These directions provide a linear Riddlesdown to Kingswood walk. To be used in conjunction with the Coulsdon South Circular walk in the Time Out Country Walks near London – Volume 2 book.

Start: Riddlesdown station
Finish: Kingswood station
Length: 15km (9.3 miles).

Time: 4 hours 30 minutes. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 6 hours 30 minutes.

Transport: Two trains an hour run between London and Riddlesdown twice an hour. (Hourly on Sundays.) Journey time is 45 minutes.

Walk options: You may combine these directions with the Riddlesdown walk directions (15b) for a 15km (9.3 mile) Riddlesdown to Kingswood walk. Use the alternative start from Riddlesdown (CW 2 walk 15b) walk directions until the lunchtime stop, then these directions (15c) to finish at Kingswood.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take the train nearest to 10.10 am (before or after) from London Bridge or London Victoria.

An update to a section of the walk from Riddlesdown to The Fox.

These directions are to be used in conjunction with the printed book Time Out Country Walks near London – Volume 2. (CW2). These directions provide:

• An alternate short morning route (3.3km) for the Stonegate walk described in CW2, thus trimming 2.7km off the Stonegate Short (19a), main (19) and long (19b) walks:

• A link route from Burwash to be used in conjunction with the Stonegate to Robertsbridge long walk directions (20a), which gives the following options:

Length: 7.3km (4.5 miles) to 29km (18 miles) – depending on option.

Transport: Hourly trains run between London Charing Cross and Stonegate. Journey time is just over an hour. If finishing at Robertsbridge buy a day return to Robertsbridge (which is two stops down the line from Stonegate). If travelling by car it is probably best to park at Stonegate.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take the train nearest to 10.15am (before or after) from Charing Cross Station to Stonegate. Short morning section with lunch at Burwash nearest train to 10.35am

Start: Burgess Hill Station
Finish: Hassocks Station
Length: 24km (14.5miles) approximately. For a shorter walk, see below Walk options.

Transport: Trains go from London Victoria to Burgess Hill via East Croydon and Gatwick on the Brighton line, journey time, just over an hour. For those driving, park at either Burgess Hill or Hassocks; stations are only 5 minutes apart by train but trains are sometimes only hourly. [nb this is to be checked]

OS Landranger Map: 198
OS Explorer Map: 122
Toughness: 8 out of 10

Walk Notes: This walk passes Sussex landmarks including windmills, a water tower, picturesque villages and The Sussex Downs with great views of surrounding countryside and the South coast. Mainly travelling the Sussex Border Path, the walk steeply ascends by Ditchling Beacon. After lunch at the Plough (?) Pyecombe there's an easier climb up Wolstenbury Hill followed by a descent towards Hurstpierpoint College almost coming full circle but just skirting Burgess Hill on the way to Hassocks.

Walk Options: The walk can be shortened by;

1) missing out Hurspierpoint College and travelling East along the B2116 to Hassocks. You could use footpaths to the North of Hurstpierpoint travelling parallel to the the B2116 which in fact rejoin the main walk at Hurst Wickham about a mile from Hassocks. This shortens the walk by approximately 2 miles.

2) Diverting to Burgess Hill after Hurstpierpoint College at map reference TQ299174 where the main walk turns a sharp South South West towards West Wickham. Travel North East along footpath for 150m until you hit a path where you go right for 500m towards the A273. Once on it go left for another 500m before turning right onto a footpath that leads over the railway line where you turn left at a junction of paths back along a previously walked footpath parallel to the railway line until you are back at Burgess Hill rail station. This won't take much more than a kilometre off the walk distance but will take you back to any vehicle parked in Burgess Hill without having to wait for a train!

3) Start the walk at Hassocks and head east until you hit the Sussex Border Path in the Ditching area and follow the directions from there! Probably cuts 2 miles off total distance.

This is a route which extends the Pluckley Circular walk in Time Out Country Walks Volume 2 from the village of Pluckley along the Greensand Way, with fine ridge views over the Medway Valley.

There are two options – one which adds 3.7km (2.3 miles) to the walk, making a total walk of 14.7km (9.1 miles), and another which adds 6.5km (4.3 miles), making a total walk of 17.5km (11.1 miles).

Both routes pass by a pub in Mundy Bois, which is a possible tea stop. The longer route also passes along the crest of the ridge with fine views, and visits the village of Egerton where you can find The George Inn, another possible tea stop (and possibly a more reliable one, as it seems to stay open in the afternoons year round, while the Mundy Bois has very limited winter hours).

Length: - Lewes to Rottingdean: 11.2km (7 miles)

- Rottingdean to Brighton: station 7.5km (4.7 miles)

- Total walk: 18.7km (11.7 miles

Toughness: 6 out of 10: two moderately steep hill climbs

Transport and suggested train: If you are aiming to have lunch in Rottingdean, catch a train around 9.15 from Victoria to Lewes. Returns to Lewes are valid for return from Brighton. See point 18 for details of buses from Rottingdean to Brighton, if you plan to end the walk there.

Map: Explorer 122, Landranger 198

Walk notes: This route uses the fine downland start of the Lewes via Rodmell walk (Time Out Country Walks, book two, walk 24) with its magnificent views across the plains of the river Ouse. After that, it crosses the remoter, less frequented heart of the downs to Rottingdean, a village on the outskirts of Brighton. The sea is in view throughout this part of the walk, and in winter the afternoon sun declines directly ahead of you.

You can finish the walk at Rottingdean, taking very regular buses into Brighton. Alternatively, you can walk the attractive esplanade along the base of the cliffs into Brighton. Though not a country walk by any stretch of the imagination, for at least the first two and a half kilometres this route is a lot wilder than you might expect, and on a sunny evening it is positively entrancing. Eventually, however, it lands you in the garish confusion around of Brighton Pier, from where the walk offers a route to the station that takes in the Brighton Pavilion and the North Lanes: because of the bus services, you can do as much or as little of this route as you like

Lunch and tea places: You won’t starve in Rottingdean – the place is packed with pubs, tea rooms, and food shops – but none of the choices looks entirely satisfactory. At time of writing, the author had checked none of these places, but this was the assessment from the street (in the order you come to them on the walk: see walk directions for details of exact locations):

The Olde Black Horse pub shows no sign of doing food. The Village Bakery just beyond is open till 5pm Monday to Friday, but only 4pm on Saturday and is closed on Sunday: the Co-op opposite is a possible place to get a snack, but the Tesco Express on the coast road is probably better.

Near the coast road intersection, The Trellis Restaurant and Tea Room has charm, but its outside tables are next to the noisy road. It advertises cream teas: I am not sure of its opening hours. The Old Cottage restaurant and tea rooms on the other side of the road also has some daily hot meal specials.

The Queen Victoria pub on the left just before the intersection with the coast road does lunch at the weekends, but a better choice might be the White Horse on the far side of the intersection. This is a modern pub, but it has windows with sea views, and serves food 12.30pm to 3pm and 6pm to 9.3opm. Even better might be The Coach House (01273 301945), down the road towards the sea on the left, which has a simple menu, but seems to have a lot of character.

For chips on the beach, The Smugglers fish and chip shop is handily placed: it is open to 2.30pm and from 5pm Monday to Saturday, and from 12-3pm only on Sundays. For tea on the beach, the Sea Spray cafe (closed Mondays and Tuesdays, at least in winter) might also be useful.

There is also a seasonal tea/coffee kiosk half way along the cliff-bottom walk between Rottingdean and Brighton Marina. Once in Brighton, there are numerous food and tea options on and around the pier, but note that the route to the station described below passes many pleasant looking places, including a range of alternative food outlets in the North Lanes.

One final option is to turn left when you get to the seafront esplanade, and walk the 1.5 kilometres or so to Saltdean, which has a fine beachfront cafe in the large glass building you can see at the top of the steps. The same buses link Saltdean to Brighton as pass through Rottingdean

Swimming: Saltdean has a gently shelving shingle beach which is perfectly swimmable so long as the tide is reasonably high. However, at lower states of the tide, be careful of the underwater platform of sharp chalk rocks, which could really scratch legs or feet.

Points of interest: The early part of this walk enables you to see and really appreciate the position of the town of Lewes, which is built on a low ridge that cuts across the flat plains of the river Ouse. A castle was built here by William the Conqueror in the eleventh century – one of five castles guarding key routes between London and his Normandy homeland (the others were from east to west: Hastings, Pevensey, Bramber, and Arundel), and it can be seen for much of the early part of the walk (ie, the bit that follows the book two route).

Rottingdean was a remote village until the coast road was built, and is one of those places that supposedly was a hotbed of smuggling. Later it was the home of Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and – from 1897 to 1902 – of the writer Rudyard Kipling. The latter had a very productive time in Rottingdean, writing Kim, Stalky & Co and the Just So stories there, as well as "Recessional", a surprisingly prophetic poem about the imminent decline of the British Empire:

These days the village retains a quaint air, but this is somewhat spoiled by the enormous quantities of traffic that shoulder their way through its narrow streets. The shops, pubs and cafes in the town also somehow leave something to be desired.

Brighton Pier might seem an unlikely spot for nature observation, but towards dusk you can see simply immense flocks of starlings wheeling about here – or over by the ruined West Pier a bit further along the seafront. Literally tens of thousands of these birds can gather in great flocks, which swirl and swoop in unison in the sky, before roosting for the night. Groups will settle and then take off again, and there an immensity of chattering. It is quite a sight.

Brighton Royal Pavilion evolved from 1787 onwards as a holiday home for King George IV, who first popularised Brighton as a resort. The current extraordinary building was created by architect John Nash from 1815 to 1823. Its somewhat ludicrous oriental style is a good guide to the interior decor, which nonetheless somehow contrives to be breathtakingly beautiful. One key innovation of the pavilion was the siting of the enormous kitchens right next to the dining room – normally in palaces, the kitchens were far away from the state rooms, but George was a gourmet (he became enormously fat) and hired the best chef of his day to cook for him. The Pavilion soon fell out of royal favour after Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, however – Brighton by then had become too busy with the lower classes, and in any case it was wildly unsuitable for Victoria and Albert’s large families. They eventually built their own holiday palace at Osborne, on the Isle of Wight. The Pavilion is now owned by Brighton Council and is open to the public

Southease Circular: 13.7km (8.5 miles)

Trains to Southease are hourly via a change at Lewes. Recommended train at time of writing 9:17 from Victoria to Lewes Mondays through Saturdays (arrive Lewes 10:22; depart 10:28; arrive Southease 10:34) [the trains one hour later should still get you to Kingston in time for lunch]. On Sundays the recommended train is the 9:47 from Victoria (arrive Lewes 10:58; depart 11:03; arrive Southease 11:09). Returns to Southease should be valid for return via Brighton.

At the end of the walk in Rottingdean, there are very regular buses to Brighton along the coast road. The bus stop is on the far (seaward) side of the coast road, about 50 metres to the right of the intersection: Buses you can get include the 12 and 12A, the 14, the 27 and the 47 (or 57 on Sundays). All but the 12 go all the way to Brighton railway station if you wish, and all pass Brighton pier, if you want to get off there and use the directions at the end of the walk options section to walk up through the town to the station. Note that certain 27 and 47 buses do a detour to Brighton Marina, which adds a bit to journey times.

Trains back from Brighton are extremely frequent and take just under an hour. The fastest trains to Victoria, which only stop at East Croydon and Clapham Junction, tend to be at 19 and 49 past the hour.

Linking this walk with the Lewes to Brighton via Rottingdean walk makes Rottingdean the natural tea stop, with various places available, and of course also provides access to the wide range of restaurants, bars and tea shops in Brighton at the end of the walk.

To buy cakes for tea on the beach, there is the Village Bakery on the right as you walk down through Rottingdean and various other small shops. Failing that, there is a Tesco Express to the right when you get to the coast road.

Otherwise on the far side of the coast road, the White Horse – a modern pub, but with sea views, almost certainly would serve tea, as might the Coach House (01273 301945), down the road towards the sea on the left. The Sea Spray cafe to the left just after the Coach House (closed Mondays and Tuesdays, at least in winter) might also be useful.

On the walk extension to Brighton, there is also a seasonal tea/coffee kiosk a third of the way along the cliff-bottom walk between Rottingdean and Brighton Marina, which is one of those places that seems to open on fine days. If it is open, it is an atmospheric place to stop for a cuppa.

One final option is to turn left when you get to the seafront esplanade, and walk the 1.5 kilometres or so to Saltdean, which has a fine beachfront cafe in the large glass building you can see at the top of the steps. The same buses link Saltdean to Brighton as pass through Rottingdean

‘The Street’ in Kingston contains many old buildings and seems largely untouched by recent decades or even centuries. A highlight is St. Pancras Church which dates to around 1300.

From the top of the downs just after lunch, you get a fine view back over the town of Lewes. Note how the castle dominates a gap between the downs, a key communication pinch point in times gone past. The castle was one of five built by William the Conquerer shortly after his invasion of England in 1066 to control key supply routes between London and his Normandy home. The other castles were Pevensey, Hastings, Bramber and Arundel.

Rottingdean was a remote village until the coast road was built, and is one of those places that supposedly was a hotbed of smuggling. These days it retains a quaint air, but this is somewhat spoiled by the enormous quantities of traffic that shoulder their way through its narrow streets.

Rottingdean was the home of Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and – from 1897 to 1902 – of the writer Rudyard Kipling (The Kipling Gardens, passed on this walk, are the gardens of his former house). Kipling had a very productive time in Rottingdean, writing his children’s works Kim, Stalky & Co and the Just So stories there, as well as Recessional, a surprisingly downbeat poem considering the fact that it was written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. In it, he worried about the imminent decline of the British Empire:

Incidentally, the fact that the lines "Lest we forget" often appear on war memorials is not a coincidence. Kipling was given the job after the First World War or coming up with appropriate texts for war graves, and borrowed the line from this poem. It was an interesting choice, as it was the same concern about the possible decline in British power that is expressed in this poem that led Kipling in the run up to the First World War to campaign vociferously for an increase in the size of the British army and navy to counter the growing power of Germany. One consequence of this was that when war finally broke, he vigorously encouraged his son Jack to enlist, despite the latter having terrible eyesight which would normally have disqualified him from active service. After Jack was killed and the horrors of the Western front became known, Kipling was wracked with a terrible guilt, from which he never quite recovered.

Brighton Pier might seem an unlikely spot for nature observation, but towards dusk you can see simply immense flocks of starlings wheeling about here – or over by the ruined West Pier a bit further along the seafront. Literally tens of thousands of these birds can gather in great flocks, which swirl and swoop in unison in the sky, before roosting for the night. Groups will settle and then take off again, and there an immensity of chattering. It is quite a sight.

Brighton Royal Pavilion evolved from 1787 onwards as a holiday home for King George IV, who first popularised Brighton as a resort. The current extraordinary building was created by architect John Nash from 1815 to 1823. Its somewhat ludicrous oriental style is a good guide to the interior decor, which nonetheless somehow contrives to be breathakingly beautiful. One key innovation of the Pavillion was the siting of the enormous kitchens right next to the dining room – normally in palaces, the kitchens were far away from the state rooms, but George was a gourmet (he became enormously fat) and hired the best chef of his day to cook for him. The Pavillion soon fell out of royal favour after Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, however. Not only did she have a very low opinion of the disreputable George IV, but after the coming of the railways in the 1840s, Brighton became too busy with the lower classes. In any case the Pavillion was wildly unsuitable for Victoria and Albert’s large family. They eventually built their own holiday home at Osborne, on the Isle of Wight. The Pavillion is now owned by Brighton Council and is open to the public

Once on the downs after lunch, you can also loop back to Rodmell and Southease using book two directions. There is no tea option on this route, however, unless the Abergavenny Arms in Rodmell re-opens.

Directions for both these options can be found after the main walk directions