Miranda on the train to Robertsbridge.

Following the road down the Rother Valley.

Sloe berries on the path into Salehurst village.

We stopped for a picnic lunch in a field near Higham House. Clockwise from bottom left: Tania, Andrew, Elena, Miranda, Anne (birthday girl!), Paula, Ross’ left arm, Jane, and Eileen.

Napping after our picnic.

Time to hit the road again after lunch. Check out the stylish hats on these ladies. I really like Tania’s – it’s made out of a tea-towel and features a map of New Zealand (see further down for a close-up).

Acorns on an English oak.

A bee on a dandelion.

The elderberries are ripening now. Jane passing a bunch on the path.

Eileen and Miranda on the little country lane that runs past Haiselman’s Farm. The flower in the foreground is Echinacea purpurea ‘Robert Bloom’.

Ross and Anne at the Curlew pub. He stole her hat and proceeded to sing all four verses of the theme to Gilligan’s Island at the top of his voice. And this after only one pint of Kronenbourg Blanc. Ah, the perils of drinking beer on a hot day.

Elena, Andy, Tania, and Paula look on in shock. (Actually, I think Tania joined in on the chorus.)

Here’s a close-up of Tania’s special Kiwi tea-towel hat.

Back on the path to the castle. This friendly horse came to greet us.

We found a swing by the path near Lower Northlands Farm. Here’s Paula trying it out.

Ross and Eileen crossing the stile by Court Lodge Farm.

Go here to see my photos of us at the castle. Some of them make good desktop backgrounds.

Ross and company outside pub #2 of 4, the Castle Inn at Bodiam.

A hot air balloon rising up in the distance over Bodiam Castle.

Geese at sunset, on the path near Haiselman’s Farm.

Heading home. Ross, Jane, and Anne crossing the fields near Park Farm. Guys, did anyone get a picture of our stop at the Salehurst Halt?

Happy Birthday Anne! Jane, Eileen, Ross, Tania, Andrew, Elena, Miranda, and Paula, thank you all so much for coming and hope to see you again soon.

If you’d like to try this walk too, this page has all the info you’ll need. For a list of all my walks, please visit the home page.

– DW

Here we are meeting up, early in the morning, at London’s Charing Cross station. That’s Rod on the left and Clare on the right.

Our group at Robertsbridge station in East Sussex, where we start our walk. L to R: Jeremy, Rod, Adam, Clare, and Linda.

First stop was this once-a-month farmers market in Robertsbridge.

Some roadside apples spotted on the way into Robertsbridge village.

And here’s Clare eating one by the little crooked house in Robertsbridge village center.

Linda and Clare chatting on the way out of Robertsbridge.

After Robertsbridge, we make our way down the Rother Valley. Here you can see the tiny village of Salehurst in the distance beyond the wheat field and the oast houses (look for the church tower).

Jeremy fooling around on the path into Salehurst.

A mystery statue over the entrance to Salehurst Church. Linda and Clare think it might be 14th-century. Photo by Clare Sullivan.

Tomb engravings at the entrace to Salehurst Church.

Rod, Adam, and Linda in the graveyard at Salehurst Church.

Linda hopping one of the many stiles on today’s route. Here we’re just coming up to Haiselman’s Farm.

Now we’re at lunch. This is Rod telling us a story in The Curlew pub.

Then the food came. Jeremy had the lamb.

I had the sea bream. This picture doesn’t really do it justice. It was melt in your mouth good.

Vanilla and chocolate truffle cake, with raspberries. 10/10.

Some horses we met on our afternoon stroll down to Bodiam Castle.

Adam, Rod, and Clare by the big oak tree at Lower Northlands Farm.

On the road at Upper Northlands Farm near Bodiam.

Afternoon light on a field of hops near Bodiam Castle.

Linda and Clare at Court Lodge Farm. Bodiam Castle is just around the corner!

BIG pics of Bodiam Castle itself on my Flickr site here.

Heading home. Linda, Clare, Adam, and Jeremy on the road between Salehurst and Robertsbridge, early evening.

Celebrating the end of the walk with a well-deserved pint in the beer garden at the Ostrich pub in Robertsbridge.

Here’s our train home to London arriving into Robertsbridge station. The old switch box by the level-crossing is still manned.

Sunset at Tonbridge station, where we change trains for the trip back to London.

That’s THE END of this walk. Now you can try it yourself! This page has all the details you’ll need. And if you’ve enjoyed these photos, please leave a comment. (If there’s no comment box visible, you’ll need to click the blue comment link below and scroll back to the bottom of the page.)

Linda, Jeremy, Adam, Rod, and Clare – thanks a million for coming. I hope you enjoyed it!

1. Jonathan on the platform at Battle station in East Sussex. The approaching train is our connection on to Robertsbridge where we’re due to start our walk.

2. This strange sight greets us off the train at Robertsbridge. Who are these people with their odd miniature horse?

3. A little crooked house. Close-up of a half-timbered cottage in Robertsbridge village. Photo by Jonathan Cronin.

4. Here we are leaving Robertsbridge. Can you see who’s ahead in the distance, by the oast house? Wait for photo #6 …

5. Jess stops to check out a field of hops by the roadside.

6. Finally, we catch up to our friends with the curious horse. It’s a Shetland pony, and these people are members of the 300-strong Darvell community, an Anabaptist Christian group that lives a simple existence in the East Sussex countryside near Robertsbridge – a sort of English version of the Amish. I could find very little about them online, and certainly before today I had never even heard of them!

7. A rather silly danger sign on the path into Salehurst.

8. Michelle, Jess, and Jonathan on the terrace at the Salehurst Halt pub.

9. We’re drinking elderflower cordial. It’s home-made and very refreshing. Thanks Oggie and Gareth!

10. Next pub. This is the Castle Inn at Bodiam. The real castle’s just around the corner.

Unfortunately, I’ve just been informed of some legal issues regarding displaying photos of Bodiam Castle on a commercial site, so for the moment, if you want to see pics of the castle from this day, you’ll have to visit my personal Flickr page.

11. Bird on a wall outside the Castle Inn. I think it’s a sparrow.

12. After leaving the castle, we stopped briefly to watch this cricket match.

13. And in the distance, beyond the cricketers, a steam train chuffs past on the preserved Kent and East Sussex Railway. A quintessentially English scene. Photo by Jonathan Cronin.

14. “Look, we only have one more mile to go!” Here I am pointing out our position on the map to Jess and Jonathan, towards the end of a long, hot day out. Photo by Jonathan Cronin.

15. This was dessert. A tree full of plums.

16. Here they are close up.

17. My shot of the day was this amazing flowering thistle. It looked just like an exploding firework.

And that’s all for today. Thanks for taking the time to look at these pictures. If you’d like to try this walk yourself, this page tells you everything you need to know.

Michelle, Jonathan, and Jess – thank you very much for coming along! Hope to see you again on another walk soon.

Please leave a comment below.

Here we are on the road near Robertsbridge. L to R: Ed, Gareth, Ross, and Elena.

A half-timbered cottage in Robertsbridge.

Ross and Elena in today’s pub 1 of 4, the Salehurst Halt. They serve good beer and a great home-made elderflower cordial here.

Poppies by the roadside near Salehurst.

Inside Salehurst church.

Elena and Ross taking a break from the trail, in a field near Haiselman’s Farm.

Tiny mushrooms by the path in Seven Acre Wood.

This is The Curlew, where we stopped for lunch (today’s pub 2 of 4). It’s in the Michelin Red Guide, so the food here should be tip-top.

And it was! This potato and garlic soup was delicious.

So was the salmon.

And so was the sea bream! Then came the desserts.

Creme brulee.

And chocolate and vanilla truffle cake.

In fact, the whole meal was sublime. Thank you Gareth for buying me my birthday lunch!

Back on the path after lunch. We met these proud horses near Neals Farm.

Ross cuddling a wet dog at Lower Northlands Farm.

A curious horse at Court Lodge Farm takes an interest in Elena’s umbrella.

Bodiam Castle and moat.

Pints at the Castle Inn. Pub 3 of 4.

Setting up for a game of pool at The Ostrich (last pub of the day!) in Robertsbridge.

Gareth and Ed hustling me and Ross at pool. We lost

A big thank you to Gareth, Ed, Richard, Elena, Graeme, and Ross for coming out in such challenging conditions!

Please note: it doesn’t always rain in East Sussex. If you’d like to try this walk too, go here to see the route map and other dates I’ll be running it.

Here are some pics from my solo walk today. Did 17km, which is far longer than the route I’ll be taking guests on, but there were some details I had to check. Route today was Robertsbridge – Udiam – Bodiam – Peter’s Green – The Curlew – Salehurst – Robertsbridge. [walk profile]

The Ostrich pub, right next to the train station in Robertsbridge.

If you need supplies for a picnic lunch in Robertsbridge, this is the place to come!

A half-timbered building on the main street in Robertsbridge.

A wild rose in the hedge on the little road that runs down the valley of the River Rother.

This is an oast house, a building used for drying hops. Lots of hop growing in this region of East Sussex.

This version of Bodiam Bridge was built in 1796. Getting close to the castle now …

Unfortunately, just as I reached the castle the wind kicked up and the blue skies were quickly replaced by menacing grey clouds. This is the best shot I have – I’ll try to get more next time.

This is a detail of a diagram explaining castle life, part of an exhibit inside one of the turrets at Bodiam.

Sustenance in the form of a cream tea. Taken in the cafe at Bodiam Castle.

There’s some intriguing scenery on the path between Bodiam Castle and The Curlew pub. This enclosed track felt very Hobbitesque.

And here we are at The Curlew, a gourmet pub/restaurant. Didn’t eat here this time but looking forward to when I can. They’re tipped to receive a Michelin star.

Not a sight you see every day in Sussex – an American mailbox.

This goat was very pleased when I fed it some weeds it couldn’t reach on the other side of the fence.

Soft early evening light on the road that goes past Haiselman’s Farm, near Salehurst.

A flowering plant adorns a rusting fence near Higham House.

You’d think they’d just fix the road – but no, instead they made a special sign.

Waiting for the train home. It’s nearly nine o’clock in the evening in this shot.

Find out how you can do this walk too! Click here for more info.

I’ll be at London Bridge station tomorrow morning at 7:30am in time to catch the 7:47am train to Robertsbridge. Should be back in London about 5pm. Normally I’d run this walk a bit later but evening appointments mean an early start this time.

Drop me a line at david@englishcountrywalks.com if you want to come along, and I’ll send you all the details. Rain jacket required, for sure.

Brooding Fortress – Bodiam Castle from the North East

Originally uploaded by Skink74.