"At 7.30pm on a sunny Sunday evening, the Welldiggers Arms a country pub just outside Petworth in West Sussex is full of people tucking into hearty roasts, the glass-walled restaurant overlooking glorious downland scenery, the sun all but disappeared behind the hills. For my husband, Mark, and I, it's more than a stop for supper; the pub marks the halfway point on our two-day walking adventure along a brand new trail, the 25-mile Petworth Way."
"Twenty-five miles may not sound like much (I have keen walker friends who would do it in a day) but, for us, it's the perfect length, with plenty of pubs along the way. The first leg, from Haslemere to Petworth, covers countryside we're both entirely unfamiliar with; the second, Petworth to Arundel runs through landscapes I've known since childhood. Happily, the start and finish points can be reached by rail"
"Things start easily enough; a brief weave through Haslemere's residential streets before the first serious ascent, through fields and shady, fern-rippled woodland that opens out on to Black Down, the highest point in the South Downs national park. After the dim light of the wood, the heathland blazes with colours; bursts of butter-yellow gorse, purple heather and bottle-green pine trees, all set beneath an intensely blue sky."
The Petworth Way is a 25-mile trail ideally walked over two days, linking Haslemere, Petworth and Arundel with regular pub stops and rail-accessible start and finish points. The route begins with a steep ascent from Haslemere through fern-rippled woodland to Black Down, then across colourful heathland of gorse, heather and pine. The halfway point is the Welldiggers Arms near Petworth, a glass-walled country pub overlooking downland. The second leg traverses familiar childhood landscapes toward Arundel. The walk requires only small rucksacks and printed instructions, offering varied scenery, clear viewpoints and practical logistics for walkers.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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