SOUTH EAST SOUTH EAST SOUTH EAST TRAIL RUNNING Mark Rainsley 65 off-road routes for beginner and experienced trail runners. TRAIL RUNNING These tried and tested paths and tracks cover the south-east of England. The routes range in length from 5km to 69km … and they are all great runs! Selected for their runnability, landscape and scenery, they include easily TRAIL accessible trails close to towns, cities and popular holiday destinations, as well as unforgettable runs in the more remote parts of the South East’s hills and coast. The selection is deliberately diverse including beaches, woodland, marshes, riverbanks, clifftops, heathland, parkland and ridgetops, and is chosen to highlight the incredible diversity of trail-running adventures that R the South East offers. Trail running is a great way to explore the South East UNNING and to immerse yourself in its magnificent landscapes. This guide is intended to inspire runners of all abilities to develop the skills and confidence to seek out new trails in their local areas as well as further afield. Mark Rainsley ISBN 9781906095819 9 781906 095819 Front cover – Seaford Head Back cover – Chislet Marshes www.pesdapress.com 65 GReat RUNS 42 Dover Felixstowe 40km 25 miles Margate Folkestone Ramsgate 44 43 Distance Route Route Distance Route Route Clacton-on-Sea Ascent (m) Page Ascent (m) Page (km) No. Name (km) No. Name Kent Downs 5 100 30 Wendover Woods 157 13 225 10 Coopers Hill and Hampton Ridge 63 5.5 150 57 Black Down 281 13 200 26 Grim's Ditch 139 45 Ashford 41 7 100 25 Wittenham Clumps 135 13 325 47 Knole Park 233 40 7 100 34 Hatfield House 175 14 400 4 Appuldurcombe House 37 Colchester Vale 40 39 49 Dedham 7.5 150 56 Petworth Park 277 14 175 9 Burley 59 0 Southend-on-Sea 0 KENT 8 200 32 Ivinghoe Beacon 167 14 425 11 Queen Elizabeth Country Park 67 50 46 Hastings 8 50 37 Hatfield Forest 189 14 100 18 Greenham Common 103 38 46 8 375 44 Folkestone Warren 221 14 25 23 Chimney Meadows 127 Chatham ee 8.5 200 6 Bembridge Down 45 14 275 33 Dunstable Downs 171 r 8.5 100 36 Epping Forest 185 14 25 39 The Broomway 197 Billericay Braint Basildon Eastbourne ESSEX Maidstone Tonbridge 9 25 35 Lee Valley 179 15 125 21 Winter Hill 117 48 51 Gravesend eald Chelmsford entwood 9 225 53 Ditchling Beacon 263 15 225 22 The Uffington White Horse 123 High r W 37 B 47 EAST SUSSEX 51 9 175 65 Happy Valley 323 15 325 52 Ashdown Forest 259 9.5 300 3 St Catherine's Oratory 33 16 125 8 Beaulieu Heath 55 48 52 36 North Downs 9.5 175 24 Blenheim Palace 131 Harlow 16 450 28 Turville 149 35 9.5 200 31 Tring Park 161 16 375 29 Chequers 153 City 53 65 9.5 25 49 Camber Castle 247 16 525 63 Box Hill 313 Welwyn Garden Welwyn 64 54 Stevenage 9.5 400 50 Hastings Country Park 251 17 350 27 Watlington Hill 143 34 Brighton Crawley HERTFORDSHIRE 9.5 475 54 Devil's Dyke 269 18 600 42 The White Cliffs of Dover 211 LONDON 63 62 55 10 250 14 Selborne 83 18 475 55 Cissbury Ring and Chanctonbury Ring 273 St Albans Luton 10 275 19 Lough Down 107 19 600 62 The Hurtwood and Leith Hill 307 Worthing Horsham ey Hills SURREY Littlehampton r 61 59 62 10 125 38 Hadleigh Castle 193 21 475 1 The Needles 25 Sur 33 CENTRAL Slough 10 700 51 Seven Sisters and Beachy Head 255 21 400 15 Highclere Castle 87 BEDFORDSHIRE 56 60 Regis 32 WEST SUSSEX Hemel 17 Bognor Hempstead 10 275 61 St Martha's Hill 303 22 575 2 The Tennyson Trail 29 31 57 Woking 60 30 Guildford 10 275 64 Reigate Hill 319 23 200 48 The Eden Valley 239 21 Windsor High 29 Bracknell South Downs Wycombe 17 11 425 5 The Devil's Chimney 41 26 / 16 575 / 400 60 The Devil's Punch Bowl 297 Chichester Maidenhead ns r 58 11 225 16 Combe Gibbet 93 28 28 250 17 Windsor Castle 97 59 14 BUCKING- 11 HAMSHIRE 11 200 45 The Wye Downs 225 28 25 40 The Dengie Peninsula 201 27 ylesbury Milton Keynes A Reading The Chilte 12 75 41 Dedham Vale 205 Portsmouth 29 575 12 Old Winchester Hill 71 12 6 Goring Ryde 26 20 12 50 43 Reculver Towers 217 39 925 59 Petersfield to Amberley 289 5 25 HAMPSHIRE 19 12 400 46 Maidstone to Hollingbourne 229 40 725 13 The Clarendon Way 77 Oxford 4 Newport OXFORDSHIRE 18 12 25 58 Thorney Island 285 Southampton 69 975 20 Goring to Avebury 111 3 Basingstoke 2 Eastleigh 13 15 13 25 7 Hurst Castle 51 24 WEST BERKSHIRE ISLE OF WIGHT 16 1 Newbury Banbury 8 23 Winchester 2 ch 7 8 r 22 essex New Forest North Downs W 9 Christchu Salisbury Swindon 10 20 13 Avebury Bournemouth Cotswolds South East Trail Running Mark Rainsley www.pesdapress.com First published in Great Britain 2021 by Pesda Press Tan y Coed Canol Ceunant Caernarfon Gwynedd LL55 4RN © Copyright 2021 Mark Rainsley Maps by Bute Cartographics Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2021 ISBN: 9781906095819 The Author has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this Work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed and bound in Poland, www.hussarbooks.pl Introduction With thanks to Susie Allison. ‘I just felt like running.’ Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump (1994) This book is about running for fun in beautiful places. Each route has been selected for its inspirational scenery and runnable terrain. The range of routes is deliberately diverse; these runs follow rivers and coastlines, go up hills and along ridges, cross open heathland and weave through leafy woodlands. The selected routes come highly recommended and include many of South East England’s most enjoyable and inspiring trails. But this is not a definitive collection. These runs are intended to open people’s eyes to the region’s potential and to act as a springboard for further personal explorations of South East England’s trails. Downland Trail, Butser Hill (Route 11) 3 Contents INTRODUCTION 3 OXFORDSHIRE 121 About the Author 6 22 The Uffington White Horse 123 Why Trail Running? 7 23 Chimney Meadows 127 How to Use This Book 9 24 Blenheim Palace 131 Getting Started 13 25 Wittenham Clumps 135 Skills Development 17 26 Grim’s Ditch 139 Outdoor Access 21 27 Watlington Hill 143 Enjoy 22 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT 23 HERTFORDSHIRE 147 1 The Needles 25 28 Turville 149 2 The Tennyson Trail 29 29 Chequers 153 3 St Catherine’s Oratory 33 30 Wendover Woods 157 4 Appuldurcombe House 37 31 Tring Park 161 5 The Devil’s Chimney 41 32 Ivinghoe Beacon 167 6 Bembridge Down 45 33 Dunstable Downs 171 34 Hatfield House 175 HAMPSHIRE 49 35 Lee Valley 179 7 Hurst Castle 51 8 Beaulieu Heath 55 ESSEX 183 9 Burley 59 36 Epping Forest 185 10 Coopers Hill and Hampton Ridge 63 37 Hatfield Forest 189 11 Queen Elizabeth Country Park 67 38 Hadleigh Castle 193 12 Old Winchester Hill 71 39 The Broomway 197 13 The Clarendon Way 77 40 The Dengie Peninsula 201 14 Selborne 83 41 Dedham Vale 205 15 Highclere Castle 87 KENT 209 BERKSHIRE 91 42 The White Cliffs of Dover 211 16 Combe Gibbet 93 43 The Reculver Towers 217 17 Windsor Castle 97 44 Folkestone Warren 221 18 Greenham Common 103 45 The Wye Downs 225 19 Lough Down 107 46 Maidstone to Hollingbourne 229 20 Goring to Avebury 111 47 Knole Park 233 21 Winter Hill 117 48 The Eden Valley 239 4 Old Winchester Hill (Route 12) Photo: Chris Eden EAST SUSSEX 245 SURREY 295 49 Camber Castle 247 60 The Devil’s Punch Bowl 297 50 Hastings Country Park 251 61 St Martha’s Hill 303 51 Seven Sisters and Beachy Head 255 62 The Hurtwood and Leith Hill 307 52 Ashdown Forest 259 63 Box Hill 313 53 Ditchling Beacon 263 64 Reigate Hill 319 65 Happy Valley 323 WEST SUSSEX 267 54 Devil’s Dyke 269 APPENDICES 329 55 Cissbury Ring and Chanctonbury Ring 273 Resources 329 56 Petworth Park 277 Mapping 329 57 Black Down 281 Access 330 58 Thorney Island 285 Running clubs 330 59 Petersfield to Amberley 289 Trail races 331 Training, coaching and guiding 331 New route ideas 331 Acknowledgements 332 Index 333 5 About the Author Mark Rainsley Mark Rainsley lives and works in Dorset. As a keen trail runner (and also kayaker, surfer and mountain biker), he has explored every corner of the wild and wonderful South East, in all its moods and seasons. He has been known to survive the occasional ultra- marathon, but largely he runs sensible distances, purely for the joy of exploring the landscape. He is the author of South West Trail Running. Mark took on the challenge of researching the South West’s and then the South East’s trail-running potential as a means of recovering physically and mentally from major surgery to correct a genetic heart defect. This seems to have worked; he recently celebrated his 50th birthday by completing a 50-mile trail run.