COVID 19
Track-and-Trace: please provide email address or mobile phone number at the start
Rule of Six: from start to finish please, and up to May 16
Ascent/Descent:
398 m [three marked ascents
Net
Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness:
7 out of 10
Take
the 09.45 Hastings train from London Victoria (09.52 CJ, 10.00
Selhurst, 10.03 East Croydon), arriving Lewes at 10.56.
[From
London Bridge take the 09.41 Brighton train and change at Gatwick
(10.11/10.21).]
Return trains: xx.21 (68 mins).
The
walk starts in the historic town of Lewes with the early section having fine
views over the town and castle. After reaching a secluded valley, you rise up
Mount Caburn with its Iron Age hillfort site, and descend to Glynde to continue
to West Firle for lunch. After lunch ascend the South Downs main ridge and turn
right, with extensive views from Beddingham Hill and Itford Hill, both inland
and towards the port of Newhaven with the Channel beyond. Descend to Southease
(station and café) and return to Lewes along the River Ouse.
Shorter
Walk:
start from Glynde (cuts 6 km), finish at Southease (cuts 6 km),
or walk to Berwick w/o scaling the downs again after lunch (described in
the pdf, you pass several more pubs on that variation).
Tea:
Courtyard Café at YHA Southease (6
km from the end, open to 16.00), plus plenty of pubs in Lewes (you’ll be
too late for the cafés, at a guess).
For
summary, walk directions, map, height profile,
photos and gpx/kml files click here.
T=2.25
7 comments:
The River Ouse ending is rather industrial - may be better to either extend via Kingston or catch a train from Southease.
Rich
...only the last bit into town, before that it's quite nice. TG
No cafe open in Lewes station at the moment.
The outbound train was 30 minutes delayed due to a trespasser near East Croydon, and the service at The Ram Inn was a bit slow for everyone's liking, but else this was a great day out:
The group quickly dispersed into small units and - from what I could observe - most did the out-and-back to the Mount Caburn hillfort site, took the shortcut in Glynde by following the road and crossing the A road rather than diverting through fields and through the underpass. A good handful also turned left uphill in Glynde to have a look at the interesting church and at Glynde Place (having not paid notice to the written-up left turn on the Downs to get there with less effort). 6 lunched at The Ram and all of us then walked the full route to Lewes along the Ouse, incl. an off-script out-and-back to the Firle Beacon. All this is glorious sunshine but with a strong wind (not just on the tops). 5 of us arrived just in time for the 18.21 train, 1 other took the next one along. n=13 w=sunny-with-a-cold-wind
n=1 travelled independently to Glynde, arriving about 12:30, but saw no familiar faces there or at Firle (I know why now.) Continuing up to the top I found that, truly, it's an ill (northeasterly) wind that blows no-one any good, as it was was keeping the skies clear of aircraft landing at Gatwick - they were forced to take a path over West Sussex, leaving those over East Sussex crystal clear with views for miles in all directions. The Courtyard cafe at Southease was closed, but that didn't detract from a glorious ridgetop walk in brilliant sunshine under blue skies, with, yes, a bit of wind.
n=14
Six picknickers walked to Southease without visiting Firle Beacon; four then caught the train (1610? can't remember exactly but we got to the closed cafe before 4) while two walked on to Lewes. Beautiful day despite the NE wind. Incidentally we did discuss the left fork over the downs that would have led to Glynde church but I didn't realise that was a good alternative (it looks further than it really is, I suspect) - I don't think it's mentioned in the route description.
Post a Comment