The George & Dragon, Burpham
The pub:
This is a real hidden gem. A 17th Century pub at the heart of this beautiful traditional Saxon village, it’s bursting with character. It’s a friendly pub with a good selection of real ales, including some local ones from the Arundel Brewery just a few miles down the road. It also has a well-deserved reputation for serving excellent food.
The walk:
It’s a 6-mile walk so should take anything between 2-3 hours. There are a couple of steep climbs but it’s mostly easygoing. We love the variety of this walk, from the tree-lined path through Angmering Park to the open downs with fantastic views of Arundel Castle and out to sea. Burpham and Wepham villages are also a joy to behold!
Getting to the start of the walk:
Burpham is reached along a minor road off the A27 around 2 miles to the east of Arundel. The road is signed to Burpham and is a left-hand turn if coming from the direction of Arundel and it’s on the right if coming from the east. There is a free car park by Burpham Recreation Ground, adjacent to the pub, as well as very limited on-street parking in the village.
Instructions for the walk:
With the George & Dragon pub to your right and the church to your left, walk down the lane that leads out of the village, passing the Burpham Country House Hotel on the left. Shortly after this, follow the road as it bends around and downhill to the right, watching out for traffic as there is no footpath. After less than a couple of minutes, turn left onto Coombe Lane. After around 5 minutes you come to a pumping station next to a house, keep going straight ahead along the path, passing through a gate a little further along.
The path soon opens up so that you have open downland to your right and within a couple of minutes of going through the gate you will come to a sign. Follow the yellow sign directing you uphill to the right leading to Wepham Down and follow the path as it climbs steeply to the brow of the hill. When you get to the top, take the opportunity to look behind you for fantastic views of Arundel Castle and Cathedral on the skyline. Climb over the stile next to a gate and continue straight on through a conservation area.
Within a couple of minutes you will come to a T-junction; take the path to the left. This path bears to the right and after a short time, a wide path joins from the left, just before you get to a gate. Go through the gate, and almost immediately you will come to a crossroads where you take the path to your left. Follow the path down the hill for around 100 metres until you reach a sign where you turn right and go through the gate and follow the path up the slope straight across the field. As you get to the crest of the hill, look to your right for sweeping views out to sea. Keep heading straight ahead along the path towards the tree line. Follow the path through the gap in the trees and almost immediately come to a gate. Take the path that goes across the field bearing slightly to the right. The path is not particularly clear at this point but you will see a trig point (a concrete pillar) on the crest of the hillside and you aim towards that.
The view then opens up to your right out to sea and back across towards Arundel. As you get towards the trig point, the path becomes much clearer again. Follow the path so that you pass the trig point to your right, and enjoy the magnificent 360-degree views. A couple of minutes after passing the trig point, you come to a gate. Immediately after the gate, you take the path that drops down to the left to a wide path running from left to right. You turn left but then almost immediately turn right, (so almost straight on), going down the slope and taking the narrow path that bends round to the right through the trees and comes to a gate. Go through the gate and follow this narrow bridleway with foliage on either side. The view opens up to your left with magnificent views of Lower Burpham and beyond. After a few minutes, there is a seat to your right, a great place to have a breather and drink in the view!
Follow the path through a gateway as it bears slightly to the right and goes straight on until you come to a t-junction, with a sign for the Angmering Park Trust. Take the path to the right, a wide bridleway that is part of the Monarchs Way through a forest of high beech, fir and sycamore trees. You then keep to that path for a good mile or so. You will come to a house on your left after at least half a mile and there is a crossroads. You take the paved road going straight ahead, still part of Angmering Park estate. This is a road, albeit a very quiet one, so keep a lookout for traffic.
You walk along this road for another half a mile or so, ignoring various paths going off to the left and right until you come to a small clearing in the trees with a wide path heading off to the left and a narrower path leading off to the right. No more than 20 metres further on the right-hand side, there is a bridleway leading downhill to the right, just before the main path ahead bends round to the left. Take this bridleway (it’s just after an Angmering Park Estate sign on the left)and follow the path down the slope. Almost immediately you come to a crossroads where you take the narrow path straight ahead, leading steeply downhill. After a few minutes, you reach the bottom of the hill and you follow the main path that leads round to the left. Almost immediately you come to a t-junction where you turn right.
Follow that path leading up the hill, ignoring the path going off to the left. The path quickly becomes very enclosed by foliage and the way gets steeper. After around 10 minutes, you will reach the top of the path, go through the gate and you come to a lane where you turn left. Follow that lane as it descends down into Wepham, keeping a lookout for views opening up again on your left-hand side towards Arundel Castle. At the bottom of this lane, by a beautiful thatched cottage on your right, you turn right and then turn almost immediately left, following the road down the hill past the post box and phone box on your right-hand side.
Around 100 yards after passing the phone box there is a stile to your right which you cross. Head straight across the small meadow to another two stiles which you cross in very quick succession. Take the path along the left-hand side of the meadow towards a stile around 50 yards away. Cross the stile and descend the stone steps and follow the path ahead 100 yards or so to a stile which you cross taking you onto the road. Turn right onto the road and shortly turn left at a t-junction and the George & Dragon is up the hill on the left.
South Downs Discovery now offer high-quality, self-guided walking holidays. All accommodation and baggage transfers are taken care of, leaving you to concentrate on the stunning scenery.