Forest Row
East Sussex
A guide for
guests
A self-contained studio down a quiet lane on the edge of Forest Row / fifteen minutes’ walk to the village / the forest, the farms and the water beyond ( everything we’d tell a friend who came to stay ).
01 The village
About fifteen minutes on foot
Fifteen minutes down the footpaths and you’re in the village, with its cafés, coffee shops, independent shops and everyday essentials. For the big supermarkets, East Grinstead is a short drive away.
Stocking up to cook? Shearer’s Fine Foods, the village deli in the old post office on The Square, is the place for cheese, charcuterie and fine foods from small producers (closed Sundays). Seasons Whole Foods, close by on Lower Road, is the local grocer. For the everyday basics, the Co-op on Hartfield Road and the Tesco Express at the petrol station on Lewes Road have you covered.
Thirsty? Flying Trunk Brewery, a tiny award-winning brewery on Tomtits Lane about a kilometre south of the village, has a tasting room and bottle shop. It opens only a few days a week, so check first.
The parish council runs a village market of local food and drink and looks after two greens on Hartfield Road, Forester’s Green and Rush Green. Fancy exploring on two wheels? The council’s bike hire unlocks with a phone app, and a surfaced path, Foresters Link, runs from the middle of the village onto the Forest Way.
02 The map
Walks nearby, and the places in this guide
Every place in this guide is on the map; zoom out for the days out further afield. Pick a walk from the list below and its route appears, with a link to the full details. Round walks bring you back where you started; the long-distance paths are drawn only for the stretch near Forest Row.
Opened this guide from the link in your arrival message? Then the studio is marked too, along with the walks that start from the door. Otherwise it stays off the map, because anyone can find this page.
A map of the walks and the places in this guide, on OpenStreetMap.
Choose a walk below and its route appears on the map.
Walk routes from OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab), except our own sketches: the Brambletye loop, and the walks from the door. Dashed lines are approximate. Follow the signs on the ground, and take a map on longer walks.
03 Coffee
Our two favourites in the village
04 Places to eat
In the village, and a short drive away
05 The forest
Heath and woodland beyond the village
Open heathland and deciduous woodland roll out across Ashdown Forest, one of the largest areas of open access land in South East England. The Ashdown Forest Trust owns it and the Conservators of Ashdown Forest look after it. Start at the Ashdown Forest Centre at Wych Cross. There are more than forty car parks across the forest, but no parking at all between midnight and six in the morning.
This is Pooh country. A. A. Milne lived on the forest’s edge, and his walks here with his son Christopher Robin became the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Pooh Sticks Bridge, Galleon’s Lap, Roo’s Sandy Pit and the Enchanted Place are all real, and all there to find. The Conservators ask visitors to follow the Forest Code, which is on their website.
Fancy seeing it on horseback? Riding here is by permit only, but the Conservators license three riding centres to take visitors out: Ashdown Forest Riding Centre, which takes complete beginners; East View Riding Centre near Chelwood Gate, for riders aged 8 and over; and Ashdown Riding near Nutley. All three are on the map; book with them direct.
After heavy rain, go looking for the forest’s two small waterfalls, the Garden of Eden and Mungo’s Waterfall, a walk from Ellison’s Pond car park on the Crowborough road. In a dry summer they can dry up altogether. There are no waymarks, so take a map.
06 Walks
Bridleways, woodland paths and the old railway line
Step out of the door and you’re straight onto the walking map: the lane leads to bridleways and woodland paths, and the reservoir and its footpaths are close by. This is the High Weald National Landscape, a medieval patchwork of wooded hills, sandstone outcrops, small fields and sunken lanes, laced with thousands of kilometres of public rights of way.
The Forest Way follows the old railway line from East Grinstead to Groombridge, via Forest Row, Hartfield and Withyham: flat, surfaced and shared by walkers, cyclists and riders as part of National Cycle Network Route 21. The High Weald website has a self-guided circular walk from Forest Row along part of it. Take an Ordnance Survey map, as it advises, because paths can be muddy and overgrown.
Our own loop: woodland, quiet countryside and a ruined mansion, with the Forest Way to bring you home. You can join it from the studio’s lane. On the map it’s drawn from the village, to keep the studio off it, and the line is approximate, so follow the signed footpaths.
The highlight is Brambletye House, known locally as Brambletye Castle: the ruin of a Jacobean mansion built by Sir Henry Compton in 1631 to replace an older moated manor nearby. The family had gone before the century was out and the house fell into ruin, but three tall stone towers still stand. The ruins are on private land, so admire them from the footpath.
The route skirts Tablehurst Farm, so stop at the farm shop for the farm’s own meat, vegetables and raw milk, bread baked on the farm, local cheese and juice, and pies and pastries from its kitchen, then at the little café for coffee, cake or something savoury. The café and butchery aren’t open every day, so check the farm’s website before you set off. From the farm, the Forest Way carries you back along the old railway line towards the studio.
Sensible shoes, especially after rain.
Drive up to Goat car park on Priory Road (search for “Goat Car Park, Forest Row” in a maps app and it takes you straight there) and you’re out onto open heath and woodland, with views across the High Weald. Routes head off in every direction. A 7 km circuit takes two to two and a half hours; shorter loops are easy to find.
On the way back, detour to Plaw Hatch Farm: barista coffee and cake at the Coffee Barn, and in the shop the farm’s own meat, vegetables, raw milk and cheese, with bread and pastries from local bakers, to take back to the studio. The Coffee Barn isn’t open every day, so check the farm’s website first.
Every forest car park charges. In September 2026 it was £2 for up to an hour, £2.50 for two, £4 for four and £5 for the day, paid by app or phone (no cash at Goat), and one ticket covers any forest car park that day. Check the Conservators’ parking page for current rates. No parking on the forest between midnight and six in the morning.
07 The farms
Two community-owned biodynamic farms
Tablehurst Farm, a community farm since 1996, sits on the London Road just north of the village, and you can walk there on the footpath across the River Medway. The shop sells the farm’s own meat, fruit and vegetables alongside organic goods from mostly local suppliers, and there’s a small café with a garden at the heart of the farm.
Plaw Hatch Farm, a short drive away on the edge of Ashdown Forest near Sharpthorne, has been farmed biodynamically for forty years. The star of the shop is raw milk from its own herd, from a dairy just metres from the cows, alongside cheese, yoghurt, cream, meat, eggs and vegetables. Visitors are welcome to wander round; the map of the farm walk is kept in the shop.
08 The water
Swimming, sailing and paddleboarding, booked ahead
Close by, Weir Wood Reservoir is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the High Weald, managed by Southern Water with conservation partners. Fancy a wild swim? Weir Wood Sport and Leisure runs supervised open-water sessions in a marked bay, with lifeguards and safety craft on hand. Parking is free.
Sessions are for confident swimmers, aren’t coached, and must be booked ahead on the operator’s website, which lists the dates. A bright swim cap and a tow float are compulsory. Swimming at any other time isn’t allowed, and isn’t safe.
Rather be on the water than in it? The same team runs sailing courses for adults and young people and paddlesport sessions, and hires out paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, dinghies and pedalos. You don’t need to be a member, but everything must be booked ahead, and boats only go out while the office is staffed.
Afterwards, the licensed Clubhouse Café at the eastern end serves light meals, cakes, ice cream and drinks with a view across the water. It isn’t open every day, so check before you go.
09 Days out
Castles, gardens, farm shops and cafés, a drive away
10 The studio
While you are here
11 Leaving
Checkout before 11:00
Checkout is before 11:00; your arrival message covers the key and the lockbox. If you enjoyed your stay, a few honest words on Airbnb help a small place like this more than you might think. Thanks for staying with us.