- Date: 26 June 2024
- Walk Leader: Sheila Gadd
- Distance: 8 miles (approx.)
From Borden Corner – The hottest walk of the year so far
Well, it was an interesting walk which had really started 3 days before when Mandy and I did some footpath clearance in advance so that the group would be able to get through Cumber’s Lane without being stung by nettles and scratched by brambles. Even so, we had to negotiate a fallen tree on the day.
It was at least 26 degrees at 10am so we were not expecting a huge crowd with such high temperatures, but 17 people duly turned out. We did tell everyone that we would take it easy on such a hot day, so no fast walking.
We walked down Cumber’s Lane under trees in the cool shade (I swear the brambles had grown since we had cleared them a few days before), emerged into a lane and then into a field and carefully walked single file on a short section of the A272 and headed towards Trotton Church. Crossing the road, we carried on to Terwick Cottages where a lovely friend, Penny, had offered us coffee and goodies in her garden. She was amazing. Proper coffee, tea, brownies, shortbread and flapjacks were duly consumed in her lovely garden for which we were all very grateful. A memorable coffee stop!
We moved on, over the river Rother to Dumpford and following fields and woodland paths to Iping Common where the heat really hit us! We stopped at Iping churchyard in the shade for our picnic lunch and a rest. We passed Hammer Pond and Hammer Wood, up Green Lane and back to our start point at Borden Corner. A delightful circuit and great company as always.
Author: Sheila Gadd
Photography by Sheila Gadd, Claire Anderson and Jo Legg