Crawley Down
CRAWLEY DOWN TO BALCOMBE VIA GRAVETYE MANOR AND THE PADDOCKHURST ESTATE It might be apocalyptically dry but the butterflies are still ripe for counting. So it was that I took another route, in and away from a couple of survey areas, on the William Robinson Estate. Guided in my enforced meditation, I was forced to convene with patch of thistles going to seed and to be guided only by the flutterings of winged insects. My return to Balcombe was a little more conventional, along the quiet lanes and over the sandstone of the High Weald Landscape. Crawley Down can be made with a train to Three Bridges and then a 272 bus eastward. Return is on the same train line but further south. From the war memorial go immediately south on Station Road and then on to Burleigh Lane. This doubles as the Sussex Border Path . At Burleigh House Farm, take the path to the left that continues. At the fork in the footpaths, bear right and at the next marked junction, turn left and follow this edge of the fie...
