Park in Gravetye Wood car park and follow the path to the left from the far end of the parking area. Follow this winding path until you reach a footbridge on the right with a prominent wooden hand rail.

Do not cross the bridge, but continue straight on along a flat grassy path out onto a narrow road. Turn right and walk a good half mile along the road with the Bluebell Railway line over to your left.

Ignore turnings off to the right and continue straight on downhill to a gate across the road where the road turns sharply to the left. There is a stile and way-marks on the gate but here you must keep to the right of way and turn left.

Just before the imposing railway bridge take the footpath sharply off right. Keep straight on, climbing gradually until you meet a narrow road. Go forward slightly left, downhill. At the bottom look to the hedge on your right for a stile. Cross it. There is a narrow faintly marked path in the field ahead which you use to reach a stile into Giffard’s Wood at the top. If you study the map (O.S. Explorer 135) you will notice that this path is shown as a mile long and straight. This is not strictly so as it does waver a little in places. In wet weather, it is likely to be very muddy. In about half a mile the footpath curves right and joins a forest track.

Turn left a short distance to a clearing on the right. There are three fingerposts here, one against trees on the right, one on the edge of the track and the third against the trees across the clearing pointing to your path leading into the woodland. Again in wet weather this path also can be muddy, but is more or less straight and well defined for the next quarter of a mile, then you begin to look up to the right for the boundary of the wood with a field. There is a small pond here, but you will carry on to pass a larger pond close to the path also on the right. Not far now to find a steep narrow path going very sharply up to the right to a stile and a fabulous view at the top.

In front of you is Gravetye Manor (16th century) among the trees and to the right you are looking towards East Grinstead and across the Meridian line towards the greensand ridge in the far distance.

To continue the walk, go on downhill towards a clump of trees in the foreground where there is a fingerpost directing you through into the adjacent field. Now turn left to continue in the same direction with the hedge on your left to find a stile down the bank also on the left. Cross over into woodland and keep straight on ignoring the path off to the left and so into a field. Keep straight on with a hedge on your left. Watch out for an iron gate also on the left (with a notice by the side for you to read).

Go through the gate into an enclosed path with a parallel path on the other side of the fence on your right. The other path circles right round the lake.

This makes a very pleasant loop of about half a mile which is open to the public in the summer months.
To continue the walk, go forward up the path ahead which is alongside the gardens of Gravetye on your left. On reaching the drive and main entrance to the manor, turn right and walk carefully as this can be a busy road. Soon you will come to a turning off right leading to the Home Farm. Turn right.

Go on beyond the farm buildings and take the left hand fork at the fingerpost. At the second fingerpost turn right as directed and walk to the bottom of this track where you will meet a junction of tracks.

By now you will be aiming for the car park. There is an information board here which includes the direction to the car park, which is to the left before crossing the bridge. The path becomes narrow and turns to mount a flight of steps up to meet a wider grassy track. Turn left and walk to the end where a sign to the car park points to the right (300 yards). At the next junction turn left and finally right to pass through a wide single bar gate where the picnic area and car park are ahead via a narrow path to the right.

Walk route: "Printable map"

It is recommended that you use Ordnance Survey, Explorer Map 135 for this walk.