Halnaker to Chichester via Goodwood walk

Scenic steep chalk downlands around the Upper Lavant Valley, the Goodwood Estate and unrivalled views from St. Roche's Hill

Northerly View from The Trundle: Singleton and the Rother Valley through gap in South Downs main ridge SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood
Northerly View from The Trundle: Singleton and the Rother Valley through gap in South Downs main ridge

SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood

Aug-17 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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St. Roche’s Hill behind Charlton SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood
St. Roche’s Hill behind Charlton

SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood

Jun-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Boxgrove Priory's Guest House Ruins SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood (Boxgrove Priory out-and-back)
Boxgrove Priory's Guest House Ruins

SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood (Boxgrove Priory out-and-back)

Aug-17 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Goodwood Race Course from The Trundle SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood
Goodwood Race Course from The Trundle

SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood

Aug-17 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Chichester and Cathedral across fields (from St. Roche's Hill) SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood
Chichester and Cathedral across fields (from St. Roche's Hill)

SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood

Aug-17 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Field full of poppies, with Halnaker House ruins SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester and Goodwood
Field full of poppies, with Halnaker House ruins

SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester and Goodwood

Jun-22 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Halnaker House SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood
Halnaker House

SWC Walk 239 Halnaker to Chichester via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood

Jun-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Length

22.9 km (14.2 mi), with 475/501m ascent/descent. For a shorter or longer walk see below Walk Options.

Toughness

6 out of 10 (with several steep ascents around lunch, so may feel tougher than that), with 5 hours 30 minutes walking time.
For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 10 hours.

Walk Notes

This West Sussex walk makes for a relatively long day out for the length of the walk, as it involves a bus connection to the start after an already long train journey to Chichester. Its main purpose is to explore the scenic steep chalk downlands well north of Chichester around the Upper Lavant Valley, between St. Roche’s Hill and the South Downs chain, while passing through the Goodwood estate as well as through Chichester’s Old Town at the end. The lonely grassy or wooded hillsides of the beautiful Lavant Valley are dissected by quiet flat-bottomed valleys, and feature several pretty villages, as well as providing for stunning views. Most of the climbing is done between the lunch pubs, but the longest ascent comes straight after the late lunch option, up to St. Roche’s Hill, from whose treeless summit you have grand views in all directions.

Optional out-and-backs at the start, to Halnaker Hill (with its windmill) and/or Boxgrove Priory, make it an up to 30 km walk.

Walk Options

Out-and-backs at the start to Halnaker Hill or Boxgrove Priory add 5.1 and 2.6 km respectively.
A Shortcut around lunch reduces the length of the walk by 3.6 km and the ascent/descent by 167m.
Another Shortcut around lunch reduces the length of the walk by 0.8 km and the ascent/descent by 93m.
An infrequent bus service (number 99 Mon-Sat) runs past the early lunch stops in East Dean and Charlton. You need to phone ahead to book a stop though (01903-264 776)!
An Alternative Ending in West Dean cuts out 6.5 km.
A half-hourly bus service runs from Singleton, West Dean and Lavant to Chichester (hourly on Sundays).
An hourly bus service from the fringes of Chichester cuts 2.5 km at the end (Mon-Sat only).

Maps

OS Explorer: OL8 (Chichester) and OL10 (Arundel & Pulborough)
OS Landranger: 197 (Chichester & the South Downs)

Travel

Halnaker Crossroads, map reference SU 907 080, is 6 km north east of Chichester and 37m above sea level. Chichester Station, map reference SU 858 043, is 22 km east of Portsmouth and 11m above sea level. Both are in West Sussex. Halnaker Crossroads is a stop on the number 55 bus service from Chichester to Tangmere. The service runs every 20 minutes Mon-Fri, half-hourly Sat and hourly on Sundays. It is seamlessly linked to (on-time) trains arriving from London. It then takes 21 minutes to Halnaker (with a fare of £3.80 in 06/22). Chichester station is on the London Victoria to Southampton West Coastway Line. Journey times (two trains an hour) are 91 minutes Monday to Saturday and 106 minutes on Sunday.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take the train closest to 9.30 hours (but earlier if aiming for the late lunch pub in Singleton).

Lunch

The Star and Garter, East Dean, West Sussex, PO18 0JG (01243 811 318). The Star and Garter is located 5.6 km (3.5 mi) into the walk and is a flint and brick country pub with rooms.
The Fox Goes Free, Charlton, West Sussex, PO18 0HU (01243 811 461). The Fox Goes Free is located 9.4 km (5.9 mi) into the walk on Shortcut II and is a 400-year-old inn with home cooked food.
The Partridge Inn, Singleton, West Sussex, PO18 0EY (01243 811 251). The Partridge Inn is located 11.4 km (7.1 mi) into the full walk and is a 16th century pub with great character.

Tea

Plenty of options in West Dean, Lavant and Chichester. See the pdf for details.

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By Train

Back (not a train station)

By Car

Start Halnaker, West Susex, PO18 0NQ Map Directions

Finish PO19 8DL Map Directions

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Help

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Version

Jun-22 Thomas G

Copyright © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml

Walk Directions

Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.

This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk