The Forest Way is a linear

Country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated c ...

providing

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

and the quiet enjoyment of the countryside. It runs for around 16 km from

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

to Groombridge. The Forest Way lies within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the heart of the picturesque

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

countryside with the Ashdown Forest lying to the south. It takes the route of a disused railway line and now provides an important habitat for wildlife forming a ‘green corridor’ through the upper valley of the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

. The route runs from East Grinstead, via Forest Row, Hartfield, and

Withyham Withyham is a village and large civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The village is situated 7 miles south west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Crowborough; the parish covers approxi ...

to Groombridge.

Walking, cycling and accessibility

A flat, surfaced track runs along the entire length of the Forest Way providing easy access for disabled users and an ideal place for children to learn to cycle away from traffic. There are toilet facilities at Forest Row. The western end of the Forest Way links up, at East Grinstead, with the Worth Way which extends as far as Three Bridges. There are a number of circular trails leading from the Forest Way. These vary in length and difficulty. East Sussex County Council provides leaflets giving information on "Forest Way Country Park and circular walks" and "Forest Row walk".East Sussex CC
Forest Way information Along the route trees have regenerated naturally on the embankments and cuttings providing an excellent habitat for

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

badger Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by the ...

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

and foxes, in the fields and woodlands. Forest Way provides access to Weir Wood Reservoir with its plentiful bird life and sailing and to Standen

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

Philip Webb Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of common ...

which contains fine examples of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

designs.National Trust
National Trust information on Standen

History

In 1866, a railway line, the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line, opened from East Grinstead through to

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

- an extension of the line from Three Bridges. In 1967 it was closed under the

Beeching axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

. Ironically, Dr.

Richard Beeching Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching (21 April 1913 – 23 March 1985), commonly known as Dr Beeching, was a physicist and engineer who for a short but very notable time was chairman of British Railways. He became a household name in Britain in the ...

lived at East Grinstead (adjacent to the line) and regularly travelled up to London on the line when he was Chairman of

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

. The disused railway line was bought by East Sussex County Council in 1971 and designated as a Country Park in 1974. Major improvements to the track surface in 2002 led to its inclusion in the

Sustrans Sustrans ( ) is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United ...

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

. To the west of East Grinstead, the cycle route continues as the Worth Way along the disused section of line to Three Bridges. In addition, there are as yet unrealised plans to link the Forest Way from Groombridge with the Cuckoo Trail, another trail following the route of a disused railway line, which runs from Heathfield to

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

near

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

References

External links

East Sussex County Council on the Forest WayAshdown Friends of the Earth
{{coord, 51, 1, N, 0, 04, W, region:GB, display=title Cycleways in England Country parks in East Sussex Long-distance footpaths in England Footpaths in East Sussex Rail trails in England East Grinstead Railway lines opened in 1866 Railway lines closed in 1966 1866 establishments in England