SWC 403: Hampden Park to Eastbourne t=swc.403
Distance: 16.2 Miles or 26 km for those more metrically
minded with shortcuts available using the number 12/12X/12A bus
Difficulty: 8 out of 10
Train: Take the 9:24
AM Eastbourne-bound train from London
Victoria (stopping at Clapham Junction at 9:31 and East Croydon at 9:40)
and arriving in Hampden Park at 10:44. Return trains from Eastbourne are at 05
and 33 past the hour. Buy a day return to Eastbourne.
By special request, this is a new walk exploring
both familiar and unfamiliar territory. Although sharing an ending with last week’s
walk, this route takes a different more inland journey. The
route contours around the woods of Babylon Down and down to Jevington, then climbs
up to the Eastern-most ridges of the South Downs, between Windover Hill and
Wilmington Hill, with tantalising sea views, before turning South to the more
sheltered terrain of Lullington Heath, Snap Hill and Friston Forest. After a
brief seaside visit at Birling Gap, the route immediately turns inland again,
across quiet farmland to Warren Hill and the final descent in to Eastbourne.
Shortcuts are available using the number 12/12X/12A bus – see the walk notes
for suggestions.
You can find more information about the walk and
download the walk instructions here.
The suggested lunch stop is the Eight Bells
in Jevington (5.6 km/4 miles into the walk) if arriving there after
12pm; otherwise, it will be a late lunch at the Tiger Inn in East
Dean (14.8km/9 miles into the walk), serving food until 4pm.
Eastbourne has a host of post walk options for
drinks or food. Please see the walk
notes for various suggestions.
Enjoy the walk!
1 comment:
It's not easy to concoct a new walk in an area that already has loads of SWC walks covering it, that has very little overlap with those existing walks, provides new aspects to familiar sites or villages and also leads through unfamiliar bits that are different from what one knows of the area from other walks. This one achieves that in my opinion, and is a very good route, with really only a couple of short stretches of road walking that are not that great. The rest was very pleasant at a minimum.
3 walkers got off the train in sunny weather, and were awaited by the walk author at the station exit. The route out of Eastbourne's suburbia to the Downs looked promising on the map and was indeed very nice, apart from those bits of road walking mentioned above. On to Jevington with fine views towards Hastings and then walking through some pretty and quiet U-shaped combes. The stretch of SDW from Jevington to near The Long Man of Wilmington is familiar of course, but then we turned left along that very pretty combe I always admired, leading to Friston Forest. Plenty of up and down through the forest, and before you know it you are in that extremely pretty village, East Dean, for lunch.
The landlord at The Tiger Inn was on the Grumpy Old Man-end of the spectrum, but food and drink were good and service quick and attentive, so no complaints.
Down to Birling Gap with fine views out to Sea and along the 7 Sisters under an overcast sky, tea at the cafe, and on to E'bourne on an inland route, which included several more quiet pretty combes and a fine descent into town, again along an unfamiliar route including a very scenic golf club crossing. There was some spittle in the air for teh last 15 minutes or so...
Seen: Cattle and Sheep and Shetland Ponies and loads of hang gliders, not only by High-and-Over Hill but also over Beachy Head.
18.33 train.
n=4 w=sunny-at-first-then-overcast
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