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| A circular walk from the Square
in Forest Row via Burnthouse Farm, Weir Wood, Horseshoe Farm, Brambletye
Castle and back by Forest Way. Although know locally as “Brambletye Castle”
the ruins here are the remains of a Jacobean House built in 1631 and abandoned
fifty years later. As there were no heirs it remained derelict.
It is possible to park cars in The Square in the centre of Forest Row but the preferable parking place, with no time limit, (Park in 'more than 2 hours' area!) is at the rear of the Forester’s Arms in the Hartfield Road. Parking is also possible in the Forest Row Community Centre opposite. Leave the Square on the west side through Ashdown Court and follow the stony track (ignore stile on left). Cross over footbridge and uphill with hedge on right hand side to cross stile into another field. Continue ahead to a kissing gate on the right leading onto a track at Burnthouse Farm. There are good views of Brambletye Castle from this path. Cross this track to a barn and stile. Just beyond the barn there is a stile on your left. Cross and turn right to follow a hedge lined path. Go across two more stiles into a field. Bear left across another stile to follow the river upstream and on to cross lane and stile into a field. Continue across this field passing a small fenced pond on your right and through a wooden kissing gate to cross footbridge and climb half left through a field to stile at the Weir Wood Reservoir approach road. Turn right down the tarmac road to cross a broken stile on the right of the reservoir entrance gates. Keep to the left alongside wire fence and over wide wooden river footbridge with stile. Look to the left hand side for a high wire fence among bushes and small trees. This is the boundary fence around the area of Weir Wood Reserve. Follow this fence for about half a mile, then when you have a good view of the actual reservoir look for a fingerpost against the fence on your left under a tree. Here turn right to walk towards East Grinstead Church in the distance and across to a two fingerpost up against the end of a hedge. From this fingerpost continue straight ahead, making for a stile, footbridge and second stile tucked in the far right hand corner of the field. Cross over into the next field. Continue along the right hand boundary of field until you reach a gate and cross paths and two footbridges. Take the right hand larger bridge and follow the Sussex Border Path for a short distance along an enclosed path to Horseshoe Farm drive. Turn right and walk towards and past a fingerpost on the left of Horseshoe Farm gates into an enclosed path leading up to a wire fence. Turn left and follow the path round two sides of this field to a stile. The path now goes straight ahead and then bears slightly right down to a stile. Cross the stile and go slightly left for a few paces over rough ground then follow the headland path on the right, gradually climbing until just before overhead wires look for an entry into the woodland on your right. This entrance to the wood is sometimes overgrown. Follow the path through the wood to the left. As you emerge from the wood to a fingerpost the path now passes between enclosed fences ahead. Do not take the footpath which drops down to the right. The path becomes a broad track and passes a converted tithe barn at Brambletye Manor Farm. Keep to the main track as it curves away to the left. Take a moment to view the house through the original entrance gates and visualise how imposing it must have been. This Jacobean house, built in 1631 was the home of the Lewknors. It fell into ruins after the last tenant fled the country in 1683 on suspicion of treason. Legend has it that he was out hunting in
the woods and when told that soldiers were waiting for him back home he
turned his horse in the direction of Spain. The soldiers blew up the munitions
they found in the house. Nobody could claim ownership and the local farmers
stole the masonry over a long period for their own purposes.
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