Get Outside

This walk follows a beautiful 19 km (12 miles) route over the South Downs, partly following the South Downs Way. Starting at Hassocks train station you first pass over a popular stretch of the South Downs, while the second half is just as beautiful but far less popular, and therefore much quieter, to finish the walk in the pretty town of Lewes where you can take the train back to London. This walk is published in TimeOut Country Walks Volume 1 and is not a waymarked route.

Regular trains run between London and Hassock and Lewes and you can buy a return ticket to Lewes for this trip. The first part of this walk follows footpaths behind gardens and through some small local woodland after which you climb up to the Jack and Jill Windmills on the ridge of the South Downs. From here you follow the same route as the South Downs Way, with panoramic views towards Brighton and the sea on one side and land inwards on the other.

Approximately halfway through the route the South Downs Way turns away from the ridge, while you should keep following the ridge straight onwards for another 3 km or so before following a steep footpath down through a small strip of woodlands to reach Offham. A footpath through more woods then leads you to the river Ouse, which you follow until the footpath ends in a t-junction, where you turn right into the town of Lewes.

If you still have some energy left, you can pass the trainstation to make a short walk along the Priory Gardens before taking the train back to London.

Add the map below to your Google Maps account (click on the star) or download the GPX file via OpenStreetMaps and let’s get outside!