Amberley Station – Wey South Path – Pulborough Station

Next door to Amberley station is the open air museum. This is situated in an old chalk pit and is dedicated to the industrial heritage of SE England. On the other side, as you emerge on to the road is The Bridge Inn. The route from the station to the village of Amberley is alongside the River Arun.

The building on the right hand side as you enter Amberley is 'Amberley Castle', really a fortified manor house originally built for the bishop of Chichester but now a hotel. The church next door is Norman – early 12th century – and has an arch and nave from this period and wall paintings from approximately 1300 but only revealed during restoration work in the 1960s. The pretty village of Amberley is noted for its flint walled thatched cottages. (Ironically a house called 'The Thatched House' is one of the few houses in the village which isn't thatched).

Leaving Amberley our route picks up the Wey South Path, a 36 mile long distance trail from Amberley to Guildford. The initial section passes over Amberley Wild Brooks. This 8000 acre site is managed by the RSPB. Star species are snipe, teal, widgeon and various geese. It is also the flood plain of the River Arun so in winter or after a lot of rain this walk may be impassable. Even in summer it can be muddy and boots are recommended.

The medieval Greatham Bridge is a scheduled historic monument and the site of a minor skirmish in the civil war when it was an important strategic point as a river crossing. Several parliamentarian soldiers were killed and are believed to be buried in the churchyard of Greatham church. Cannonballs have been found at the site, presumably from this incident, and are now housed in Worthing Museum. The bridge was probably built towards the end of the 13th century by the Lord of the Manor and reconstructed in the 1790s.

The seven-arched Stopham Bridge is the second historic bridge on the route. Built in 1422-3, perhaps replacing an earlier wooden bridge built in 1347, it is Grade 1 listed and also a scheduled historic monument. One span was destroyed in the civil war and replaced by a drawbridge and in 1822 the centre arch was raised. It was badly damaged by army lorries in World War II but has since been repaired. The replacement road bridge was built in 1986 bypassing the original bridge and the White Hart public house, itself an 18th century Grade II listed building.

After leaving Stopham Bridge the route ascends out of the floodplain and this section, before the final descent into Pulborough, gives good views southwards of the earlier route. There are 7 stiles on this route.

England - South England - West Sussex - Countryside

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Walk id: 8910

Walk grade

Moderate Walk

Length

6.8 Miles

Height gain

50 Metres

Duration

2 Hours 49 Mins

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