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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Saturday 4 January 2020

Saturday Walk - Lewes to Southease or Brighton (via Rottingdean)

Length: 20.0 km (12.4 mi) [19.4 km if finishing in Brighton]
Ascent/Descent: 424/428m [365/363m if finishing in Brighton]
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 hours, Toughness: 5 out of 10

Take the 09.16 Littlehampton and Eastbourne train from Victoria (CJ 09.23, EC 09.33), arrives Lewes 10.25. The train splits at Haywards Heath, you have to be in the rear part of it.  
Thameslink-ites: take the 09.15 Brighton train from LBG and change at Haywards Heath (09.59/10.07).
Return trains from Southease: xx.05 (84 mins, chg at Lewes). Buy a Southease return (or a Brighton return for the Brighton ending).

Alternative Start of this walk from Lewes to avoid the low-lying fields in the Ouse Valley. Two South Downs Ascents if finishing in Southease, only one if following the coast to Brighton.
Return trains are only hourly and the café in Southease closes early, but there is a pub just off route in Rodwell…

Lunch: The Plough Inn (11.2 km/6.9 mi, food all day), The Coach House  or The White Horse Hotel (both 11.6 km/7.2 mi), all in Rottingdean.
Tea: Café at the YHA South Downs (open to 16.00) or – a little off route – The Abergavenny Arms in Rodmell  (open all day).

For walk directions, map, height profile, some photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.65.c

4 comments:

Brian said...

I may have got this wrong, and apologies if I have, but, according to National Rail Enquiries, the 09:16 Littlehampton train from Victoria does not call at Lewes.

However, the 09:46 train from Victoria to Ore and Littlehampton (dividing at Haywards Heath) does call at Lewes at 10:53, connecting with the 10:59 to Southease.

Thomas G said...

Well indeed, it's not the Littlehampton part of the Littlehampton & Eastbourne train that goes via Lewes, but the Eastbourne part. 9.16, be there or be square... (splits at Haywards Heath)

Brian said...

I stand corrected! I should have known better.

Thomas G said...

17 off the train, 1 outside the gates, 1 later overtaking us after having missed the posted train, i.e. n=19 w=overcast-to-lunch-then-sunny
A well-timed posting of this walk, seeing that we had little mud, far views (even while it was still overcast) and glorious sunshine after lunch. The route as walked had not been posted before I have been assured by the walk's author, so it must be said that it works expremely well, especially in winter time with early darkness (the Southease finishers got to the station at 15.35, meaning there was enough time to frequent the cafe at the YHA Hostel before the 16.05 train (although only 3 took up that option).
Fine views on the usual westerly route out of Lewes via Kingston and then from the Downs (with a cooling breeze from the side), and on the descent into Rottingdean. 5 pub-lunched at The Plough Inn (by the village pond and church) and were joined by some picnickers. The others had strode on and apparently had tea at the cafe in Saltdean (minus the 3 that walked on to Brighton). Further fantastic views on the ascent out of Saltdean and then from the ridge.
There we bumped into a (no doubt up to no good Fox-) Hunt, followed by a handful of masked hunt saboteurs, with police and a couple of ambulances visible away to the left.
Most chose the road route down into the valley, only about a handful the valley route.