One of the pleasures of living in Cuckfield is how quickly familiar roads can give way to open countryside. This walk from the Walks Around Cuckfield series invites us to explore the landscape beyond Whitemans Green, taking in Borde Hill’s parkland, woodland paths and the farmland around Brook Street before circling home.

The original leaflet describes Walk No. 6 as approximately four to five miles, allowing about two hours. Beginning and ending at the Ship Inn, its route offers plenty of variety, with something different to catch the eye as each stretch unfolds.

The approach towards Borde Hill provides an especially appealing opening. A long drive passes through a stone gateway beside a lodge and continues through parkland. There is pleasure simply in moving through such a setting on foot: noticing the shapes of individual trees, the sweep of the ground and details easily missed from a car.

Further on, the character of the walk changes. Open ground gives way to woodland, then fields, hedges and a pond. These transitions are part of its charm. Enclosed paths offer shelter and intimacy; emerging into a field brings light, space and a fresh perspective. Depending on the season, walkers may enjoy spring birdsong, summer shade or the colours and fallen leaves of autumn.

The route continues towards Tanyard Farm in Brook Street before crossing to Sparks Lane and Lower Sparks Farm. Here, the leaflet leads us through a working rural landscape of farm gates, copses and broad fields. The return includes an uphill stretch towards a ridge—a reminder that even a walk close to home can provide both exercise and the satisfaction of gaining higher ground.

There is another pleasure in this old leaflet: the glimpse it offers of how the countryside was once described and navigated. A telephone box serves as a landmark; stiles, iron gates and scattered trees guide the walker onwards. Such details give the instructions a human scale and make the leaflet a small piece of local history in its own right.

For readers of Cuckfield Connections, this circuit offers an invitation to look afresh at our surroundings. A few miles on foot can reveal how closely village, estate and farmland sit together—and how much there is to enjoy just beyond the roads we know best.

This is a historic walking leaflet. Anyone following the circuit today should check current public rights of way and access arrangements, as landmarks, gates and paths may have changed.