Pulborough to Amberley, 11 Apr

Trains: Take 09.05 from London Victoria to Bognor Regis / Southampton (Clapham Junction 9.12, East Croydon 9.23) arrives Pulborough 10.22. Buy off peak day return from London to Amberley. The train divides at Horsham so make sure you are in the correct part, probably the rear.

Trains back from Amberley are half hourly, at 18 and 48 minutes past,  journey length 1 hour 30 minutes 

The Walk: Distance 10.5 miles. Varied undulating walk along the Arun, then taking in the RSPB reserve, Parham Park and Amberley village. 

Lunch: Pub lunch at the Crown Inn in Cootham or picnic. Possible break off point from Cootham, where you can get a bus back to Pulborough.

Based on previous walks, I think that the morning will take 2.25 hours, lunch 1.25 hours and the afternoon 2.5 hours.

Total time is about 6 hours, so we could be at Amberley by 16.30, in time for the 16.48 train. However, there is a fine café overlooking the Arun, not to mention a pub, which may detain some of us. On my walkover on Monday, the last section by the Arun was waterlogged for a couple of hundred metres. I was wearing walking shoes and got slightly wet feet. I suggest wearing ankle height boots and giving them a waterproof spray if you haven’t done recently. Alternatively, one can take a short cut to Amberley station, saving 30 minutes. However, it’s a dull walk along a very busy road, and one would miss the most attractive part of the village as well as the Arun meadow.

Leader Mike C