The villages of Mayfield and Five Ashes are surrounded by beautiful countryside and fortunate to have an extensive range of footpaths and bridleways which allow you to discover the area with its fields, woods and beautiful views.
Walks
Starting with the fascinating walk down Mayfield High Street (download leaflet), there are a range of other short walks to local attractions
- Mayfield Circular Walk: you can download a leaflet of the walk here but please note that since it was printed several stiles and Jacob's ladder have been replaced by gates or removed and the Carpenters Arms is now houses rather than a pub
- Argos Hill windmill walk (coming soon)
- Mayfield Furnace walk (also coming soon)
If you are interested in longer walks, a booklet of a 10 local walks is available from Four Winds or the Parish Council Office.
Slightly further afield, there are also over 20 walks in Wealden that can be downloaded from the Wealden Do Sussex Walks website, walks in East Sussex on the county council website, exhilarating walks described on the South Downs park website and walks to download from Walking in Sussex
Cycling (pedal, not motorised)
Cycling on the roads around Mayfield and Five Ashes is challenging, not only because the constant hills require a good level of fitness and strength, but also because many roads are narrow and windy, with hedgerows often reducing visibility. Cyclists on roads should take great care and wear high visibility clothes or items.
National cycle route 21 passes through the parish on its way from London to Eastbourne, coming from Rotherfield in the North, along Five Ashes Road, Fir Toll Road, Stone Cross, Knowle Hill and Newick Lane before going off-road on the way to Marklye Lane and passing into Heathfield. This route is also part of the Avenue Verte between the London Eye and Notre Dame in Paris - though it must be said that the French part of the route is more adapted to cyclists that the English part.
However, there are a number of places in the parish and nearby where you can cycle off road
- pedal cycles are allowed on all bridleways (note: the surfaces are often uneven and muddy). So in Mayfield and Five Ashes you can cycle
- between Fir Toll Road and Argos Hill Lane
- from Tunbridge Wells Road and Bassetts Lane and then from Bassetts Lane to the A267 near Trulls Hatch
- from the end of East Street past Merrieweathers and Sharnden to Lake Street or through Hawksden Park Wood to Pound Bridge
- through Newbridge Wood to Witherenden
- (just outside the parish) between Tidebrook to the B2100 between Mark Cross and Best Beech)
- (also just outside the parish) between Newick Lane and Heathfield
- along the Cuckoo trail which goes between Heathfield (4 miles away) and Eastbourne. This has a good sealed surface and is generally fairly flat, although there is a hill down from Heathfield to Horam. It is off road except for a very short stretch in Horam and two sections in Hailsham, all on quiet roads. The website information on the Cuckoo trail also allows you to download 4 circular cycle routes using the trail; one of these (15 miles long) passes through both Mayfield and Five Ashes and another (24 miles) passes through Mayfield so you could start these routes from the villages
- along the Forest Way which is a 10 mile flat, even-surfaced route between East Grinstead and Groombridge (12 miles away) shared by walkers, cyclists and horse riders
- in Bedgebury Forest there are 10km of family cycle tracks and 13km of single track mountain biking. Cycles can be hired, purchased or repaired and there are cycling courses. Also there are adapted cycles for disabled people and those with learning difficulties
Horse Riding
Horses are often seen on the roads in and around Mayfield and Five Ashes. Most drivers are aware and considerate but there are a few who are rushed and thoughtless so care is required.
Horses can be ridden on all the bridleways and off road routes listed above under cycling. There are also permits available for riding in Hawksden Park Wood.
Those with TROT permits have a choice of places to ride including Snape Wood, Burwash, Abbots Wood, Friston Forest, Bedgebury and Waldron/Blackboys (carriage driving only)