Gandalf the VW is parked up behind Burstye Farm in West Sussex. We’ve got beautiful views of the Weald and it’s so incredibly peaceful.
Burstye Farm is a Caravan and Motorhome Club CL ( a small 5 van site) and this particular site has just a water tap, rubbish bin, chemical loo disposal and a single loo. It’s a no frill campsite with a no frills price tag, at just £10pn, but considering it’s May bank holiday where a lot of campsites push their prices sky high, we’re feeling smug with our bargain break.
We arrived late afternoon on Friday after a smooth journey from Norfolk. We received a warm welcome, in more ways than one- the owner Mrs Knowles was friendly, but also the temperature was about 8 degrees warmer than back in Norfolk. This made us happy as we had no electric this weekend, and therefore no heating!
Set up was quick. The tailgate awning went up for the first time this year, and Keith wasted no time in having his tailgate shower. Dinner was low key- pre heated chilli from the freezer at home in burritos cooked in the sunshine on the cadac outside. We were serenaded by birdsong- we couldn’t have wished for a nice start to our bank holiday break.
Saturday morning dawned bright and we had a bit of a lay in before cooking bacon and sausage muffins and donning our walking boots. We took the footpath from the campsite to Horstead Keynes station- a stop on the Bluebell railway. The walk took us through woodlands carpeted with Bluebells, wild garlic and even a Christmas tree farm.
We may have underestimated the distance a touch and as we were aiming for the midday train and another wasn’t until 1.15, the final mile was more of an endurance test than a saunter. Somehow, despite it looking unlikely we’d make it with just 8 minutes to go until departure and a mile still to walk, we actually made (I think the train must have been a few mins late!) and once on the steam train we spent the first few minutes catching our breath.
We decided to get a Rover ticket at £25pp, this allowed us to travel as much as we wanted throughout the day. We went north to East Grinstead, the top of the line, and proceeded to travel the full length south to Sheffield Park.
The line was constructed in 1882 and was one of the first preserved heritage lines in the country. The 11 mile journey from East Grinstead to Sheffield park is pleasant and passes woodland with banks of bluebells and lovely countryside vistas. There are opportunities to alight at Kingscote and Horstead Keynes, and each of the stations along the line are preserved with posters and memorabilia. The carriages are lovely- we rode in 3rd class, and we even bagsied a private compartment for the length of the line. It didn’t feel like 3rd class at all. Dogs travel for free and Jazz enjoyed the journey as much as we did!
At Sheffield park station there is a museum and also a cafe serving refreshments.
From here you can walk half a mile to the poplar and pretty National trust property, Sheffield Park, or do as we did and walk 10 mins to the 360 degree brewery just behind the station. We’ve visited here last year, and our pint of lager went down very well on this visit too. They now have a pizza pop up too if you’re peckish.
From here you could retrace your steps back to Horstead Keynes on the train, or do as we did and walk back to the campsite*. We took a route through Wapsbourne Woods, which were home to the most incredible blanket of bluebells we’ve seen.
It was such a picturesque route, however very very wet underfoot following months of wet weather. Unfortunately this made it hard going on my already not right ankle, and once we’d reached the pub the other side of the woods, *we made the decision to get a cab back to the site.
By now we’d already walked 7 miles and had another 4 to go and a further 3 to get back to the campsite on wet and muddy conditions, and my ankle was killing me. Had we have continued the walk, it would have looked like this..
We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine along with a bbq and some delicious lamb leg steaks. We even managed a fire pit. We adore being off electric and it was so peaceful.
Unfortunately we were a bit distracted as we’d discovered a problem with our leisure battery which we thought we had sorted last year. It doesn’t seem to be holding any charge once the sun goes down. Luckily though the weekend has been bright and therefore during the day we can use the solar to keep our fridge cold, and once the sun has set we can reply on a portable battery to power the lights. Something for us to sort on our return!
Sunday
Today we had another lazy morning and around 11.30 set off on a walk in the opposite direction, this time towards Ardingly reservoir. Luckily my ankle was better but I took my poles with me today to help. We followed a country walking route around the reservoir to Balcombe and then back over the wield dropping down on the Ouse valley way to the Ouse Valley Viaduct.
The reservoir was a multi use site and we enjoyed watching boats, paddle boards, rowers on the water, fishermen along the shore and many people enjoying the good path (for most of the way) around the east side of the shore.
In Balcombe we stopped for a quick refreshment stop
Before making our way towards Ouse Valley Viaduct.
This impressive viaduct has been on my list to visit for some time, and it really didn’t disappoint. It dates from 1830s and has 37 semi circular arches supporting the viaduct which sits almost 100 feet high and 1480 feet long. The busy London to Brighton line runs over it and as such it’s amazing to think that it’s still being used for its original use almost 200 years later.
After taking some pictures here we continued to the reservoir and then back up to the campsite, by which point we’d reached 11.5 miles and were a bit weary. Still, we’d enjoyed the walk, especially the viaduct, and our campsite had been a good base to enjoy it.
We spent the evening chilling outside the van, trying to spot some owls (unsuccessfully). I cooked up a carbonara on the cadac for dinner and we settled in for an early night.
We’d really enjoyed our time at Burstye farm and were surprised there was only one other unit with us ( and then we were on our own the final night). At £10pn we felt it was great value in a lovely area. There are loads of National trusts very close by and the Bluebell railway, whilst perhaps a tad on the pricey side, was an enjoyable experience. As it’s a heritage line and clearly the money is pumped back into the line and the trains, we didn’t mind paying. We did notice they are doing a special offer of kids for a quid during weekends and school holidays, and the kids we saw on Saturday were clearly having the time of their lives.
Before we made our way back to Norfolk after packing up on Monday morning, we visited Sheffield Park national trust with Keith’s dad and step mum. We enjoy visiting here – the gardens are spectacular at this time of year. It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Whilst out and about recently we’ve been enjoying trying out our new Helinox chairs. I’ll do a separate blog post on these shortly, but here’s a spoiler. We love them!
Until next time
Lx
Do miss bluebells … one of my faves. Guess as an arbinger of warmer weather.
And another 2 long weekends coming up!
Exactly that! Hope you’re well
Thanks for another interesting and inspiring read! Can I ask what you use for finding your walk routes pleases? Thank you!
I use the Ordanance survey app. There is the the ability to search for published routes in the areas that you’re going to. I also read the country walking magazine monthly and keep walks they publish that interest me