Ardingly reservoir and a hide

March 2013

(geograph here)

was the focus of our walk on Saturday. Intent on "bagging" two counties in one weekend we took a rather tortuous route from Coldharbour, but it was worth it with glorious autumn leaves and low bright sunlight, attractive boats and a wide range of bird life.

The walk took us past the school with its extensive sports fields, the reservoir, attractive in the autumn sun though curiously empty despite a summer of average rainfall. Then through well signed paths and a deer park to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Wakehurst Place, an offshoot (sorry ...) of Kew Gardens .

Then to The Gardeners' Arms for lunch, a popular restaurant with good food and beer before eventually heading back to Coldharbour for a rest.

One incident stays in my mind: walking down a slope across a field we heard a kerfuffle and suddenly found a roe deer that charged through or over a wire fence just yards in front of us. It seemed to have tripped on the top wire and it rolled over the fence almost before our feet. We stood there quite stunned as it recovered and skipped off.

In the evening we visited The Parrot an excellent gastro pub cum restaurant that seems to have achieved the trick of serving superb food to a lot of people without losing the atmosphere of a cosy bar. We strongly recommend it, its atmosphere, its beer and its cheerful waitresses.