Woolbeding Common is north west of Midhurst in West Sussex. The Woolbeding Estate was given to the National Trust in 1957, and includes a total of 1,102 acres, 26 acres of which are gardens.
The main house of the estate is Georgian Grade I listed and rented privately but the gardens are worth a visit. They include an unusual glasshouse and Silk Route garden as well as garden rooms and the Long Walk, which was inspired by the classical landscape gardens and pleasure grounds of the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the gardens are only open on limited days in the summer and are only accessible by bus as there is no parking permitted. Woolbeding village was mentioned in the Domesday Book.
In 1794, there was a dispute between Viscount Montague and Sir Charles Mill of the Manors of Midhurst and Woolbeding about their respective boundaries. To resolve it, they appealed to the High Sheriff and in due course, stones marked with the letters M and W were installed as markers.
Woolbeding Common is an area of heathland and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and home to diverse wildlife such as woodlark, nightjar, and a number of different reptiles. It’s also on the Serpent Trail. But above all else, Woolbeding Common is a wonderful pocket of countryside that feels wild and forgotten. There is bracken, heather, gorse, sandy, clay tracks and stunning views. It really is a beautiful spot.
Parking is at What3Words: clerk.climate.duos (north off the A272). It’s a small car park up a narrow lane. You also need Ordnance Survey 133. Depending on which way you travel, look out for the Medieval bridge that you cross.
Exploring Woolbeding Common
A short walk to the north of the car park is a trig point with great views back and forth. You can walk there up the lane or via the sandy track which runs more or less parallel with the lane but dips and rises with the curves of the common. Telegraph Hill (just out of the National Trust area of the common) was the site of a semaphore station on the line from London to Portsmouth (which operated from 1822 to 1847).
Sculpture
In the car park there is an information board. As you face it, there are paths behind it to the left and right. Take either and walk up the hill (less than .25 km), and you’ll come to sculptures either side of the path. These are part of a series of seven sculptures and sculpture trail designed to tell the stories behind some of the heathland sites in the area. These two sculptures are Resting Reptiles and represent the Smooth Snake (Britain’s rarest and most secretive snake and one of 12 of Britain’s native amphibian and reptile species found in the area).
Walks at Woolbeding
When it comes to walking at Woolbeding Common there are plenty of tracks to explore. There is also a lovely circular route you can do that takes in most of the common and is about 3 km. From the car park head north towards Older Hill. Either bear left at the trig point or take a left across the common and to the west just before you get to the trig point.
After a while, the path will bend to the left and after that you want to take a left turn. There are a couple of footpaths off to the left and you can take either as they will both bring you to a lane (Linch Road). Walk south (turn left onto the lane) until you see a footpath to your left which will take you back across the common. You will come to the lane you drove up to the car park and you can either walk back up to the car that way, or cross over and keep going for a while until you come to a footpath on your left. Follow this and it will bring you back to the car.
If you want to stay here in the area, you may like Titty Hill Farm. And if you’ve enjoyed this post about Woolbeding Common, you may also like:
