Length:
27.3 km (17.0 mi) [shorter walk possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent:
629/624 m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 6 ½ hours
Toughness:
8 out of 10
Take
the 09.46 Ore
train from Victoria (CJ 09.53, EC 10.03), change at
Lewes (10.51/11.05) onto the Seaford train, arrives
Southease 11.12.
Should
the Ore train miss the connection at Lewes, take the 11.21 Ore stopping
service, arrives Glynde 11.26, and walk the alternative start route from
Glynde.
London Bridge customers: take the 09.12 to South Croydon, change at East
Croydon (09.42/10.03, yes yes yes: a very thinned-out schedule today, one might
as well travel via Waterloo East and Clapham J)
Return
trains
from Eastbourne: xx.00.
This
walk along the South Downs Way (SDW) consists of spectacular ridge walks with
three steep ascents and a picturesque village in the middle for lunch and
another one for tea, and with Beachy Head, Eastbourne promenade, beach and pier
at the finish. It's a long but very rewarding walk. The route is well
waymarked, the paths are easy walking, and the route is easy to follow. The
South Downs are treeless and open, so there are good views throughout (weather
permitting).
The
walk starts at Southease Station, right on the SDW, and climbs the first ridge
straight away, up to Itford Hill and then along the ridge to Firle Beacon, the
highest point of the walk. There is an alternative start in Glynde in case the
trains to Southease don't connect well.
At
the end of the ridge, you descend into Alfriston, a pretty village in the
scenic Cuckmere Valley, with a village green dominated by a large church.
Several good pubs and tea rooms and a village shop vie for your lunch business.After
lunch, follow the northern leg of the SDW up and over Windover Hill and down to
Jevington (tea room and pub) before a final climb to head south along another
ridge towards the coast.
There
is an inland shortcut into Eastbourne if you're tired, but the suggested route
is to continue along the ridge to the coast, to join up with the SDW's Coastal
Route near Beachy Head. From here, head downhill into Eastbourne, where you
follow the promenade along the beach into town towards the pier.
Walk
Options:
Start
at Glynde
Station: similar distance, but connection at Lewes not so tight.
Shortcut
into Eastbourne:
descend earlier into Eastbourne and follow roads to the station rather than the
seaside promenade (cut 2.5 km).
Start
at Berwick
Station: follow the waymarked Vanguard Way to Alfriston.
Lunch:
plenty
options in Alfriston.
Tea: tea room and pub in
Jevington.
For summary, walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.25
5 comments:
Am starting at Lewes at 11.53. hayley
07817156125
Looks like the posted train was cancelled. 2 of us from London Bridge direction are currently trundling along on a stopping service to 3 Bridges, getting a connection to Lewes from there.
We stayed on the Brighton train and are now on a Seaford train which does not stop at Southease though. Solution: stay on tje train to Newhaven and ascend the Downs from there, between Beddingham Hill and Firle Beacon.
So, the morning train troubles were due to a cracked track in the Purley area.
We did start from Newhaven Town, which after the first 10 mins of A road is actually quite nice, reached Alfriston 10 mins before The George closed its kitchen, had a lovely lunch and moved on. The initially leaden skies (was it seafog?) had started to break even before Alfriston, and now we had blue skies with remnants of dramatic cloudscapes here and there, and a very refreshing breeze. On the ascent out of Jevington we caught up with walker number 3, who had taken the 10.46 from Victoria (also slightly delayed, in fact so much that it missed the connection in Lewes, so she in fact started from Glynde). We got to Eastbourne too late for the 18.00 train, so the ardent swimmer amongst us needed no encouragement to get wet. That still left time enough for a swift one in the Wetherspoons opposite the station.
19.00 train.
N=3 w=grey-start-and-finish-with-plenty-hours-of-sun
Oh, there were of bunch of other walkers on the Seaford train, they were Outdooraholics (a paid for Meetup group), doing Seaford to Eastbourne (aka the Seven Sisters). They were 2 1/2 hours behind schedule after all morning trains were cancelled! Which means they had planned a 8.46 train for that 21km walk....
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