{"id":2286,"date":"2021-07-17T01:31:06","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T00:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2286"},"modified":"2021-07-12T09:49:38","modified_gmt":"2021-07-12T08:49:38","slug":"cowdray-park-and-the-queen-elizabeth-oak-west-sussex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2286","title":{"rendered":"Cowdray Park and the Queen Elizabeth Oak, West Sussex"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">function popwalk(walk) {var url = \"\/Walks\/amap.php?f=\"+walk; varwalkwindow=window.open(url,\"walkwin\",\"height=740,width=1230,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes\"); if (window.focus) {walkwindow.focus()}}<\/script><br \/> First published in: The Times <a href=\"javascript:popwalk('CowdrayPark.jpg');\" rel=\"nozoom\" title=\"Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window\">Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201188014_572d56f6f0_z.jpg\" title= \"51201188014 grand ruins of Cowdray House 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201188014_572d56f6f0_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51200615368_c942fbc91d_z.jpg\" title= \"51200615368 rough ground of Cowdray Park 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51200615368_c942fbc91d_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201474455_d943ea9fa4_z.jpg\" title= \"51201474455 rough ground of Cowdray Park 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201474455_d943ea9fa4_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201474645_552d21d079_z.jpg\" title= \"51201474645 River Rother 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201474645_552d21d079_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51200615838_26bb199b85_z.jpg\" title= \"51200615838 lush vegetation at Ambersham Bridge\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51200615838_26bb199b85_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201187429_134701e5d2_z.jpg\" title= \"51201187429 path through the maize\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201187429_134701e5d2_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51200616178_08ba296a64_z.jpg\" title= \"51200616178 the mighty, thousand-year-old Elizabeth Oak\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51200616178_08ba296a64_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201475300_aa88b74a95_z.jpg\" title= \"51201475300 the Elizabeth Oak, pollarded by 1,000 years of lightning and storms\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51201475300_aa88b74a95_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51200409331_3647e53a9f_z.jpg\" title= \"51200409331 grand ruins of Cowdray House 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51200409331_3647e53a9f_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51199696327_6875ce5a6c_z.jpg\" title= \"51199696327 grand ruins of Cowdray House 3\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51199696327_6875ce5a6c_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51199696502_cc13bb7267_z.jpg\" title= \"51199696502 path across Cowdray Park\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51199696502_cc13bb7267_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51199696647_e5680936f5_z.jpg\" title= \"51199696647 shorn grasslands of Cowdray Park\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/51199696647_e5680936f5_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nFacebook Link: <script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=2286\" layout=\"button_count\" show_faces=\"true\" width=\"200\" colorscheme=\"dark\"><\/fb:like><br \/>\n<a href=\"javascript:pwindow=window.open('\/Walks\/prn.php?f=2286','pwin','height=700,width=1000,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes');\" title=\"Click for printable version\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/Walks\/print.gif\" align=\"right\"><\/a><br \/>\nA beautiful hot day in Cowdray Park, the last in a string of them, with thunder and brimstone forecast for tomorrow across the Sussex countryside. Under the gale-tattered old chestnut trees that lined The Race avenue, the humid air was stirred by the slightest of breezes.<\/p>\n<p>Woodpigeons cooed throatily among the chestnut leaves, and the shady avenue was tiger-striped with bars of fierce sunlight as we stepped from cool to hot and back to cool.<\/p>\n<p>Smatterings of Capability Brown\u2019s landscaping subtleties showed in Cowdray Park\u2019s curves and falls of perspective. A side path led up across a dusty harrowed wheat field, out over the lush shaven fairway of a golf course, and down a sandy path through a valley of bracken between huge plane trees with patchwork bark.<\/p>\n<p>Modestly hidden behind Steward\u2019s Pond (itself well camouflaged by bushes) we found a mighty veteran tree, The Queen Elizabeth oak might well have been standing here since before the Normans came to Britain. Its girth, 41 ft, is nearly twice its storm-truncated height. Warty and scaly, split and hollowed by lightning strikes and age, the tree had donned a green crown of leaves and acorns for the summer, as for every summer past for a thousand years.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast the lime trees of the avenue that led us onward, planted for our own queen\u2019s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, were slim striplings scarcely six inches round the middle. How many of them will flourish till the next millennium?<\/p>\n<p>In the shade of the coppiced hazels and sweet chestnuts of Heathend Copse we went south to cross the River Rother and enter the heath country of Todham Rough. Here conifer plantations alternated with broom and gorse. Labyrinth spiders had built funnels of webbing under the overhangs of the path margins. Our footsteps crunched on the stony tracks, and pheasant poults went racing ahead in panic, raising puffs of dust.<\/p>\n<p>We crossed wheat stubbles and passed the tree-smothered mound of Midhurst\u2019s Norman castle. A path over rough ground to reach the great ruin of Cowdray House, burned out long ago, and a final stretch beside the polo fields of Cowdray Park where teams of well drilled groundsmen were preparing for next Saturday\u2019s match.<\/p>\n<p>How hard is it? 7\u00bd miles; easy; parkland and woodland paths<\/p>\n<p>Start: Cowdray Park caf\u00e9 car park, Easebourne, Midhurst GU29 0AJ (OS ref SU 895224)<\/p>\n<p>Getting there: Bus 1 (Midhurst\u2013Petworth)<br \/>\nRoad: Signed off A272 at Easebourne<\/p>\n<p>Walk (OS Explorer 133): Cross A272; follow Midhurst Way\/MW (\u2018Permissive Footpath\u2019) up The Race avenue. In 800m, opposite gate on left (902229) turn right (fingerpost\/FP) across field, wood, and golf course (black arrows); follow direction of fingerposts. In \u00be mile, at bottom of dip, left through kissing gate (912226, yellow arrow\/YA, MW). Past Steward Pond (Queen Elizabeth oak is behind pond at 913227); on up young lime avenue.<\/p>\n<p>Through kissing gate (917228); bear left (YA) clockwise round top of field. Into trees; right (919229, FP, blue arrow\/BA) for 600m to road (919223). Right; in 150m, ahead (919221, Restricted Byway\u2019) to cross A272 (take care!). On down lane; in 700m cross River Rother (916212); right (FP) along river, then over field to road (912206). Left; at corner, right (913205, \u2018Bridleway\u2019). In 200m pass cottage (912204); in 250m, right (910201, BA). In 650m, left (905204, \u2018Bridleway\u2019 FP); in 250m, bend right onto New Lipchis Way\/NLW (903202, \u2018Bridleway\u2019 FP) on broad forest road.<\/p>\n<p>Follow NLW (waymarked arrows; if absent, follow \u2018bridleway\u2019 arrows) for \u00be mile to Selham Road (900211). Left across Costers brook; at crossroads, ahead (\u2018Kennels, Dairy\u2019), following NLW. In \u00be mile bend right to cross bridge (890213). NLW goes left, but keep ahead (FP) and bear right (YA) between castle mound and river. Follow path across rough ground to cross river by castle ruins (890217). Left; in 150m, fork right on track to car park.<\/p>\n<p>Lunch: Cowdray Park Caf\u00e9 (01730-815152)<\/p>\n<p>Accommodation: Angel Inn, North Street, Midhurst GU29 9DN (01730-812421, <a href=\"http:\/\/theangelmidhurst.co.uk\">theangelmidhurst.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Info:  <a href=\"http:\/\/cowdray.co.uk\">cowdray.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A beautiful hot day in Cowdray Park, the last in a string of them, with thunder and brimstone forecast for tomorrow across the Sussex countryside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walks","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}