Country walk: Easebourne

Easebourne is separated from Midhurst by the River Rother. Its woods climb up almost into the clouds and the dark forests of pine and spruce trees.

Both river and land were once owned by a Saxon farmer called Esa.

The village name changed over centuries from Eseburne, Isenburna, Esenhull.

In a thousand years it might be known as Area EB 100, who knows.

My walk starts high above this pretty village at a grass verge space on a minor road that runs east off the A286 on Bexley Hill at SU903249.

The woods are nowadays felled regularly on a crop rotation to make beams for new housing developments, packaging, and paper.

Years ago parts of it was Common land, used for grazing for horses and cattle by the local community.

I walked west a couple of hundred yards and turned south on a restricted byway sign at a wood called Whitters Copse.

This was planted centuries ago with sweet chestnut trees and a wood harvested regularly to make hurdles, barrels, wattles, and house timbers.

Nowadays this sort of crop is used to make fencing posts.

Nearby is Scotland Knob.

That possibly has some reference to the heather moorland that used to grow there.

You may still see traces of ancient vegetation such as bilberry and Calluna vulgaris around about this high hill.

The by-way runs southwards. Then turn left onto a footpath, leaving the restricted by-way.

This forest track emerges out into a grand open view of the South Downs.

A deep lane takes you on for a kilometre when you turn left and cross fields to Easebourne Street. Then turn tight down the road. In wet weather a stream runs with you and in spring it has aconites along its bank.

At a post-box the footpath turns left into a minor road to Loves Farm.

In the past during winter I have seen old summer nests of blackbird, dunnock, bullfinch and jay in the hedge along this road.

At Lower Vining there is a reservoir, the footpath making a right/left around it.

Then right and left again leading you on to Grevatts Farm buildings at Vining Common.

That’s an interesting name.

Were there grape vines here or can it be traced back to the ancient word ‘ffin’ meaning a boundary formed by a stream.

A spring stream does rise close to these buildings after all.

Maybe Farmer Esa had a quarrel and dispute with a neighbour and a grand jury declared the certain boundaries.

It’s only a thought.

The bridle way crosses a footpath into a new rue of young oak trees leading back into the woods of

Vining Rough and so back to the minor road and your car.