Midhurst Footpath Companions
Walking in Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey.

Kirdford walk on 22nd May 2023

We started at the recently refurbished Foresters Arms for our 3.7 mile amble around Kirdford.  The weather forecast was not promising, but Kathryn assured us mud would not be too much of an issue should the heavens open.  Time was taken to read the village history monument and the adjacent inscribed stone set into the old rectory wall warning against drunkenness in no uncertain terms.  Admonished, we carried on up the road until we took the footpath through the Normandie Stud and their well groomed horses and foals and skirted around Boxalland and Kiln Copses and through the woods of Barkfold Rough.  A long bench provided the perfect location for our coffee break near Chandler’s Barn before heading west on paths through fields.  There was a temptation to watch a shepherd training his sheepdog, but the promised rain made an entrance so we scrambled into more rain gear as we headed off.  A short spell on Plaistow Road brought us to the footpath over Great Common past the housing estate under construction and back to the Foresters which was not open.  We retired to The Stag Inn at Balls Cross for a hearty lunch.

The perils of imbibing

Ready and eager

The story of Kirdford

Horsing about

Leading from the front

Look, there are lots of them down there

Orchids in flower

More perils of imbibing?

Coffee break

English rose

Spot the deer. No, I’m Bambi!

Scything through the wheat

Crossing the stream by Fountain Farm

Training for One Man and His Dog?

The heavens opened and so do the umbrellas

We found The Hooded Claw fan club

Which way now?

Avoiding the mud

Lunch at The Stag Inn

The 3.7 mile route

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