Hirsel Policies and Dundock Wood

This is an interesting route due to its varied terrain through woodland and by riverside with attractive views of The Hirsel house.

There are shorter walks around the Hirsel’s grounds where you can keep to hard-surfaced paths. Other facilities on the estate include a visitor centre and museum, car-parking and a hide for bird-watching by the Hirsel Lake.

1. From Home Park car park take the path to the left of the toilet block and immediately turn right into the policy woodlands of the Hirsel estate. Continue along the path keeping the woodland boundary on your right; ignore any paths which go off to the left or right. Join a track and continue straight ahead. Follow the edge of the woodland keeping the fields on your right.

2. Where the woodland strip begins to widen out, turn left into the woodland following the signpost for Hirsel Estate visitor centre for 30 metres. At the next path junction turn right and follow the path, keeping the edge of the wood on your left. At a fork in the path keep left and head for Leet Water along a hedge lined path between two fields.

3. Beyond the footbridge bear left as the path climbs around the edge of the field. At the next path junction turn right and then left to join the tarmac drive. After 150 metres bear right onto a track and after a short distance turn right on to another tarmac drive.

4. At the Y-junction keep left, continue along the drive and past a farm steading.

5. At the end of the field turn left into the woodland. Follow the path through the woodland strip running parallel to the main road.

6. At the hole in the dyke on your right follow the path left downhill and after 50 metres turn right. Continue along a board walk, cross a small bridge, and proceed for a further 50 metres to join a track.

7. Turn left at the car park, not entering it, along the path through the Rhododendron bushes for 70 metres. Turn right, and in a little while, cross another bridge then turn right and continue along the track paralleling the main road once more.

8. Cross the road taking great care. Turn left and cross the next road. Head for the Fireburnmill sign at the cottages and continue downhill on the road between the houses.

9. At the bottom of the hill continue straight ahead to the riverside. Follow the river downstream past the fishing hut for 1km.

10. At the end of the second field, walk through the woodland for 150 metres. At the path junction turn left and continue through the woods past a tennis court on your right, and follow the path as it winds down towards the main drive of the Lees estate. Turn left and follow the drive out onto the main road.

11. Cross the road, turn right and follow the pavement back to