This Pulborough walk is a 13 km circular walk that helps set the scene of the town’s Medieval past. It starts and finishes at Pulborough Brooks (parking is £3 for the day) just south of Pulborough. You need Ordnance Survey Explorer 10. Alternatively, grab a bus or drive to the various interesting places on route.
The first part of this walk, is along the Wild Art Trail (click link for details).
Churches on route
If you’re interested in local churches, you can (with a little deviation from the route) take in five Medieval churches. These are:
Wiggonholt church. You pass this within the first kilometre from Pulborough Brooks. This remote and tiny church dates back to the 12th century with a 13th century doorway.
St Mary’s Church Pulborough. This large church in Pulborough has a 13th century chancel and 15th century lychgate.
St Botolph’s at Hardham. This church requires a little detour as you cross the main road (Stane Street) south of Pulborough but if you’re driving, there is a layby. It’s a fast road so care is needed but the church is well worth a visit as it is 11th century and home to some magnificent 12th century frescoes.
St Giles’ Church at Coldwaltham. This church requires another deviation. As you emerge onto the lane at Greatham Bridge, turn right to Coldwaltham. This is a 12th century church with an interesting tower and an ancient yew tree.
Greatham Church. This is another tiny 12th century church just off the beaten track.
From the railway bridge
The Wild Art Trail takes you from Pulborough Brooks to Pulborough village and up past St Mary’s church in Church Place. Then it goes on to the railway bridge. The footpath and Wild Art Trail to the station go off to the left and run along the side of the railway but you bear right over the bridge for this walk and then follow the road as it becomes Coombelands Lane.
There is a turning to your right that would take you to Old Place Manor. Old Place is a Grade II listed, 15th century property and not to be confused with New Place (a little distance away), a 13th century property and thought to be the oldest house in Pulborough. Queen Elizabeth I is believed to have stayed here in 1591 on her way to Cowdray Park.
However, for your walk, you carry on Coombelands Lane until the first footpath to your left which you take. You will see a concrete WWII gun emplacement ahead. There’s an information board that gives you some of the back story.
Just past here, you join the Wey South Path and skirt along the edge of the Pulborough Park Plantation. This is home to the remains of a Norman motte and bailey castle. It’s fenced off but you can clearly see the mound.
It’s a particularly atmospheric spot because it’s so quiet but must have once been bustling and noisy, and its strategic position overlooking the valley below is clear. Back in Norman times, it was owned by one Adam de Berthelot whose family still own property in the area today.
From the castle to the bridge
This section of the walk is a really pleasant woodland trail that takes you to Stopham Bridge (there is a slight shortcut you can take which runs past the garden centre). Stopham Bridge is Grade II listed and was built in 1423. There is a pub overlooking the river, if you’re in need of a pitstop.
Hardham church and priory
You cross the A283 at Stopham and follow the Wey South Path until you cross the A29. This is where a short detour would take you to Hardham church but it is also close to Hardham Priory. This was an Augustinian priory founded around 1248 but disbanded in 1534 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The refectory building has been converted into a farmhouse, which is a Grade I listed building but it’s an enormous shame that you cannot see it from the footpath. It feels like a little history has been lost from the map but you can at least begin to imagine the Norman castle above, the abbey and the church and what Pulborough must have been like back then.
On to Greatham
The path from here takes you through overgrown wetlands until you emerge at Greatham Bridge. From here, there are views back towards the priory and village, and the bridge itself dates from the 13th century (although it was later reconstructed). Apparently, a 10th century gold and enamel ring was discovered near Greatham in 2021.
There’s a bit of road work for this next section as you head east towards Wiggonholt Common, past a red phone box and Greatham Church. You turn left at Wiggonholt Common and follow the footpath through heathland back to Pulborough Brooks for a coffee overlooking the nature reserve.
This is a great walk if you want to understand the history of this area a little bit more. Although you can’t see much of some of the old sites, it brings the landscape into context and you see pockets of Pulborough that you won’t see from a drive through.
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