Crahor two

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After dropping my car off for a service at Manor Royal I walked from there to Horley then the whole route in the opposite direction on 07-07-2022.

This is a largely urban route through residential areas at both ends. The central section is through the main Crawley industrial area and past Gatwick Airport South Terminal. The best section is the cycle path from the airport to City Place.

I got a bit confused after I crossed the bridge over the railway line south of the the station. One path is closed off, the path to follow is alongside a small stream which is a little overgrown. When it reaches the Enterprise Car Hire carwash take the path which virtually doubles back (photo 7 & 8), then turn left, head under the flyover to head past the coach stops for Gatwick South Terminal. There is a large public loo at this point (photo 4). The rest of the route was easily followed.

Plenty of cafes and burger vans in the industrial area should refreshments be required along the way.

I tested a few alternative paths, but couldn't really see a better route on the ground. It is what it is.

Photos show the first half of the route from North to South.

A Slow Way of two halves. One of which is a box of lovely surprises, the other of which is "only to be expected". We left Horley from the raised railway station, the consequence of which is that you start by walking in the wrong direction, which is a bit disconcerting, but handy if you need anything from the large Waitrose. The last bit of Horley, and Surrey for that matter is a quiet residential section. A fingerpost points to the path you need to take over the footbridge (step access) which takes you across the railway and to the end of another footpath which will deliver you, under the A23 spur which marks the border with West Sussex. I hadn't anticipated this, but the paths are really well marked. The route goes through part of the South Terminal, past bus stops and a set of public toilets. Here is also access to the railway station, monorail and airport. The next section takes you over the railway again via another step only footbridge. At the other end we were presented with a choice to follow the cycleway or a footpath. In the process of altering this route I've made it more obvious that you should follow the cycleway and not the footpath which soon would have you walking by the road. This was one of my highlights of the day and something I'd not really expected. A surfaced greenway with a stream running beside was we found ourselves walking amongst, time punctuated by the roar of a plane as it flew in over our heads. At the far end is a bathroom component factory which very helpfully marks your route with a green path through the car park. Beyond is clearly a business district with access to the bus network, although this was eerily quiet on the day we passes through it. The original control building from when Gatwick was just an airfield still stands. An improvement I made on the route we were originally following has been to suggest which side of the road to follow, to be able to use the pedestrian crossings safely. The next section through Manor Royal was not that pleasant as we were following the pavement next to four lanes of cars. There might be some scope to cut some of it out, but that would be for Crahor 3! One of the consolations is that there is a row of shops with some eateries (and a motorbike dealership if you've really given up!) This section also has buses running along it too. Entering the residential area of Northgate was a bit of a relief and it wasn't far to the pedestrianised outdoor section of the shopping centre which has lots of stopping options. The last 100m of this route includes the bus station and the railway station, which is on the line between London and the Coastway West, rather than the main London-Brighton line (Three Bridges which is on the L-B line is a short hop away). There is no problem with this route being direct, safe and easy to follow. The Horley end is offroad and the Crawley end well connected to transport. As we arrived in Napier Way, we spotted a link with Cycleway 21 which the route had departed from. There might be a better route that way, but we shall see. The greenway around Gatwick was an absolute revelation.

Second walk of the day after Redhor2. All felt very manageable.
A fuller review is shared by David Sanderson who we walked with. I agree with all he says.

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