Plaistow in the Sussex Weald

Richard Clayton

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They say Plaistow is seven miles from nowhere, and visitors winding their way through endless wooded country lanes soon discover why. Incidentally, it is pronounced 'plas', not 'play' or 'plar'. Plaistow is a quintessential English village, with a green, a pond, a pub, a shop, a school and a church, all in the centre and boasting more than thirty listed homes and buildings.

The village of Plaistow was first recorded on an Assize Role of 1271. It is not mentioned in Domesday Book. However, flint, arrowheads and knives have been found within the village, suggesting that hunting took place and some form of settlement was here during the Bronze Age.

There is a hill at the western side of Plaistow called Nell Ball (Waymark 2), on the top of which, it is said, Nell Gwynne, mistress of Charles II, planted the original elm tree. A trig point is situated near the top and it has been used as a Beacon Site for special occasions.

This is a gentle five miles through woods, on quiet paths and bridleways and past picturesque farmhouses and cottages.

In spring, the blubells are incredible - take your camera!

England - South England - West Sussex - Countryside

Features

Birds, Church, Flowers, Good for Kids, Great Views, Mostly Flat, Pub, Wildlife, Woodland

17/10/2010 - Chris Williams

This is a lovely walk. It passes through a wonderful cross section of the local countryside showing the beauty of the area. It includes a private airstrip (being used as we passed; the sheep relaxing as a flock under a tree until the aircraft had left at which point they carried on with their lives) and also allowing one to see (and smell) a modern farm doing an admirable job of generating power from its waste products. It even throws in a controversial new house which I admired and others hated. A largely attractive and genuinely interesting two hour stroll showing the full gamut of the local area. A word of warning is that both times we have done this walk (Sept and Oct) the mud at 16 was so deep and churned with no way around that we had to detour and rejoin later over a barbed wire fence. Thanks to Richard for documenting the walk.