Some walks begin with maps and car parks. For me, this Weir Wood walk began with lunch and a vineyard.
Having enjoyed a hearty Ploughman’s and a glass of Bacchus at the Kingscote Estate, I set out eastwards along the footpaths for a reservoir walk. In the end, the walk didn’t quite go to plan, but the footpath quickly left the vineyards behind and wound its way through sandstone crags, with hidden views of one of Sussex’s most important wildlife landscapes.
Set south of East Grinstead and near Forest Row in the High Weald, Weir Wood Reservoir stretches along the East and West Sussex border landscape and is one of the county’s largest areas of open water. Created when the wooded valley of the River Medway was dammed in the early 1950s, it has gradually evolved into an important nature reserve.
Weir Wood reservoir
Today it is a 379-acre Site of Special Scientific Interest, with 81 acres of protected habitat and around 250 recorded bird species. The western end forms a Local Nature Reserve and important bird sanctuary, while other sections support sailing, fishing, paddle sports and walking. Owned by Southern Water, Weir Wood has become one of those places where wildlife and recreation quietly coexist.
But the first surprise came before reaching the reservoir itself.
Stone Hill Rocks
Walking east from Kingscote, the route leads past Stone Hill Rocks, a remarkable collection of sandstone crags and another Site of Special Scientific Interest. Dating back to the early Cretaceous period between 140 and 100 million years ago, these sandstone outcrops rise unexpectedly from the landscape. Today they are owned by the British Mountaineering Council and are popular with climbers. The views from here stretch across the Weald countryside, offering glimpses of the reservoir below and rolling Sussex landscape spreading into the distance. It feels unexpectedly dramatic and perhaps a little wild.
The reservoir
Carry on a little and you reach a small section of sleepy lane. Turn right and then left (taking care because you are on a bend) and you start to drop down towards the water. You are on the Sussex Border Path but although reservoir walks usually promise broad expanses of water and uninterrupted views, around this shoreline is a fence between footpath and reservoir with a strip of overgrown land between you and the water.
The walk is a lovely walk: quiet, secluded and full of wildlife, and I understand the need to protect the reservoir with this fence, but I was disappointed not to see more of the water. I carried on walking but so did the fence.
10 km Weir Wood circular walk
The Sussex Border Path follows much of the reservoir’s northern shoreline, linking into a wider network of public footpaths and bridleways. There is a Millennium picnic site along the route and walking options range from shorter explorations to a full circular route of around 10km around the reservoir, taking in woodland, green lanes and quiet roads.
There is also an accessible bird hide at Legsheath Lane where there is a car park which offers some of the best opportunities to look out across the reserve. However, in the end, I decided not to do the full 10 km circular walk and turned tail and headed back the way I had come. It was still a good 8km back to the start, but I also had the joy of crossing the Bluebell Railway line whilst the bluebells were out and walking through some lovely and secluded woodland.
Logistics
There are several ways into Weir Wood. The Legsheath Lane car park offers easy access and good views across the reserve. Alternatively you can approach from Kingscote and Stone Hill Rocks as I did, from footpaths near Standen House and Garden, or from Forest Row where paths thread through farmland, past old ruins and eventually reach the dam.
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