With mid-spring in full swing, Sunday morning came around to present us with our next adventure. This time we would be heading toward the southern end of the Weald, for another new route heading out of the small village of Mountfield. We set off from the village hall car park, which presented us with the first patch of wild garlic and bluebells of the day at its rear, at about half past ten into a fairly overcast day.
The first stretch of the walk took us down the edge of a farmer’s field before entering left through woodland over the top of “Mountfield Tunnel”. We then made our way between a pair of trees, across a railway and over the road on the other side. Here we arrived at the day’s first major patch of woodland, and straight away it did not disappoint. As the path dipped down into trees, we passed a large patch of wild garlic with their white starry flowers in bloom, before continuing along with bluebells lining our path. Whilst they may still not quite be in their absolute full bloom, they are certainly getting their and are still enough to cover the forest floor and fill the air with their distinctive scent. On top of this, a couple of minutes in and we spotted, through the trees just a little way ahead to the right of the path, a large herd of deer leaping away from the noisy humans disturbing their peace.
We came out of the woods onto open fields, one of which contained a couple of llamas, followed by a small stretch up a quiet lane into the outskirts of Netherfield. We crossed over to pick up the next footpath through more woods, this set containing more brambles than bluebells. At this point, the sun began to poke its head out, and we even saw our shadows as the day warmed up. We turned left down a farm track running between fields, which eventually brought us to the farmyard itself. With the sun out, this suddenly seemed a spring paradise. Rolling fields of sheep stretched across the countryside, whilst nearer at hand, a herd of cattle jostled about a pair of hay feeders. In the adjacent barn, ruckus appeared to be ensuing, as the remaining cows chased a rather startled-looking sheep who appeared to have somehow found its way into their barn. In contrast, on the other side of the track was a small, perfectly peaceful field of new born lambs. Together they ambled about, playing and exploring, as we leaned on their gate and took it all in. The instructions also mention there being several way markers through the farmyard – they weren’t kidding! Through the short stretch, we must have seen over half a dozen, maybe even a dozen, way markers ensuring us walkers keep to the prescribed path – one can only assume that they have had trouble in the past!
Out the other side of the farmyard, we made our way along the edge of two fields and cut diagonally down across a third. We then made our way over an undulating and slightly wild pasture, where we managed to get mildly lost, in as much as we could not see where the path was meant to go, but managed to make it to the correct corner anyway. This route then took us on a quick zig-zag through some trees where Beth poked a butterfly, and then past a small lake before turning left uphill along a sunken path. This was again lined with bluebells as it rose past fields, including one of newly yellowed rape seed. As the path evened out amongst woodland and the bluebells continued, we deviated from the path just a little because through the trees we could hear the calls of lambs. Sure enough, our venture was rewarded when we emerged into the open and found them staring at us.
The path brought us to the road, and quickly picked up again on the other side, passing by a few more sheep and through an old golf course – this was evidenced by a few long-lost golf balls sitting amongst the cattle-churned earth. On the other side was yet another stretch of woodland (such a woods-heavy route was chosen specifically with the bluebells in mind!) and it was a little way in here that we stopped for lunch beside a small stream. As we sat amongst the fresh green of spring, my nostrils became assaulted by my mustard-chicken pasta I had decided to try – will likely not be picking this again! After swirling Lucozade around my mouth, we carried on through the trees. Unfortunately, I did then tread in dog poo, which of course had to be scraped off with immediate and urgent haste. My bad luck ended there as we made our way back toward Mountfield. We almost went the wrong way across an opening, but Beth quickly noticed our mistake and saved our blushes. We followed the path running alongside the rail line, before eventually crossing over. On the other side we passed a patch of wild garlic we had noted that morning whilst searching for the village hall, and began our remaining series of footpaths over the last few fields. This included a final, small path of bluebell-filled woods for good measure, before making our way along field boundaries all the way back to the awaiting car.
This was another lovely walk in an area of the Weald we always enjoy. This southern end feels somehow a little less tame than its northern territories, but for that, perhaps a little more adventurous. Whilst this was indeed a good choice for a spring day, it would also be good for summer and early autumn, although perhaps not across winter due to the volume of more-than-likely muddy woodland paths.
Matthew G. Huggins 