Burton Mill Pond
Petworth
Children will enjoy the viewing platforms over the pond on this walk.
Burton Mill overlooking Burton Mill Pond
The Basics
Time: 1 hour
Distance: 3.5 km / 2.2 miles
Terrain: Mostly flat, sometimes uneven woodland paths with a short section on a wide country lane.
Pushchairs: This loop is not suitable for pushchairs, however see below for a couple of shorter options that are.
Dogs: Dogs are welcome on this walk.
Refreshments: There are no refreshment opportunities on this walk.
Toilets: There are no public toilets.
Public Transport: There is no public transport to this location.
Parking: Burton Mill Pond car park beside Burton Mill on Burton Park Road, small and free (Postcode: GU28 0JR - W3W: ///parks.corkscrew.sytem)
Much of the walk is through woodland
Burton Mill Pond is a peaceful gem just south of Petworth. The historic pond has a series of viewing platforms and is twinned with Chingford Pond, which you will also pass on this walk. Varied woodland paths and reedbeds connect the two nature rich bodies of water.
The Route
Leave the car park and turn right at the road. Walk along the road for a couple of metres and then take the public footpath on your left with the white gate to Burton Mill Lodge. Shortly, go through the gate into the nature reserve and continue straight on, ignoring a path forking off to the left. After waking through the woodland, you will reach another gate, which you should go through and then continue straight on with a vineyard over the fence to your right.
At the next gate, turn left onto the tarmac lane. Pass Oak Brook and Cherry Cottage and continue towards the rest of the houses. At the sign for Claremont House/Westfield Lodge go straight forward, following the footpath. Go through the gate and proceed over the dam at the end of Chingford Pond.
After you have passed the pond, look out for the footpath on your left heading into the trees. At the finger post, fork left away from the public footpath onto the permissive footpath. Stick with this same path as it works its way through varied woodland with the odd glimpse of the reedbeds and Burton Mill Pond to your left.
The path will eventually open up to your right and you will walk past a field (probably with sheep). It will then veer back into the woodland to your left and you will walk over a few short boardwalk bridges. At the edge of the woodland you will come to a gate.
Veer right after the gate and pass a sign about ‘The Blackhole’ (footpath to this closed October 2025) to your right. Continue towards the gate that leads out to the road. Do not go through the gate, but instead, fork left and follow the path across Welch’s Common. At the top corner of the common, look back for views towards Bignor Hill. The path will veer off to the left and at this point, you should exit the common onto the road.
You will emerge at a cross roads with Fittleworth/Petworth/Duncton/Sutton. Turn left and walk along the road towards Duncton. Take care along the road; it is wide, but cars can come fast. You will need to walk along the road for around half a kilometre before arriving back at Burton Mill and the pond. You can enjoy the large viewing platform and a little further on, a bench.
For a pushchair friendly walk, you could walk as far as the dam at Chingford Pond and then return. Alternatively, take the left fork mentioned in step one. This will take you on a shorter loop down to a bench by the pond. After the bench, the path will wind back up through the woodland to the main path, where you can turn right and return to the car park.
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Did you know?
The ponds were built in the 16th century to support the local iron industry. Later it was used as a sawmill and today it still operates, producing stoneground flour which can be purchased in local shops.
If you enjoyed this walk…
…try this one from Emsworth to Langstone, which passes two more millponds.
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