Walk: West Marden to Stansted

This 4.7 mile (7.5kms) walk circles the steep woods and then the stony plateau of Stansted farms and forests. Queen Elizabeth 1 came here and folklore says she gave the name by shouting ‘Stand steed’ as she arrived, meaning ‘What a wonderful place, I shall stay here’. In fact, it just means stony place. Then, 200 years ago exactly, Keats walked here from Chichester and received inspiration for his poem ‘The Eve of St. Agnes’ in the chapel by Stansted House.

On the Hampshire border, West Marden gathered the stones into flinty cottages in which farm workers huddled until city folk dressed them up and made them warm.

There is a pub with parking, and in the village street, but this is limited. Uphill you will soon find a footpath sign pointing left, below West Marden Copse.

Beech, hazel, field maple make this a deciduous delight with woodland birds all singing merrily.

Cross Old House Lane onto the blue label bridleway into Watergate Hanger when the path rises, before settling along the contour and then turning right at the junction, by the Georgian keepers’s house, and on into the fields to Broadreed Farm. The Solent is in view.

If you want a short-cut, turn right on the footpath by the farm; otherwise, it is SW to Lumley Wood, and then a turn right to Lumley Seat.

In 1579, Lord Lumley inherited this estate by marriage to one of the Fitzalan family. Here, there is another short-cut to the right along another footpath; otherwise continue SW, coming close to Stansted House.

Here, we join Monarch’s Way for about 300 yards before leaving it to turn right along the edge of Forest Hanger and the 2.5 miles back to base.

All the history of this historic estate is detailed in the late Lord Bessborough’s book ‘The Enchanted Forest’, which was published in 1984.

There are also stories and poems by Ruth Tomalin, who was the head gardener’s daughter and grew up here. Four of her books I have: ‘The Orchard House’, ‘The Garden House’, ‘Garden House Diaries’ and ‘Dormice Again’.

Ruth was very knowledgeable about the countryside and gave fascinating accounts of her observation. She came to visit us once and her quick eye noticed all the butterflies and beetles, trees and animals, and all with a charming story to tell of them.

So, now we are walking north past the ancient oaks and chestnut trees, which have a good bird population of hole and niche inhabitants such as the green and great spotted woodpeckers, nuthatches, great tits and sometimes spotted flycatchers, the latter usually nesting on the side of an old oak, attached to ivy, and placing the nest about five feet from the ground.

I came to a footpath cross-over, but stayed ahead on the bridleway, coming to some sweet chestnut coppice. This would have been vital to the estate for several centuries, providing home material for building beams of cowsheds and barns, fork handles, sheep hurdles, fence posts and firewood, although this wood tends to explode or at least crack and pop, but would be safe inside enclosed cast iron grates.

Cross the minor road again onto a footpath, this bringing you back into the village.

These Sussex Mardens are named after the ancient term for a boundary hill.

The Ice Ages formed a vast swamp hollow around East Marden, which drained down the valley to Stoughton, leaving a ring of hills around.