RICHARD WILLIAMSON Country Walk...North Marden Down

Brilliant views, beech woods, wandering lanes and downland field and valleys are on this super walk of 6.5km (4.2 miles) which starts at North Marden Church just off the Chichester-South Harting road. St Mary's has two striking features: a Norman doorway with decorations of saw-tooth, nebule-with sawtooth, chevron and chevron-with-bead. Also, the east wall is apsidal.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Nov 2010, 11:12 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 00:37 BST

There is one old male yew tree about 300 years old.

Go past houses and north-east to cross main road into hidden walkway of hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn, whitebeam, dogwood, beech, ash and oak. Note how hazels are self-coppicing, sending up walking-stick shoots.

Left on purple arrow, then left on blue into the old copper beech avenue.

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Stay left as you pass Yew Tree Cottage with its hen and duck eggs for sale. Telegraph House is also on left, but then leave tarmac road on blue arrow, left, north-west.

Several yews here which form part of the large old yew forest of North Marden Down.

Through gate to open downland, north-west, when left again on blue. There is late Bronze Age tumulus in grassland at this track junction to the right, but it is hard to see.

Note how bracken grows on left of your path, male fern on right. Glimpse of the sea to left, and straight ahead, Edward Thomas’ old house at Steep.

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Field to right is good place to see winter finch flocks, blackthorn to left to see autumn flights of brown hairstreak butterflies.

After 500m from tumulus turn left downhill on blue. 
A splendid clearance of scrub on right to ensure return of chalk heath lost over past 40 years.

A single juniper bush has been left, but not roped off so has been attacked by fallow bucks.

Fine display of common yellow hill ants left as you approach Bramshott Bottom with little dewpond. Lovely confluence of valleys.

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Left on blue under huge beeches soon to climb on right-handed circuit around Kill Devil Copse.

Cross main road and left on blue, passing ornamental gates and Parthenon-style arch. Now lovely rue 
south, with view ahead of Kingley Vale bell barrows on horizon.

As track diverges, keep left on yellow along edge of Edgar plantation.

Superb view right of Jubilee Clump and Windmill Hill beyond, with Uppark behind to right.

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At Handle Down left on yellow into eastward rue. Note 200-year-old ash coppice stools all along this strip – remarkable path turns left then right along peculiar bird cherry plantation but note in the dip before the climb back to church, the wide flat space that was once a vast spring and lake, part of the Ice Age sink running at least to East Marden.

Wish I had seen it then, though might have missed Morris.