Sussex

Bluebell walk at Standen

Spring bluebells at Blakes Wood, Essex — A carpet of blue that smells sensational | © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra

This moderate 3-mile walk takes in the whole Standen Estate and wider countryside. You can take the walk at any time of year but if you visit in April and early May, you'll see the carpet of bluebells and spring flowers in Rockinghill Wood.

Near to

Standen House and Garden

Start point

Standen car park, grid ref: TQ391356

Trail information

View route

Print trail

Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 3 (km: 4.8)

Duration1 hour to 2 hours

Dog friendly***

*Some hills, rough ground and one steep slope. For further details, please see Terrain section.
**Not suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs. For further details, please see Access section.
***Dogs on leads welcome. For further details, please see Facilities section.

Some sections can be subject to closure

Some sections of this trail are on land not managed by the National Trust and can be closed if trees have fallen recently. Please ask staff at Standen for further details.

Address
Standen, West Hoathly Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 4NE.
Directions via Google Maps
By train
East Grinstead station 2.5 miles (4km).
By bus
Metrobus 84 stops at the end of the drive, ½ mile (0.8km) walk to reception, no service on Sundays.
Cycling
2 miles (3.2km) south of East Grinstead town centre. National Cycle Network 21, 1.25 miles (2km).
By road
2 miles (3.2km) south of East Grinstead, signposted from town centre and B2110 (Turners Hill Road). Postcode for satnav: RH19 4NE.
Total stages: 7
Total stages: 7
Start point
Standen car park, grid ref: TQ391356
Stage 1
Walk out of Standen through the entrance gate and turn right. At the Rockinghill Wood sign, approximately 15 yards from the entrance gate, go through the gate leading into the field. Continue straight ahead down the hill, then turn left on a well-trodden path.
Stage 2
Leave the field via a wooden kissing gate and go straight ahead into Rockinghill Wood.
Rockinghill Wood
Rockinghill Wood returned as part of the Standen estate in 2001 and is now managed by a group of volunteers. They use traditional, sustainable coppicing and green woodworking methods. The produce from the woods is used around the garden at Standen as pea sticks and bean poles, and sold as charcoal and firewood. In the spring there is a carpet of bluebells and many animals and plant species live here and visit, including dragonflies, deer and buzzards.
Stage 3
Go straight ahead, there is an old storage pond to your right.
Stage 4
At the end of the pathway, at a memorial seat, you can either turn downhill to the right, to a junction of paths after about 125 yards, or venture further straight ahead (adding just less than a ¼ mile to the total length of the walk). For a detour, go straight ahead and enter a wilder, more remote area, but with path a clear ahead. It turns right at another memorial seat and then right again at the corner of a large pond. Follow the winding path through the wood to join the short route mentioned above.
Stage 5
At the three-way fingerpost near marker (H) turn left by the fingerpost (go straight ahead if you have come down the shorter route).
Stage 6
The path winds by a boardwalk into a gully. After a short while take the path to the right, down steep steps and over two bridges. You will catch sight of Standen Farm across the field. Cross a plank bridge and bear right to continue to follow the clear path. You will see a vineyard in a field to your right, before you cross one more bridge and come to a T-junction of paths by a pond.
Hollybush Wood
Hollybush Wood in an ancient ghyll woodland, a relic of 'Holmwood', one of Sussex's ancient forests. Due to its steep-sided streams (ghylls), machinery has never been able to extract the timber so it remains undisturbed. There's evidence that shows how, once upon a time, one edge of the wood was used by the Romans for iron smelting. Today the woodland is managed using coppicing techniques assist ecological biodiversity.
Stage 7
Turn right and after 20 yards go through a metal kissing gate into the field.
Signs of the past
There are views across the fields of St Hill Manor which has historic links to the Standen Estate, but is now privately owned. As you walk back down the drive you pass three workers' cottages (now privately owned) that were built by the Beales when the main house was constructed. Recently the rocks on the drive have been cleared of lots of vegetation to expose the wonderful rock face that inspired the Beale family to buy the land and use them as an imposing entrance to the property.
End point
Standen car park, grid ref: TQ391356
Trail map
Bluebell walk at Standen trail map | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
You made it
Share your experience