn left into a wide straight drive and continue along it.

Just after a long barn on the right, you will see a footpath sign pointing right, Follow that and turn left into the first opening on the left by some cow sheds. Next take the first opening on the right.

Emerging from here, join a farm track going left, past what look like large wooden chicken sheds.

Follow the track as it turns right downhill and takes you into a field below. After crossing into this field, aim half left across it. You should see a pond to your left at the end of the field. About 30 paces to the right of the pond, go through a rusty gate into the next field.

Head to the left corner of a copse, hedged in before you. As you bypass the copse, you should see a pond within it, to your right.

Continue ahead to a gateway about 30 metres from the far left hand corner of the field. There is a big metal creep feeder just beyond it. Keep ahead here, with the fence to your right.

At the bottom, go over a gateway and then over a footbridge. Continue ahead after the footbridge, keeping the fence to your right. Cross another stile and keep going ahead.

Soon, you go through a kissing gate on the right. Keep to the left hand fence. Don't be tempted to walk along the nicely mown grass strip running parallel to your right. This is a private airstrip and you might just end up fertilising the soil.

Just behind the tennis court, turn left between two wooden fences, and then as it bends right, follow the footpath alongside a long brick shed.

Go over a stile beyond the shed and continue into the field with the hedge to your left.

Just past a gateway on your left, make a detour slightly to the right to go around the pond before you and then resume your way downhill, still with the hedge to your left.

Cross a stile in the bottom left hand corner of the field into a road and turn right to cross over a bile (Louise charitably called it lime green) coloured bridge.

The road passes beneath a railway bridge and you follow it for about 1/2 km (1/3 mile) back to the Royal Oak pub.