A surprisingly hilly 8m / 12.8km Horsham Circular

Emma, West Sussex

Sep 21

September: Lichen, moss and toadstools begin to take centre stage.

It's amazing to discover how hilly Horsham district is - or perhaps 'mountainous' (that's certainly what it felt like as I was pulled up the very steep hill at the start of this walk by my trusty whippet!). The hill in question is fairly thickly wooded, so the walking path does not offer great views across the town - but this section of the route does offer a good work out, so it's a fair trade off!

Wild Blackberries offer refreshment along the way!

Not a good route to pick in wet or very dry weather, when the clay slopes would likely to be very slippery. There are several styles along the way, and a section along a country road, but other than that, it's a cross country / through woodland route, which shows a very much more rural side to Horsham than the central starting point.

A good place to start is Blackhorse Lane, where free parking is available - just make sure you pick the correct bays, and complete your walk before or after 2-4pm, when 'residents only' restrictions are in place. (See point 'B' on the map). Or use the pay & display car park in Denne Road (Map point 'A').

For the route, click here. The link will open in Komoot - from here you can either print the directions, or follow live via your phone, with live instructions as you walk to save you having to look down and read - useful when navigating uneven or root-ridden ground!

Plump Sloe berries ready for making heady Sole Gin: a great winter warmer!

Hedgerow Harvests

Along the route, late summer is the perfect time for snacking upon, or gathering blackberries, sloes and seeds.

Sloe Gin

We pick as many plump, rich purple sloes as we can, and steep big in sugar and gin for a minimum of four months, up to a year; shaking the bottle weekly to help the sugar dissolve into a heady syrupy liqueur; rich in colour, taste and warming properties; the perfect winter medicinal!

Ingredients:

500g ripe sloes - prick over with a metal skewer, or freeze first; either helps the juices run

250g golden caster sugar

1 litre gin

Method:

Sterilise your bottles in the oven, or with Milton or other food grade sterilising solution.
Tip the pricked or frozen sloes into a 2-litre glass jar, or divide between two smaller jars - I collect jars from a delicatessen. (They often have food delivered in lovely big screw top jars & are very happy to give the containers away once empty).
Layer in the sugar as you pour in the sloes. Fill with gin, then seal the jar. Shake well.
Give the jar a good shake daily for the next 7 days.
Store the jar in a cool, dark place and leave for two to three months. Or longer!
Line a plastic sieve with a square of muslin set over a bowl (or use an old cotton shirt tied at each corner onto the legs of an upturned stool or side table; forming a funnel above a large bowl. Strain the sloe gin through the filter funnel.
Decant into the clean, dry bottles, then seal and label.
The sloe gin is ready to drink after 2 or 3 months, but it'll improve and mature over time – so, if possible, make it one year to drink the next. Small bottles make wonderful home made cracker fillers or larger ones for Christmas Presents...

Huge, Scarlet Rose Hips - a second flourish from the wild roses!

"One of the things that strikes me most forcibly is the extent to which the majority of the population has lost any real connection with the land...

The rich, natural tapestry that is the countryside we value so highly does not just happen by itself. But that delicately woven tapestry is facing unprecedented challenges...

Start pulling out the threads and the rest unravels very rapidly indeed, and is very difficult to put back again – no farmers, no beautiful landscapes with hedgerows and stone walls; no thriving rural communities, no villages or village pubs; no local markets, no distinctive local foods. Somehow we need to find a way to put a value on our countryside, with all its facets."

King Charles III, then The Prince of Wales, writing in a foreword for Country Life magazine to mark his 66th birthday. 2014.