The most outstandingly beautiful places to walk near London #3

The most beautiful places to walk near London High Weald

When you need to escape the city, where do you head to?

You want to walk somewhere REALLY beautiful.

Somewhere that really makes you feel like you’re in the heart of a unique landscape.

The answer?

Try an official ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ (AONB).

There are eight close to London, possible to visit within a day. Wouldn’t it make a great challenge to visit each of them?

Over an occasional series of blog posts, I’ll be showcasing each one!

Today we are looking at:

No. 3: The High Weald

Here’s a taster of what to expect from this AONB, and some ‘must do’ walks to experience the best of the area.

1. The High Weald AONB is situated between the North and South Downs.

2. The area is a patchwork of small, irregular shaped fields and ancient woodland.

It’s considered one of the best surviving medieval landscapes in Northern Europe.

3. Narrow, sunken lanes are a feature of the area; resulting from centuries of droving animals to graze

4. Ashdown Forest is one of the largest free public access spaces in the South East.

It’s stunningly beautiful healthland:

Ashdown Forest View by tsbl2000, on Flickr
Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic License   by  tsbl2000 

‘Forest’ in this case means a Royal hunting park – not a area covered with trees.

Ashdown Forest is famous for inspiring Winnie-the-Pooh!

5. The High Weald landscape trail is a 90 mile route that covers some of the major features of this AONB.

Some of the route, with a bit of tweaking, is accessible via train stations, from London.

Bluebells by drewwith, on Flickr
Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic License   by  drewwith 

The Vanguard Way also passes through the High Weald and the best of Ashdown Forest on its way from Croydon to the Sea.

Read more
The Vanguard Way

6. The Weald includes many natural wildflower meadows:

7. And at the coast, the nature reserve at Rye Harbour is a superb place for bird spotting:

Rye Harbour Beach by tsbl2000, on Flickr
Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic License   by  tsbl2000 

Best walk:
Saturday Walkers Club: Walk 154: Rye to Dungeoness & Lydd

8. Eridge rocks are an interesting cluster of sandstone rock outcrops:

Eridge Rocks by debs-eye, on Flickr
Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic License   by  debs-eye 

Best walk:
Saturday Walkers Club: Walk 120 Eridge Circular
Read more:
Eridge Rocks
Want more London walking posts like this? Subscribe for the best of London Hiker:

Best walks recap!

  1. Saturday Walkers’ Club Walk 23: Forest Row Circular
  2. Saturday Walkers’ Club Walk 23: Ashurst to East Grinstead
  3. High Weald landscape trail
  4. Saturday Walkers Club: Walk 154: Rye to Dungeoness & Lydd
  5. Saturday Walkers Club: Walk 120 Eridge Circular
  6. The Vanguard Way

Want more hills in your life

Enter your email below and grab my 20 Top Tips for London Hikers guide: designed to help you satisfy your hill walking cravings and escape the concrete more often—and never feel deprived of a footpath again (or retire your hiking boots due to disuse).

Share this page on

Sponsors

DON'T MISS OUT on free updates and freebies! Sign up to the mailing list!

Escape London - click here now!

Welcome! Do you live in London and love walking? I help frustrated London-based hikers to get out on the hills by providing inspiration, ideas, practical advice and encouragement. Satisfy your hill walking cravings! Read more here

Latest Updates

About

As Seen In: Lakeland Walker

Londonist08.jpg

lbmlogo.png

newlogo1.png

London Hiker

Promote your Page too