Wealden Walks are a collection of self-guided walks available throughout the district. They have recently been tried, tested and improved to help explorers of every age discover Wealden’s hidden gems.
This page will provide anecdotes of individual previous walks, along with pictures and a quick synopsis. It will also provide updates for the next planned walk with any important details.
For the routes and details on the history behind the walks, check out our Self-Led walks.
April 2023
Our next walk will start at Broadwater Warren Nature Reserve, Groombridge on Thursday 20th April 2023 (2pm).
While walking around the RSPB and admiring the peace and beautiful birdsong, we will hear stories of the military training ground that this place used to be not so long ago.
March 2023
After an unfortunate bout of cancelled walks due to the weather, we were able to hold our first walk of 2023 – and what a turn out!
A group of 51 of us walked the incredibly muddy tracks between Wilmington to Folkington, slipping and sliding the whole way.
While it was a little hard to stay on your feet and there was quite a bit of uphill climbing involved, the views were definitely worth it.
December 2022
With the unexpected snowy / icy conditions, we have sadly had to postpone this month’s walk (we’ve never lost two on the trot before). We have been asked not to encourage people to drive out in such conditions for a WDC event.
Do not fret however, as this walk will be re-visited in the Spring of 2023, so keep an eye out.
November 2022
Regrettably we have had to postpone today’s guided walk. A quick reconnaissance this morning reveals the expected mud but also standing water across parts of the route and some of the approach roads also flooded.
October 2022
After torrential rain in the morning, it turned out to be a surprisingly sunny afternoon with an amazing turnout – unlike we’ve seen since Birling Gap in February this year!
This walk took us around the edges of Arlington Reservoir and the fields surrounding it, whilst we learnt about the newly found archaeological discoveries of the Roman villages. Among the highlights, were finding out where the abbreviations ‘s’ and ‘d’ for shillings and pence came from, why you find so many mussel shells inland and getting to test a wobbly bridge.
September - Rushlake Green
The walk around Rushlake Green was wet at times, but still 21 hardy souls turned up and endured. We learnt of the local iron works and the life, escape and turbulent end of a colourful local character; all while following in his footsteps.
August 2022
There will be no walk this month, but fear not as we are preparing two walks for September as part of the High Weald Walking Festival.
You can find the programme and book your chosen walks
See you there!
June 2022 - Isfield
We had a lovely walk around Isfield this afternoon. It began at the church and involved going through sheep and horse fields, along the River Ouse and winding through the village itself and past the old train station.
Despite the blistering heat, we had an amazing turn-out of 19 people and we made sure to keep a more leisurely pace with plenty of water breaks in the shade, even if the shade meant huddling under a bridge.
June 2022 - Alciston
One of the sunniest days we’ve had so far made for an amazing turn-out at Alciston this afternoon. When looking across the fields ahead, all you could see was us!
Whilst we were learning about the result of the Black Death on the village, we were walking through old crop fields, old farm animal penitentiary and a cow field.
May 2022 - Hartfield
As we headed off from the quaint village of Hartfield across the large open fields, we soon discovered the dappled shade of the forest and the old railway line.
Whilst this railway line is out of use by trains, it is widely used by walkers and cyclist and reflected this whilst we were using it. We even spotted the original hidden railway station sign!
April 2022 - Buxted Park
We arrived at a very quiet area at the back of Uckfield called Buxted Park, where we discovered WWII pill boxes, bluebell forests and goslings.
What a lovely time of year it was to wander around this park full of young wildlife amongst the flowers and trees blooming.
March 2022 - Birling Gap
A beautiful sunny day walking all around Birling Gap and the surrounding hillside. We had a large group today, which was lovely to see as we learnt about the smuggling roots of this part of the coast.
Although it was a little bit chilly and windy, the sun was out and we had a few hills to keep us warm. The views were incredible with the clear skies and a low sun which made all the shadows long.
February 2022 - Forest Row
This walk took us from the main high street in Forest Row very quickly off-piste to discover the various versions of Brambletye and its remains.
Although the weather threatened to rain, it turned out to be a lovely brisk day in the low afternoon sun – we even found a beautiful manor house façade, as seen in the photos below.
