Another weekend arrived, and so onto another new route. Whilst I am calling this one the Cousley Wood Circular, in reality it orbits right around Wadhurst. However, we already have a couple labelled as such, so Cousley Wood it is. A place we have driven through a hundred times but never actually stopped in, we parked up and began at about half past ten in the morning, when some runners asked if we were going for “a long one”, and we proudly replied “a ten-miler”.
We walked through the middle of the small village, past the pub, a house called Great Butts Cottage (Beth was quick to point this out) and then off down Butts Lane. The long, quiet lane led us down past foxgloves, a patch of sad-looking Wild Garlic and some sheep, as Chiffchaffs and Tits serenaded our passage. We were soon brought once again to the shores of Bewl Water. The day began to heat up as we walked along the water’s edge for a short distance, before taking our leave over a stile onto the farmland beyond. Here, we paused so I could de-jumper and apply sun cream and then continued on our way. This part saw us return to a stretch we had visited three months previously, and beneath the sunny sky we found it to be as pleasant as before. Sadly, the bull was away in the barn, but we still spotted a couple of happily grazing cows and some recently shorn sheep.
Leaving the farm behind us we carried on up the road, past the well-kept allotments and into the Wadhurst Church. From there we made our way through the town, across the road and quickly out the other side, past a bench directly facing a plain fence, for some reason. Back out into the countryside, we crossed a sunny field with a few sheep sheltering at its edge as a buzzard flew overhead. We carried on past the next flock, and entered “Snapes Wood”, which Beth said reminded her of the New Forest, and where there were a few slightly muddy patches to manoeuvre around following the week’s rain. It wasn’t long before we crossed a rail line and came out of the woods on the other side. Here we spotted either a fox or a hare running away through the long grass, as we walked up the steepest hill of the day so far. Our boots carried on across the stretching farmland, during which time I spotted a snake slithering away at the side of the path, and we walked through the middle of a pleasant-smelling meadow full of dancing butterflies, as the route began to slope back downhill.
At the bottom of what became quite a steep decline, we walked briefly along the road before picking up the next path, which took us uphill once again. The path rose through another pleasant meadow and onto a path running between two fields of rather contented-looking sheep. We also noted here that we were running fairly close to the Mark Cross circular on the map. It wasn’t long after that our stomachs began to wonder when lunch was, and we began to look out for a likely looking lunch spot. Sadly, this was poorly timed. We walked down the road through Best Beach Hill and out the other side, where the track was shadowed and narrow and overgrown. Beyond that was another long driveway, containing not only Lothlorien, but Rohan and Rivendell as well, which at its end rose rather steeply. A footpath navigated us past some houses between a couple of roads, and brought us out onto a stretch we recognised. Here we picked up the Buckhurst circular, and knew that there was a small meadow ahead which might suffice. Unfortunately, before we reached it, we heard the sound of working machinery and found that the farmer was busy cutting his field. And so we continued, across the railway line once more near Wadhurst station, over the road and through the houses beyond – at one point this involved walking right through someone’s garden. The route continued past a few more houses, and though another footpath soon appeared, still no appropriate spots appeared where we could quench our growing hunger. We passed through a dipping and rising wood and turned left down a very narrow road, growing desperate. Fortunately, the map pointed to a footpath ahead which, if we deviated down, might provide somewhere suitable. Sadly, I was busy watching a heron, and walked straight past. Fortunately, Beth was paying attention and called me back. Across the stile, we found a quiet, grass clearing hidden away and set back from the road – this will do nicely!
With lunch finally eaten, we set off for what was left of the walk at about half past two. We crossed back over the stile and carried on up the road, picking up a long driveway to the right. We then eventually took a footpath out across the countryside, past a magnificent oak tree and on over long, open fields. We spotted another farmer hard at work and passed another flock of sheep lying down together beneath some trees. Here, Beth suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Following her pointing finger, I spotted across the way a deer staring at us from amongst the crop. A second deer was next to it, and as we slowly walked along the footpath, I spotted the remaining members of the gang, which Beth’s keen eyes had already spotted. As well as the usual brown, there were also very pale and almost black deer, which we eventually watched skipping away up and over the hill. A long gravel driveway quickly took us from the farm to the small village of Woods Green, which we left a couple of minutes later. The path then took us over the last short stretch of countryside, littered with butterflies, and before we knew it, we were spat out onto the road, just along from the awaiting car.
We removed our boots and span the car around to go to the pub we had passed earlier in the day. We pulled up, parked, and only then did it slowly dawn on us that the pub was closed – and looked as though it had been that way for some time. Sensing my disappointment, Beth quickly suggested we go to the Vineyard in Lamberhurst down the road instead – and so that’s what we did!
This was a great route full of beasts, undulation and variation. It was also nice to pull all of the other routes together, filling in the gaps and demonstrating where everything sits in relation to each other. Beth also had a good suggestion concerning the lack of an appropriately timed lunch spot. It is really very simple – do it the other way around! There were loads of spots in the first half, and this would be a nice, easy fix for next time.
Matthew G. Huggins 