Stonegate

Stonegate is a small hilltop settlement in the Rother district of East Sussex, its name most likely marking the site of a Roman road junction that once passed through this stretch of the Weald. The ecclesiastical parish was only carved out from neighbouring Ticehurst in 1838, and its church, St Peter's, was built that year and enlarged in 1904, but the surrounding landscape is far older: a patchwork of oak woodland, sunken lanes and small sandstone-ridge farms typical of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

There is no shop or pub in Stonegate itself, and the railway station that bears its name sits a mile downhill in the valley, a legacy of the Hastings Line built through this difficult, hilly terrain between 1846 and 1853. What the village lacks in amenities it makes up for in setting: it is surrounded by quiet footpaths, working farmland and some of the most characterful small towns in the Weald, from Ticehurst's timber-framed high street to Burwash on its ridge above the Dudwell valley. It is a base for people who want genuine countryside rather than a high street.

Top things to do near Stonegate

Stonegate is a launchpad rather than a destination in itself, and everything below is a short drive or a walkable few miles away.

• Bateman's — the National Trust-run 17th-century ironmaster's house near Burwash that was Rudyard Kipling's home from 1902 until his death in 1936, with its watermill, gardens and the Rolls-Royce he drove; it is about a three-mile walk from Stonegate station, gently uphill through farmland to Burwash and down to the house.
• Bewl Water — the largest reservoir in the South East, a few miles north near Ticehurst and Lamberhurst, with a circuit path for walking and cycling, sailing, and seasonal watersports.
• Ticehurst — a handsome Wealden village a few miles from Stonegate with a run of independent shops, tea rooms and several old pubs including the Bell and the Bull Inn.
• Burwash — a one-street ridge-top village of tile-hung and weatherboarded houses, with views over the Dudwell valley and Kipling's Bateman's just below it.
• High Weald AONB footpaths — Stonegate sits within the High Weald AONB, and waymarked walks from Stonegate station explore its ghylls, shaws and small irregular fields, some of the oldest continuously farmed countryside in England.
• Rye — the medieval Cinque Port town of cobbled streets and timber-framed houses is around 30 minutes' drive south-east, a popular day out from this part of the Weald.

Getting to Stonegate

Stonegate has its own railway station on the Hastings Line, served by Southeastern trains between London Charing Cross/Cannon Street and Hastings, though the station is around a mile from the village on foot. By road, Stonegate is reached via lanes off the A21, which runs between Royal Tunbridge Wells and Hastings a few miles to the west; the nearest towns with fuller services are Ticehurst, Wadhurst and Heathfield. There is no direct bus service into the village itself, so a car is the most practical way to explore the wider area.

Best time to visit Stonegate

Spring and early summer bring bluebells and blossom to the Weald's ancient woodland and hedgerows, while autumn turns the oak and sweet chestnut cover round Stonegate and Burwash into one of the region's best displays of colour. Summer suits Bewl Water's watersports and the open gardens at Bateman's; winter is quieter, with low sun through bare woodland and open fires in the Ticehurst pubs, though some Weald lanes can be muddy and narrow after rain.

Where to stay near Stonegate

Accommodation directly in Stonegate is limited, so most visitors base themselves in or around Ticehurst, Wadhurst or Burwash, where B&Bs, farmhouse stays and a handful of country inns with rooms — including the Bell in Ticehurst — are within easy reach. Self-catering cottages and glamping are scattered through the surrounding farmland, well suited to walkers using the High Weald footpath network.

Food and drink near Stonegate

With no pub of its own, Stonegate relies on its neighbours: Ticehurst's the Bell and the Bull Inn both serve food in old Wealden buildings, the Bull set in four acres near Bewl Water and dating to around the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. Burwash and Wadhurst add further options for a post-walk meal, and the honesty of the ingredients tends to reflect the farming country all around, from local game to produce grown on the Weald's small fields.