Newhaven Circular - New Walk by Mike P
I'm doing this post for Mike, who has written this post and walk. He will be there to check it.
Length: 24.6kms, 15.5miles 5 out of 10
Newhaven gets a bad press but once you’re away from the town centre this new walk is surprisingly varied. It is intended as an antidote to some of the tougher South Downs walks; although by no means flat, it never ventures high on the Downs. It starts and ends with two very different sections of coastline: an easy climb past Newhaven fort to the cliff tops and a low level walk from Bishopstone passing the well-presented excavations at the deserted village of Tide Mills. In between, you cross woods and fields to Piddinghoe, follow the River Ouse back to Newhaven and (after lunch) head towards the Downs and over hills to Bishopstone (some of this will be familiar from Lewes/Southease to Seaford).
If you have a few minutes to spare, for an interesting insight on Tide Mills (‘the hamlet of horror’) and Bishopstone station (the only fortified station in the UK), have a look at The Architecture the Railways Built on UKTV (Series 3, Episode 6).
Trains: Catch the 09.24 Eastbourne train from Victoria (Clapham Junction 09.30, E Croydon 09.42) to Lewes (10.32), then the 10.59 Seaford train (platform 3) to Newhaven Town 11.11.
Return via Lewes from Newhaven Harbour at xx31 & xx59, Newhaven Town one minute later.
Lunch: is at the Flying Fish, Denton, after 12.8 kms. This pub was used for a walk in November and the service was found to be friendly, the food nourishing. A short cut immediately after lunch reduces the distance by 3.9 kms.
Tea: Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club (21.9 kms) otherwise, you may have to continue in to Newhaven (or wait until Lewes) for post-walk refreshments
T=swc.395
1 comment:
7 off the train (5 via Lewes, 2 via Brighton), met by the walk author, up from Bishopstone, 1 car driver from Shoreham and one car driver from Siebeneichen (Sevenoaks) who had parked at Glynde and walked in from there. After the morning loop, we bumped into walker n=11 in Newhaven, who had taken an early train and finished at lunchtime to be back in London early. It was overcast in the morning, and pm we had a couple of rain clouds passing over us: w=largely-dry.
A fine new route, varied with plenty of views along the coastal stretch from Seaford Head to Brighton, many scenic downs and some pretty side valleys, plus some very interesting historic sites in the Castle and the Tide Mill village. Newhaven is navigated through without much offence. All of it without much if any overlap with other walks.
We saw skylarks, egrets and cormorants (the latter two in the Ouse), young rabbits and sheep, plenty snails and a slow worm, and even some bluebells, several good patches of flowering wild garlic and pastures full of buttercups.
4 lunched at The Flying Fish (friendly and with good food), and were joined there by 2 picknickers. Soon after lunch, Glynde man walked on over the Downs, where we turned right.
17.58 train from Newhaven Harbour.
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