Underneath the Arches with the Crazy Gang (Linear)
Sat 17th Jun 2017
Walk Details:
Event Details Updated
UPDATE 9/6
The recent change to the National Rail timetable has affected the train times in the original walk description.
The train now leaves Blackfriars (not London Bridge) at 08:22 and East Croydon at 08:50 arriving at Balcombe at 09:17.
Event Type
Group Walk
Region
Southern England
Local Group
London
Distance
20ml.
Start Time
09.17 NOT 09.22
Route
*** NEW TRAIN TIMES: train now leaves Blackfriars (not London Bridge) at 08:22 and East Croydon at 08:50 arriving at Balcombe at 09:17.***
NOT: Meet Balcombe station 09:22 (London Bridge 08:42. East Croydon 08:55) Finish Haywards Heath station
The route takes us via Balcombe Village and across rolling Sussex countryside to West Hoathly and on to Horsted Keynes for lunch. After lunch we head for Arlington Reservoir and under the Ouse Valley Viaduct
General Notes
Choice of pubs &/or picnic at Horsted Keynes (9 miles). Tea stop at the Cafe Ardingley Reservoir (13 miles).
The Viaduct has been described as probably the most elegant in Britain. It is a marvel of Victorian engineering, completed in 1842 it comprises 37 arches and 11 million bricks.
Sightings of steam trains on the Bluebell Railway probable but not guaranteed
Web Site
Start
Finish
Entry Details:
Cost
Walk Report
Underneath the Arches with the Crazy Gang (Balcombe to Haywards Heath), Saturday 17th June 201720 walkers, 21 miles - leader Keith Lane
I was disappointed when I saw the Gang of 20 at Balcombe station. We didn't look crazy at all (well, no more than long distance walkers normally look). Maybe, I thought, we would look wide-eyed and crazy when we finally got to Haywards Heath after rolling through rolling countryside in near 30C temperatures. However, we disappointed once again by looking not a lot different than when we left Balcombe (maybe a trifle more sweaty).
The route took us past Balcombe Lake and a rest stop at West Hoathly half-way to the lunch stop at Horsted Keynes. After the tea stop at Ardingly Reservoir we passed under the Viaduct. My attempts to persuade members of the group to be Anthony Gormley-like statutes on the plinths failed miserably but I think all appreciated the Victorian masterpiece. After another 6 miles 17 of us reached Haywards Heath Station just after 18:00 through fields with very little shade.
Photographs by Keith Lane
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Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2016.
© OpenStreetMap contributors under Open Database Licence.
Rights of way data from selected Local Authorities.
Large scale digital mapping is provided by John Thorn.
© OpenStreetMap contributors under Open Database Licence.
Rights of way data from selected Local Authorities.
Large scale digital mapping is provided by John Thorn.
