Country walk: Angmering Park

This walk of 4 miles (6.3 kms) is through woodland and parkland of Angmering Park, east of Arundel. The car park is run by the Angmering Park estate and is closed after dark.

It is found by travelling east along the A27 three miles east of Arundel.

Butler’s Copse is old woodland coppice replanted here and there and retains some good woodland flowers including, bluebells, wood anemone, yellow archangel, and red campion.

Walk east along the hard track and cross over the bridleway coming in from Hammerpot Copse.

You will see some western red cedars and larch trees along the way with old oaks, elders, and sweet chestnuts.

Continue on east to the T-junction where the bridleway now bends to the left.

Keep on north-east on this bridleway which crosses another junction, and after a mile it will take you up to Monarch’s Way.

Woodland flowers such as hemp agrimony line the way and provide nectar for speckled wood butterflies and red admirals, and peacocks and other species.

Goldcrests and firecrests live up in the tops of the pine trees among the most dense boughs.

I have seen cross-bills here in the past.

These reddish orange birds from Scandinavia look like small parrots as they swing upside down feeding on pine cone seeds.

It is also a useful wood for siskins and redpolls and I often see great spotted woodpeckers.

Keep left at the junction, the bridleway running near Buckman’s fields to the left.

Keep left on Monarch’s Way in Michelgrove Park and walk west for a mile on the main top ride with scotch pine trees on your right and beech trees on your left.

Flowers along this straight ride include nettle-leaved bellflower, hardhead, and marjoram.

Ignore the footpath to the left that runs back south to a stud farm.

Take the next left, a bridleway, which runs for a mile down a valley all the way back to The Dover through beech and Douglas fir plantations.

You pass a pumping station and a farm and some old beech trees where great spotted woodpeckers and nuthatches nest.

This brings you back to your car. On leaving, you have to continue travelling east before reaching a junction to travel back west.