The paintings shown in this blog are were all inspired by places I came across on the walk following. It has some classic English countryside views and is one I take regularly as it is close to where I live. 

Anyone who knows how I operate as a landscape painter, knows that I often paint from memory having been somewhere so that my landscapes are not often ‘realistic’ as such but they do reflect the mood of a place. I mention this as the paintings I am attaching here won’t be locatable as exact spots but any sharp-eyed observer following this route may be able to spot some of the places, I was thinking of despite that!

If anyone takes this walk (it is about 4.5 miles) and spots where one or more of them was inspired, please email me artist@gillbustamante.com and tell me where or send a photo and I will send you a free print if you are correct!… Gill 😊

Forest Row Walk

Start at Tablehurst Farm RH18 5DP (buy some food or supplies if parking there though as they deserve support!)

1. Walk straight up the hill with the farm shop to your left and the outside café to the right.

2. At the top of the farm, next to the wood workers hut, stop and admire the view of Forest Row then follow the path to the right through a small woodland.

3. Keep going upwards past the chicken huts field until you get to the top corner of the field and follow the path going right along the edge of the chicken hut field (not the path going straight on).

3. Go through the gate turn left and aim towards the bench at other side of the meadow – great view to the right.

4. Go over the style just past the bench and follow the path uphill past electricity pylon and through a stand of trees and then on the along the left edge of woodland until you get to another style next to a phone mast.

5. Go over this style and another to the left of it

6. Once over this style, you will see four routes, left along track, right through woodland, a grassy track straight ahead and a style slightly to the the right of it. Go over this style and follow the path diagonally right  across the field to the edge of the woods in the distance.

7. Once to the right of these woods, go through the gap into the next field with views towards Hartfield to the right and Holtye area to the left.

8. Locate the path that takes you diagonally left down the valley to the woodland below. Pass between a pond surrounded by trees to your right and a small rabbit warren type bump to the left.

9. You are aiming for a style diagonally left once in the grassy valley before the woodland

10. Cross the style and follow the wide main path through the wood

11. At the edge of the wood turn right and follow the path along the outside edge of the woods you just came through. You will often see deer and swallows here.

12. After a while the path curves right and then left so that now you will be following on the right-hand side of another small woodland with lovely views of Colemans Hatch area ahead of you.

13. Follow the path until the end of this woodland and again follow it as it curves to the right and then left along the edge of woodland and then passes a pond.

14. Once past the pond at a T junction you will see a path to the left and another to the right. Take the right-hand path and follow until you reach a metal barrier across the track.

15. Go past the barrier and take the path that curves left (not uphill to the right) and follow it on a track leading past some cottages and farm buildings on the right.

16. Go all the way down the track past fields on either side until you reach a bridge at the bottom that crosses over the river Medway.

17. A little further on you will come to a bridge that crosses the old railway line – now a cycle and walking path. You can at this point either cross down a precarious path at the side to this bridge onto the cycle path and go right along the path or you can follow the track to the end and go right along the main Hartfield Road, Forest Row until you see a signposted official path leading onto back to the cycle path.

18. Follow the cycle path towards the village centre until you see allotments to the left and some and steep steps coming up from them. There is also a small stream here. On the other side of the steps take the path leading down to a style into a meadow.

19. Cross the style and follow the path diagonally right to the footbridge over the river.

20. Then follow the path across the next field and back up to the Tablehurst farm car park.