Iping and Stedham Commons

From the Sussex Wildlife Trust car park the walk crosses the Elsted road onto Stedham Common and makes a loop through the heather and the pines, coming back to the road a little further south. It crosses onto Iping Common, the more open of the two, and goes west over the heath on sandy paths, past the low mounds of Bronze Age barrows. At the far side it turns north and comes back east along the bridleway on the north side of the common to the car park.

It is 3.5 km with 28 m of ascent; allow about 1 hour. The grade is Easy: short and almost level, on sandy paths.

Dogs must be kept on short leads at all times of the year, because of the ground-nesting birds and the grazing stock: British White cattle and sheep keep the heath open. The sand is soft in places and the paths under the trees are muddy in the wetter months. The road between the commons is crossed twice. Nightjars churr here at dusk from May to August, and all five of the heathland dragonflies have been found.

The car park is on the Elsted road, 250 m from the A272, about two miles west of Midhurst. The Trust's page mentions no charge. There is no station near.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.