“Castle not on the hill”

Thursday 19 October 2023 at 2.00pm

4 Miles – 2½ Hours

Meet at Herstmonceux Church, Church Road, Herstmonceux, BN27 1QJ

TQ 643 103

There’s no escaping the fact that whilst a “herst” is a hilltop wood and Herstmonceux church is on a hill with splendid views, the castle is in a distinct dip. This Fiennes walk looks at how this came about, the importance of the bricks, what happened to the original villagers and where the “monceux” came from. As a bonus, Lord Dacre may not lose his ‘Ed but is certainly left hanging around.

“Who left the iron on?”

Thursday 16 November 2023 at 2.00pm

4 Miles – 2½ Hours

Meet at Lintons Car Park, Colemans Hatch Road, Wych Cross, RH18 5JP

TQ 441 325.

There appear to be two distinct iron-making areas of East Sussex in Roman times. Although the industrial processes remained the same (bloomin’ iron), this walk explores the apparent differences in operation between the publicly run works in the east and the private sector works further west, including those on Ashdown Forest. At least both parties agreed on the need to take a bath.

No Dogs Please.

See our Self-guided walk webpage for self-guided walks.