Getting to Abingworth by Public Transport
The nearest rail station is Pulborough but there is not a direct bus route from Pulborough to Abingworth.
Looking at the map and bus timetables you may be tempted to catch the bus to Storrington and then walk from there, but walking up the B2139 is a horrible route, I would not advise it. Especially the last part as there is no pavement and there is fast traffic with hidden bends. There is a good chance you could be run over by your, less environmentally aware, fellow guests arriving by car.
Image from Google Street View.
The best route I have found is to catch the bus (Stagecoach route 1) from Pulborough station to West Chiltington and then walk from there. This involves a short section of walking along a bridleway but I did not have any problem pulling my wheelie case along it, even in light rain, but it may be a problem if it is very muddy.
Alternatives would be to pre-book a taxi from one of the companies listed on the HF website. It is unfortunate that HF no longer put guide prices for taxi transfers on their website.
There are a few bus routes through Abingworth but, when I looked, they were too early or late in the day.
Route in more detail
Catch the train to Pulborough
The train I was on, from London, divided at Horsham, I needed to be on the rear portion which called at Pulborough and all stations to Bognor Regis. These trains are often quite busy and some of the people traveling to Gatwick Airport can be annoying.
At Pulborough I needed to walk down the station drive (not the bus stop directly outside the station building). The bus stop has a display on it so you can see when the next bus is expected. The buses are hourly. I found that the buses were often up to 15 min late but they turned up eventually. If you have a long wait there was a caravan thing outside the station selling drinks.
Image from Google Street View.
Take the bus toward Worthing. When I went it was Stagecoach route 1, don't catch other routes such as 100 as it does not go via West Chiltington(best to ask the driver if it stops at West Chiltington)
Get off the bus after the bus turns right at a crossroads (The Birches - or if you miss that you can go on to The Crossways).
Image from Google Street View.
From the crossroad go past a small local shop along Haglands lane and then, where the road forks, right onto Lordings Lane. At the end after the road goes over a small stream go left along the bridleway, this leads to Abingworth.
If you get to Abingworth a bit early there is a nice community cafe/shop (Meadows Cafe) in the new housing estate. That's one advantage of having a HF house surrounded by housing estates (and its better than a mushroom farm).
The House
I had a nice room upstairs in the house (Room 19). Looks like some of the rooms are on the ground floor along a corridor from the conservatory. The conservatory is a bit cold when having tea & coffee in winter. I guess it cant be changed due to the history.
update from Heather Sadly the cedar tree in this picture was dying and had to be taken down in 2024. |
Walks from the House without Car
I managed to find enough walks from the house on a 7-night self-guided holiday. Such as:
South Downs
There are good views from the South downs, this is a high ridge of hills, on one side there is this view back to Storrington and the HF house beyond it. on the other side are views to the south coast:
It is possible to walk here from the HF house. However I found it to be a bit of a slog to walk there and back because you have to walk down to Storrington in the valley and then up the other side. In the reverse direction its down and up again.
I found it better to use the bus in one direction. I got the bus from West Chiltington (see above) toward Worthing and get out at a bus stop called 'Washington Bostal'. Walk south a bit and then cross the A24, the most dangerous part of the walk, at least you can wait on the central reservation. Go round by Glaseby Lane and onto the footpath up to the South Downs.
Here is a seat to have your lunch on the way back.
Chanctonbury Ring and Sleepy Hollow
As above I got the bus from West Chiltington (see above) toward Worthing.
The shorter option is to get off the bus at Washington (I didn't find much of interest at Washington, just some white houses and the Washington Village Memorial Hall). I went along Sandhill Lane and through the subway under the A24 then along the path on the other side and through the woods at Warren Hill. Then there is some walking along some lanes unfortunately (Veras Walk) but the history of Sleepy Hollow is interesting.
For a longer walk get off the bus at the next stop called 'Washington Bostal'. Then walk up to Chanctonbury Ring and back via Washington as above.
Pulborough and RSPB nature reserve
You can get the bus from West Chiltington in the opposite direction back to Pulborough. I didn't see any shopping centre in Pulborough, just isolated estate agents, wine merchants and that sort of thing. There seems to be the bit around the railway station and some more interesting, older looking buildings around Rectory Lane.
You can either walk back to the HF house via Nutbourne.
Or you can go south to the RSPB nature reserve.
Worthing
You can stay on the bus (Stagecoach route 1) beyond Washington to Worthing.
The wine growing region of Abingworth
Other Documents on this site
Click on the following for more information
| Former HF Houses | |
|---|---|
| Conwy (1914- 2011) |  |
| Newlands (1914- 1987) |  |
| Swanage (1947- 1995) |  |
| Isle of Arran (1925- ) |  |
| Scarborough (1954- 1998) |  |
| Lulworth |  |
| Beddgelert |  |
| New Inns |  |
| Penrith |  |
| Milford-on-Sea |  |
About This SiteHere is some information I have gathered together about getting to and walking from HF houses when leaving the car at home. On these pages I have also put some history about former HF houses I have visited. The information here is based on my visits to HF houses over the years. It may be out of date so don't rely on anything here without checking. If you find any errors why not let others know by putting a post on the HF Holiday Fans ( unofficial) Facebook forum. I will try to quote such posts here so they don't get lost. This is information I have discovered over the years which would have been useful to know before. Unfortunately the travel information on the HF website, for getting to houses by public transport, is poor. I think it would be better if the information on this page were on the HF website. |
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