[1] With your back to the car parking meter walk through the gap in the fence and take the path going diagonally left. Emerging from the woodland continue ahead for a short distance and at crossroads turn right along a broad grassy path. You can see a white stone path to your right known as the Moon Path. Continue downhill on the broad path, bearing left when the path forks onto a narrower path and pass between two huge trees. See photograph A clearly shows the route. Keep on this path to its junction with a stone path.
[2] Turn left briefly on the stone path then turn right onto a grassy path and continue uphill to pass a large tree on your left.
(Alternatively, if you don’t want to make the climb continue along the stone path until it re-joins the main route.)
Continue uphill passing the copper beeches on your left and look for a minor path on left going towards the rim of the bowl. Follow this to arrive at a bench near to a clump of trees and take in the sweeping views towards Petworth House and surrounding areas. Viewpoint looking across the Park towards Petworth House from edge of bowl (see photograph B)
Follow this path round the edge of the bowl passing 2 more benches and keep on the path until its junction with a major path. Bear left on this path walking downhill through a copse to join the stone path once more. Turn right and shortly after passing between 2 trees look for a path on the right before you get to the next set of trees. Follow this path until it meets a track running alongside a fence turn right and follow the track uphill to a gate. Go through the gate and to the second gate in the wall, Upperton Gate. Leave Petworth Park through this gate turning left up steps to join a road.
[3] Turn right, you are now in Upperton and on the Serpent Trail which you follow for a while. Stay on pavement where you can and follow the road round a right hand bend. Continue for approximately 500 metres, passing the turning to Pitshill on the left until you reach Upperton Monument on your right.
(A) Upperton Monument. It was built about 1800 to enhance the view for those living in Petworth House. It has now been converted into a private house. (see photograph C)
Opposite the gate into the Upperton Monument, take the right hand downhill footpath with Serpent Trail waymark sign on it. Be aware that initially the path leads steeply downhill and has exposed tree roots. Light levels are low and in wet weather the path will be muddy and slippery. Follow the path through the wood to come out on a road. Turn left and then right at a 3 way footpath sign to pass Rock Cottage on your right.
[4] Look for the footpath sign on the left. Take this to go over a stile and, keeping ahead, cross a field to the gate in the right hand corner. Go through the gate. Continue ahead, passing Lodge Farm on your right. Be aware that cattle may be in these fields so keep dogs under control on leads.
[5] Turn left down road go over bridge and left again. Almost immediately take the footpath on right through the gap in hedge. NB. The gap is easily missed! Turn right at end of field (don’t cross the stile) you are now leaving the Serpent Trail, which turns left here. Keep to field edge and go over a stile in the corner, continue to follow field edge over another stile and turn right at road. Pass lake on left, which is a mediaeval hammer pond. (B) Hammer Pond at River Park Farm (see photograph D)
Just after crossing the outflow to the pond (using the footbridge, if necessary) turn right through the gate into a field. Turn immediately left keeping to the hedgeside, go over a bridge/stile. Keep by the hedge as the path is not always clear, until you come to a footpath sign where you go slightly left through gap in hedge. Bear right towards Mill Farm. Walk through farm and turn right at metalled track to pass the mill pond.
(C) Sluice Gates controlling the water level at the Mill Farm Pond. The field behind to your left was once the site of a mediaeval ironworks. In the 15th Century water from similar ponds would have been used to turn waterwheels which powered furnace bellows and, perhaps, also drove huge forge hammers which pounded pig iron into refined bars.
Continue ahead along the metalled track and just before it joins a road, take the footpath on the left through a gap in the hedge, opposite a gate into a house. Continue ahead, taking the path through a gap in a hedge into a second field. Continue ahead keeping to the edge of the field (hedge on your right) to the corner of the field where you turn left following the waymark. Continue to follow the hedge around the field but where the footpath turns right over a stile go straight ahead then turn right through gap in hedge to arrive in the same field but by an easier route! Continue northwards along the headland for approximately 300 metres before crossing a stile to join the metalled road leading to Lurgashall. Turn left at this point and follow the road into the village.
Cross the village green (avoiding the village cricket square – probably best to not to walk across this) to the Noah’s Ark pub if going there, if not turn right along the road. View across Lurgashall Village Green to Noah’s Ark (see photograph F)
[6] Follow road to end of houses (or from pub take the left hand road to end of houses) and take footpath on the right. Continue ahead, passing the village football pitch on your left. The path descends towards a stream. Cross over via footbridge. Here the footpath bears slightly left and uphill where tree roots form a natural staircase. Keep ahead through the wood and over a stile, then continue ahead across a field. Follow the yellow waymarks into a wood. Take care on entering the wood because the change in light level is dramatic. Initially, the path is narrow; goes downhill towards a stream and there are many tree roots from the point of entry, most of which are close together and run parallel to each other along the length of the path, giving a very uneven and (in wet weather) slippery surface. After the stream the path broadens and leads into light woodland. Emerge from the wood at a stile into a second field and take footpath ahead straight through whatever crops are planted to a stile to join the minor road! Don't stray from the footpath!
On reaching the minor road turn right and shortly afterwards follow the footpath signs going left through the gate on a metalled road to enter Leconfield estate land. Keep on the metalled road passing through woodland before crossing the first of several cattle grids (there are pedestrian gates beside them). From this point on, the estate land is largely unfenced with livestock (sheep and cattle) free to wander across the road between the cattle grids. Be aware that livestock will be in these fields so keep dogs under control on leads. Don’t be alarmed by signs announcing the presence of a bull the only one we saw was not in a field we went through!
(D) The 3rd Earl of Egremont (the owner of Petworth Estate) established a pedigree herd of Sussex cattle in the early 19th Century and the herd is maintained at Stag Park Farm to the present day. The cattle are dark red in colour and are reputed to be a peaceable breed.
[7] Continue along the metalled road past Stag Park Farm, passing the Lodge and the fishing ponds. At the fish ponds look for water lilies in the summer. Soon after passing the pond, the route passes between an avenue of large Tulip Trees noted for their flowers and autumn colours. Photographs J-L
[8] At the crossroads of metalled tracks, turn left and continue ahead until the main road (A283) is reached. At this point turn right and keeping to the verge walk in a southerly direction to arrive at your starting point in the car park.