Walk 70: Cowden Station and Trugger's
Gill
Distance: 5.3 Miles (2h 40m)
OS Map: Explorer 147 (Start at grid
reference TQ476417)
Park at Cowden Station. Alternatively
travel by train – there are services every day of the week.
Go down the station approach and turn left up Blowers Hill. Take the first turn on the right along Wickens Lane. Pass the drive to Rickwoods Farm and take the next turn on the left.
Go up the drive and through a gate. Before reaching the house in front, go over a stile on the right and bear left, passing close to the house, crossing the field to a stile in the hedge. On the other side of the stile bear right to pass a concrete water trough. Over the brow of the hill is a grassy area between two woods – make for a stile into the wood on the right a short distance along its lower edge and follow the path through the wood to emerge over a stile. Follow a path along a very long field. Just as the path starts to bear gently right, bear left to a stile and enter wood (you need to watch carefully for this). Cross a footbridge and bear left along a path that soon bears right to climb steeply through the wood. On joining a more level path, keep left and continue to a stile and gate into a field.
Follow the right hand edge of the field to a gate. Don’t go through the gate but through a kissing gate a few metres beyond it leading into a small section of woodland. Beyond the woodland follow the right hand edge of a field, passing a fine crop of blackberries in late summer, to reach a lane.
Cross the lane to take path opposite through some woodland. Cross a field to a copse. Turn left following a line of electricity wires and making for a gate immediately beneath the next pole. Keep left as you follow the path beyond the gate down to a lane.
Turn right for about 100 metres and take a path on the left descending to a footbridge. Follow the path along the right hand edge of a couple of fields until it enters Trugger’s Gill. Go over a footbridge and up the bank at the other side into a field. Follow the hedge on the right until it turns right, then bear half right across the field to enter more woodland. At a T-junction, turn left. Follow a clear track, ignoring all side turns, until you reach a road.
Turn left and left again at a junction. At a footpath sign on the right, go down the driveway towards Malletts Barn. Just before the gate, go right along a path between a fence and a wall to a stile. Bear left across field to gateway. In the next field is a pond surrounded by trees – pass to the left hand side of this and continue across the field, descending to a stile by gates in the hedge. Go straight on up the next field for about 100 metres to pole, then bear left to a stile in the hedge that leads into Blowers Hill opposite a white house with hung tiles (The Old
Bakehouse).
Turn left and soon right into Cow Lane. This climbs at first but just as it levels out take a path on the left that goes steeply down the right hand side of a field then over another stile and across the end of the garden of a large house. Another stile (with waymark) takes you into more woodland and soon you see on your left the brickwork at the entrance to a railway tunnel. At a T-junction turn left and keep between the railway on your left and the stream on your right until you reach the road. Turn left under the railway bridge and left back into the station forecourt.
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Public Transport
This
walk is easily accessible by public transport as it starts and finishes
at Cowden station, on the Oxted to Uckfield line.
The Rock Inn at Hoath Corner
This
pub serves meals.
Truggers Farm
There
is a comprehensive history of the farm here:
Truggers
Farm
View
from most northerly section of walk on a fine January day
Our book of Ten
Favourite Walks in the Kent Countryside has routes for ten more
walks like this one.
Ramblers' volunteers in
Kent work tirelessly to ensure that our paths are as well protected
and maintained as possible. Of course we also organise led
walks but most of our members are independent walkers who simply
want to support our footpath work. Please join
us and become a supporter too. You need us and we really
need you.
If you find that the directions and map
for this walk are incorrect in any way, please report the problem to info@kentramblers.org.uk.
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