Ardingly Reservoir & Ouse Valley Viaduct
Ardingly – The clearing in the wood or lying place for the cattle belonging to the people of Erd.
Parking & Trains
Ardingly Reservoir itself offers ample parking but if you want to come by train, then the nearby Balcombe Reservoir offers possible access. If the trains are running of course.
The Walk
Like many of our walks, we chose a day of ceaseless, relentless rain. Not hard enough to put us off completely but enough to offer some kind of water torture to make the trip more of a masochistic jaunt, rather than a carefree frolic. There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. We took our waterproofs and did not suffer too badly.
As you can see from the map, you cannot actually walk all the way around the reservoir, some of its shorelines belong to a private estate. In good weather there are beaches visible around the water but mostly for fisherman and not accessible by the public. Well, not officially. In fine weather, it is a fine place for twitchers to visit. For a small fee there is paddle-boarding and kayaking available. Also, there is a cafe selling decent coffee and snacks. Not open in February by the way.
There is a bridge at Mill Lane which, despite the traffice, is a beautiful little spot reminiscent of times long past. Little cottages adorn the river bank and behind them a small path winds steeply upwards into a field. We are now on the edge of Balcombe.
Balcombe – Bealda’s valley or maybe Evil Valley.
We must walk down some pretty and decidedly not evil roads until we are back in the countryside again and not far from the Ouse Valley Viaduct. The viaduct itself carries trains from Balcombe to Haywards Heath on the Brighton Line. Built in 1839 and crossing the River Ouse its design is quite elegant, if massive, with numerous identical arches. This is a sight to see and you can stand right underneath it, if you follow this route.
There are numerous rivers called Ouse. It is an old Celtic word simply meaning ‘water’.