Rowlands Castle and Stansted Forest
Children will enjoy the new playground that can be added on to the start of this walk.
The view towards Stansted House
The Basics
Time: 1 hour
Distance: 4 km
Terrain: Pavements, some stony and some grassy woodland paths, a couple of very steady inclines and a metal barrier to squeeze past or under.
Pushchair: I personally would not want to push one up the stony paths at the start of this walk, but there may be some people with more determination with me!
Dogs: Yes. Dogs are allowed in the recreation ground, but the children’s play area is fenced off.
Refreshments: You will pass three pubs including The Robin Hood and The Castle , as well as a really inviting looking café, The Bumblebee
Toilets: To the side of the pavilion building in the recreation ground.
Public Transport: Rowlands Castle is served by the London Waterloo to Portsmouth trainline.
Parking: To take advantage of the play equipment, we parked at the recreation ground for free (Postcode: PO9 6AQ - W3W: flamed/heartache/universal). If you are not planning on going to the playground, then parking can usually be found along the side of Finchdean Road, just beyond the railway bridge, also free.
Rowland's Castle Recreation Ground
In 2023, a new playground was completed in Rowlands Castle. Using this as a starting point, if you walk over the splendid village green, passing pubs and a café, you will find yourself in a forest where long grassy rides frame views of Stansted House.
The Route
We began our walk at the recreation ground and left via the main entrance, onto The Fairway. At the junction with the village hall, we turned left and headed toward the village green. We crossed the village green and walked under the the large railway bridge at the opposite end of the village centre. If you do not want to go to the recreation ground, then you could start you walk from this point.
Walk along Finchdean Road and pass The Castle pub on your left. Continue along the pavement and look for a point in the stone wall on the opposite side of the road where it breaks to allow for the start of a footpath. It has a metal barrier to stop bikes and you either need to squeeze around the edge or bend under.
You will now be in Stansted Forest and should walk ahead, passing a little stream and bridge on your left. Head towards a meeting of paths around a large central tree straight ahead. Turn left here on the stony path.
The path steadily climbs into the forest. Ignore any minor paths coming in from the left or right, including the one marked to the Old Lodges, and wait for the next obvious fork in the path with a post with a yellow arrow. Fork left here, sticking with the official footpath.
The path will take you through trees and in the spring you should see bluebells here. You should remain with the same path until you hit a junction with a wide grassy path. Turn right here and follow the grass as it takes you steadily back down. Look out for some carved benches to rest on. This path will come to an end when it hits the T-junction with an even wider grassy path called The Avenue.
Join the wider, grassier path and turn right. But before doing so, make sure to look back along The Avenue to see a wonderful view to the distant Stansted House. Walk away from the house in the direction of Rowlands Castle. At the end of the grassy avenue, you will see where the path enters the cover of the trees again and becomes stony once more. Follow the path downwards and you should soon recognise the large central tree from where you started. You should retrace your steps from here to wherever you parked your car.
You can extend your walk all the way to Stansted House where there is a tea-room and other attractions. Or there are plenty of other paths through the wider forest to explore.
Did you know?
Rowlands Castle did have a castle. It was built sometime in the 12th or 11th century and it is said Henry II used to stay to enjoy hunting in the area. Aside from the name of the parish and some small areas of wall, there is not much evidence of its existence left now.
If you liked this walk…
…try this one around Stansted Park where you can get up close to the house and its attractions.
