East Loxwood Circuit, Local

Just Bertie and I again today, so it called for a local walk..  there is a lock on the local canal set in the middle of farming estates with no tow path access out to the east of Loxwood - so we set off to go and find it.

Starting by taking the canal route into Loxwood and the variation from Devil's hole lock up to the post office. From here we followed the road to Birtley through the village until we got to the lane leading down to Brewhurst lock.

At the canal we cut left just before taking the path to Baldwin's Knob, and so avoiding the crowds on the towpath. What had started as a frozen morning was warming up in the sun between the clouds

the fields showed wheat coming through as we crossed over to the woods at Baldwins's knob, this would be the pattern for today - fields alternating with wooded sections.

Baldwin's knob woods had a well worn path through it, although I was thankful that the muddy sections had dried up, the Bluebells were just coming out.

There was a surprising pond as the path come out of the woods and met a track (which I think led down to the canal) which we followed to Drungewick Hill farm, alongside fields with crops coming through.

Around the farm yard via a separated path and we met Drungewick Lane

The path continued on the other side of the lane by going down what looked like a private drive before cutting left around the houses, and along side a wood cutting down to the river. this opened out into more fields where the path was obscured and had to walk around the edge.

This came out onto a lane leading to Newhouse farm.

Past the farm this track became a grassy track as it led down to another river, this one had a leet feeding a mill house -  I guess there must be some machinery in there working or not.

The path now turns around the gardens and across the fields behind to another small wood.

Rising up the other side of a small dip we came to the drive way for Hope Farm.

Hope farm looked like a traditional Sussex farmhouse, however it did look like all the barns had been converted into accommodation. This was made even more certain by the Totem pole on the side of the driveway ..  An owl on the tree stump.

The alternating woods and fields continued as we passed through Hope Rough and up to the lane from Bignor farm.

The stream here had been converted into a kind of garden, but a long way from any houses.

The path cut around three sides of the house, then cutting down through pasture to the river beside the canal. Unfortunately there were a couple of styles in the way - one of which had no obvious dog gate and Bertie had to be manhandled over it.

Down at the river - wider than where we had started - we crossed over to the remains of the canal earthworks, which we followed for a short distance until coming across the "lost"  lock, sitting on its own between two fields.

From here we followed the farm track back to Malham farm, where we had been on one of our earlier Wey-South towpath walks.

From the farm we went down the driveway for a short distance before cutting up another drive to a house in the woods. The path bent around this before continuing in the woods themselves.

We took the opportunity of some cut logs to pause for a bite and a little refreshment.

Around another house and we came out back on Drungewick Lane ..  following this north for a while before we could cut across an old corn field to the main road to Newpound.

On the west side of the road, we came to a track I had wanted to go down for a while ... it lead to the edge of the Joust field. However for today I would continue through the woods to Hurst Farm.

A pleasant surprise at Hurst farm house where the path goes over a field and is marked out by daffodils. Around the house then up the drive to Skiff lane.

From here it is a well trod route of ours back home across the fields to woods beside Orchard house and back over the stream to Ormond house and into the the village.