Robertsbridge Circular – 5 miles

  We’re back!

  Here we go for round two, our second year of blogging, excited to do it all over again.  What adventures will the footpaths lead us on across the coming seasons?  Time will tell.

  We kicked off our sophomore year with a nice and easy fiver-miler heading out of Robertsbridge deep within East Sussex.  This is a route we have done once before, and the experience could be easily summed up with the words muddy and water-logged.  Thanks to these conditions, it was also on this route that Beth had famously fallen fully over.  With all this in mind, we had decided it would be best to save any return trips for a more appropriate time of year and, ta-daaa, we have arrived at the foretold time of appropriateness.

  Setting off from the free car park just after half past eleven in the morning, we made our way up past the old, wonky cottages out of the village, managing to spot the footpath leading past the school which we had managed to completely miss last time.  After quickly crossing the very busy A21, we climbed up the bank and made our way out into the awaiting Weald.  It suddenly felt like a long time since our last walk, although it had only been a little over two weeks.  However, it had been very busy and in that time Autumn had well and truly arrived, with leaves beginning to fall along with the morning temperatures.  It felt like we had been away for far more than a fortnight, but as we stood amongst the day’s first patch of woodland and I watched Beth enjoying some strawberry laces, I couldn’t help thinking it was good to be back.

  Sentimentality aside, this portion of the route required some focus, as we had managed to get lost in this small patch of trees last time (we did not do so well on that occasion looking back).  Fortunately, with firm paths under our feet, it was much easier to pick out the route, and quickly found ourselves emerging onto the farmland beyond.  While the days are definitely growing cooler, this particular mid-September day was clear blue skies and sunshine, so it wasn’t long before I removed my hoodie and returned to full summer gear.  Across the field and into another patch of woods, we made our way down a footpath that had previously been an actively running stream.  This quickly gave way to more open farmland and views of a patch High Weald we are coming to know rather well.  We followed the footpath down to meet another track, where the day’s route crosses paths with the Staplecross Circular.  Turning right, we walked past a large mixed herd of cows to our left and paused by a metal gate to admire them.  We carried on along the path which became a little overgrown on either side, providing plenty of bonus dragonflies and butterflies.  Quickly crossing the corner of the cow field over a pair of stiles, we found ourselves walking through a field of sheep on the other side.  Here is a very pronounced and steep hill – the kind of hill you might have drawn as a child.  Beth marched determinedly up, getting about three-quarters of the way before pausing for breath.  We turned and found ourselves looking out over an idyllic country scene.  The small flock of sheep a little below, the herd of cows still in view beyond, and the weald stretching away all around us, whilst house martins flew through the clear sky around us.  We sat down in the soft grass to breathe in the moment.

  After five minutes, the very nature we were admiring led us to rise to our feet and carry on our way – Beth’s need for a pee was growing.  We walked up the remainder of the hill, hopped over the stile at the top, through a field of horses past a smelly muck heap and over another stile onto the lane on the other side.  Here we turned right and waved goodbye to the Staplecross route and this fantastic section of the High Weald – we will see you again soon enough, I am sure.  We picked up the footpath across the road and were pleased to find more sheep waiting for us beyond.  Most were not bothered by our presence, but as we crossed through into another section of their paddock, a handful of the flock who had been grazing there decided that our sudden and unexpected appearance should be handled by collectively lining up and leaping through a small gap in the hedge one by one, from where they eyed us suspiciously.  Across the field, the route went through an area full of brambles left and right, alive with dragonflies and a fox which ran across the path in front of us.  Ahead however, we knew was an open field and even from a distance, I could spot something which looked suspiciously brown and bovine-like.  As we got closer our suspicions were confirmed and our heart rates rose as we read a sign warning us of the possible presence of bulls and, more worryingly, mothers with calves at foot.  We cautiously climbed over the stile and into the field, where we got our first look at the herd standing in the middle.  They were big.  And I don’t mean big, I mean BIG.  We looked across at the beefy creatures and a few of them raised their heads back with equal suspicion.  This was enough of an indicator (go us, we learned our lesson) to further confirm what we already knew – proceed with extreme caution.  The official path goes right through the middle to the opposite corner, but all things considered, we decided to keep to the very edge, as far from the cows as possible.  We carried carefully on, keeping the herd in view at all times, whilst simultaneously picking out the best spots to hop the barbed wire fence, should they decide to head our way.  Thankfully, we managed the situation perfectly.  After five slightly nervy minutes we made it to the safety.  Before leaving the field, I turned to face the cattle one last time – I was only this brave because the gate was literally feet away!  They were indeed big dawgs, and a few of them continued to stare until we were completely gone – always respect mummy cows, they are not to be messed with.

  We crossed back over the A21 and walked up the long driveway of Mountfield Winery, slightly fantasizing about a drink (in our decision to get lunch afterward, we had simultaneously failed to bring any water – epic fail for the experienced walkers that we now claim to be).  The solid driveway eventually gave way to footpath, and we made our way through a wooden gate into a large, sloping field.

  This was it, the big moment.

  As we made our way tentatively down the first few yards, the sheep, the trees and I, all held our breath.

  Would she make it?

  Step by cautious step, Beth made her way down the slope; steady, steady…

  …she’s done it!  Beth successfully made it down the steep bit without stacking it.

  The sheep, the trees and I all let out a relieved sigh.  Beth now has a 50:50 success rate with the field – you go babe.

  Thrills aside, we made our way through the undulating scenery dotted with handsome trees and relaxing sheep.  We hadn’t noticed last time, possibly due to mud-related incidents, but this was a really pretty, shire-esque setting.  On our next visit, we will be sure to bring lunch with us and stop beneath one of the trees; this would be one of our best spots!

  At the bottom of the field, we walked beneath the rail line, turned right up through a small patch of trees and carried on along the bottom of a few more sheep paddocks.  We then turned away from farmland for the day and made our way along the edge of a small stream, which was home to a strange (but not unpleasant) smelling pink flower and some particularly aggressive nettles – my legs are still stinging as I write!  The path came out onto a road, which crossed back beneath the railway before turning right uphill, back into Robertsbridge.  We made our way up through the houses, back down the high street and returned to the car at about quarter past two – much later than expected, and we were correspondingly hungry, so we jumped in the car and made our way to Batemans National Trust property which was only down the road, before heading home, concluding our first adventure of the new season.

  On this second round, we had a much better time of it!  Thanks to the vastly improved conditions and the abundance of beasties, we had a fantastic time exploring one of our most loved parts of the Weald.  We were certainly right to save this one for a drier time of the year, emphasized by the fact that already the route was showing signs of mud – a vision of things to come, I’m sure.  As a result, we will probably save this one for summer in the future, and suggest that you do too!

Full route available at https://eastsussexgovuk.blob.core.windows.net/media/1250/robertsbridge-walk.pdf