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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

West Sussex

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sat, 11-Jun-22 Saturday Walk - Lonely Valleys in the South Downs, the Goodwood Estate & the majestic St. Roche's Hill 8 sunny with a cold breeze
Sat, 13-Jul-19 Saturday Walk - Halnaker to Chichester or West Dean: Scenic steep chalk downlands, the Goodwood Estate, and unrivalled views from St. Roche's Hill 8 warm and sunny with a breeze most of the time
Sat, 05-Aug-17 Saturday Walk - Cass Sculpture Park, Upper Lavant Valley, Downlands north of Chichester, Goodwood on Race Day 15 mixed sunshine and overcast skies a couple of heavy showers
Sat, 30-Apr-16 Saturday Second Walk - Halnaker to Chichester (via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood) 14 cool sunny
Sat, 13-Jun-15 Saturday Third Walk – the South Downs above Chichester 7 sunny with diminishing clouds
Sat, 14-Feb-15 Halnaker to Chichester 13
Thomas G

Halnaker to Chichester or West Dean: Scenic steep chalk downlands around the Upper Lavant Valley, the Goodwood Estate, and unrivalled views from St. Roche's Hill

Length: 22.9 km (14.2 mi) [shorter and longer options available, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 475/501 m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours
Toughness: 6 out of 10 (with several steep ascents around lunch, so may feel tougher than that)
09.05 Portsmouth Harbour train from Victoria (CJ 09.12, EC 09.23), arrives Chichester 10.37 [train splits at Horsham]. Then take the Number 55 bus at 10.45 at the Bus Station (direction Tangmere, usually from Stand 6), arrives Halnaker Crossroads 11.05. The bus runs every 30 minutes, should the train be late. The pdf lists nearby cafés to while away the wait.
Return trains are on xx.09 and xx.39 (96 minutes journey time). Buy a Chichester return.
This West Sussex walk involves a bus connection on the way out. Its 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 some of the best views in the southeast.
Walk Options:
Out-and-backs at the start to Halnaker Hill (and its windmill) 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 by 167m (rated 4/10).
Another shortcut around lunch reduces the length of the walk by 800m and the ascent by 93m (rated 5/10).
An Alternative Ending in West Dean cuts out 6.5 km (rated 6/10).
An infrequent bus service (line 99) runs past the early lunch stops in East Dean and Charlton (at about 13.30 and 15.00 hours). You need to phone ahead to book a stop though (01903-264 776)!A half-hourly bus service (line 60) runs from Singleton, West Dean and Lavant to Chichester.
A hourly bus service (line 50) from the fringes of Chichester cuts 2.5 km at the end.
Lunch: On the full walk the scheduled lunch stop is The Partridge Inn in Singleton (11.4 km/7.1 mi, food all day), just before the ascent to the highest point of the walk: St. Roche’s Hill. There’s also the Star and Garter in East Dean, but that comes a bit early (5.6 km/3.6 mi, food to 14.30).
On the short walks the lunch stops are the Star and Garter in East Dean or The Fox Goes Free in Charlton (9.4 km/5.9 mi, food to 14.30) [Shortcut II only].
Tea: Chichester has lots of commendable drinkeries and eateries. For details check page 2 of the pdf.
For summary, route map, height profile, walk directions, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.239
  • 01-Jun-22

    Advance Tickets still available

  • 12-Jun-22

    6 walkers off the train (incl. 1 first-timer), awaited at the bus station by 1 car driver and her dog plus 1 other walker off an earlier train: 8 . The day was sunny with a cold breeze

    An early highlight was a stunning poppy field (ie a cereal field with loads of poppies), just off path by Halnaker House. Later, in the woods, we saw some very slow runners going the other way, with race numbers across their chest. They were barely faster than walkers, despite looking quite fit. Strange. Later we saw more of them and we could apprehend and question one while he was having a drink at a tea kiosk on the Trundle. They were competing in the Race To The King (google it), a 101.5 km Ultra-Marathon. Can be split over two days, but our man at the tea kiosk was going to finish it on the day, around midnight at best... Respect!

    It was a perfect time of year for this walk, with plenty of wildflowers in the fields, also the few arable fields en route were all lying fallow, so also easy walking. Views were smashing, if a little hazy in the far distance (the IoW was a mere shadow in the sea).

    At Singleton, one picnicker marched up the hill, wanting to get the last ascent out the way before taking food (17.39 train for him), 2 other picnickers joined the 5 lunchers in the best-in-class pub garden of The Partridge Inn. This has always been lovely, but now (as of 2 months ago) they have the most impressive sun and rain protective canopy you'll ever see: sturdy but aesthetic steel beams concreted into the ground, with the tarpaulin tethered to the house wall, covering the whole paved area, with views of the grassy rest of the garden. It should survive the worst imaginable hurricane...

    We had quite a long stay there, incl, desserts and coffees.

    The 7 of us stayed together until the end (with more poppy fields en route in the valley below The Trundle), and had time for a quick drink at The Fountain (Hall & Woodhouse), before 2 took the 18.09, and 2 others the 18.39. The car driver left as well, leaving 2 to have a meal. With weary legs, we just stumbled across the road into a Zizzi branch. And what a building it is! A historic theatre-barn/building, with some tables on a gallery right under the massive wooden beams. 20.09 train.

    Group cohesion and group dynamics: 9 out of 10

Thomas G
Halnaker to Chichester or West Dean: Scenic steep chalk downlands around the Upper Lavant Valley, Cass Sculpture Park, the Goodwood Estate, and unrivalled views from St. Roche's Hill
Length: 22.9 km (14.2 mi) [shorter and longer options available, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 498/524 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10 (with several steep ascents around lunch, so may feel tougher than that)
09.06 Portsmouth Harbour train from Victoria (CJ 09.13, EC 09.23), arrives Chichester 10.37 [train splits at Horsham]. Then take the Number 55 bus at 10.45 at the Bus Station (direction Tangmere, usually from Stand 6), arrives Halnaker Crossroads 11.05. The bus runs every 20 minutes, should the train be late. The pdf lists nearby cafés to while away the wait.
Return trains are on xx.09 and xx.39 (92 minutes journey time). Buy a Chichester return.
This West Sussex walk involves a bus connection on the way out. 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 enabling a visit to Cass Foundation’s Sculpture Park (ticketed entry, on a >4 km extension) in the morning, and 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 some of the best views of any SWC walk.
Walk options:
Out-and-backs at the start to Halnaker Hill (and its windmill) or Boxgrove Priory add 5.1 and 2.6 km respectively.
An extension to Cass Sculpture Park adds about 4.4 km and 109/112m ascent/descent, depending on your exact route through the park. Budget 2 hours out and back. This is doable in combination with the full walk and that extended walk would be rated 10/10.
A shortcut around lunch reduces the length of the walk by 3.6 km and the ascent by 167m (rated 5/10).
Another shortcut around lunch reduces the length of the walk by 800m and the ascent by 93m (rated 6/10).
An Alternative Ending in West Dean cuts out 6.5 km (rated 6/10).
A Cass Sculpture Park only-walk, returning to Halnaker for the bus to Chichester, would be 8.1 km long. This can be combined with one or other or both of the following out and backs for a full walk:
An infrequent bus service (number 99) runs past the early lunch stops in East Dean and Charlton. You need to phone ahead to book a stop though (01903-264 776)!
A half-hourly bus service runs from Singleton, West Dean and Lavant to Chichester.
A half-hourly bus service from the fringes of Chichester cuts 2.5 km at the end.
Lunch: On the full walk the scheduled lunch stop is The Partridge Inn in Singleton (11.4 km/7.1 mi, food all day), just before the ascent to the highest point of the walk: St. Roche’s Hill. There’s also the Star and Garter in East Dean, but that comes a bit early (5.6 km/3.6 mi, food to 14.30), unless you fit in the Sculpture Park beforehand.
On the short walks the lunch stops are the Star and Garter in East Dean or The Fox Goes Free in Charlton (9.4 km/5.9 mi, food all day) [Shortcut II only].
Tea: Chichester has lots of commendable drinkeries and eateries. For details check page 2 of the pdf.
For summary, route map, height profile, walk directions, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.239
  • 13-Jul-19

    8 on the walk, with transport (i.e. train-to-bus connection) working fine. The train was full-ish, with plenty of people looking like they were heading for beaches.

    Amazing amounts of wildflowers all day, with most formerly arable fields now either fallow (some) or wildflower meadow (most). Some cereal fields had already been harvested. All streams (most of them winterbournes, admittedly) were dry. Lots of poppies in many places and butterflies aplenty. Fine views as the weather was warm and sunny with a breeze most of the time .

    5 had not walked this one before. The picnickers (6) sat down on the hill with views over Singleton village out to The Trundle, while the 2 lunchers walked on to The Partridge Inn. Sparsely populated as it was (no racing at Goodwood today), we were served quickly and had nearly finished when the picnickers turned up for bevvies (which left time for a coffee and some cheeky scoops of ice cream).

    Up the hill for views of the coast and then 1 went West Dean way, later 1 other stopped at Lavant to wait for the bus to Chi, and us remaining 6 trundled on to Chi. We (very grudgingly) furthered the Brexiteer's cause by turning into the Spoon, 3 for a drink and the 18.09, the other 3 also for a subsequent meal.

    Nice day out, thanks for the company.

Thomas G
Halnaker to Chichester: Scenic steep chalk downlands around the Upper Lavant Valley, the Goodwood Estate on the last day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, and unrivalled views from St. Roche's Hill
Length: 22.9 km (14.2 mi) [shorter and longer options available, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 500 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10 (with several steep ascents around lunch, so may feel tougher than that)
09.06 Portsmouth Harbour train from Victoria (CJ 09.12, EC 09.23), arrives Chichester 10.35. Then take the Number 55 bus at 10.40 (direction Tangmere, usually from stand 7 at the Bus Station), arrives Halnaker Crossroads 11.00. The bus runs half-hourly, should the train be late. The pdf lists nearby cafés to while away the wait.
Return trains are 2-3 per hour (from 90 mins journey time). Buy a Chichester return.
This West Sussex walk involves a bus connection on the way out. 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 enabling a visit to Cass Foundation’s Sculpture Park (ticketed entry, on a >4 km extension) in the morning, and 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 some of the best views of any SWC walk.
On the full walk the scheduled lunch stop is The Partridge Inn in Singleton (11.4 km/7.1 mi, food all day), just before the ascent to the highest point of the walk: St. Roche’s Hill. There’s also the Star and Garter in East Dean, but that comes a bit early (5.6 km/3.6 mi, food to 16.00), unless you fit in the Sculpture Park beforehand.
On the short walks the lunch stops are the Star and Garter in East Dean or The Fox Goes Free in Charlton (9.4 km/5.9 mi) [Shortcut II only].
Chichester has lots of commendable drinkeries and eateries. For details check page 2 of the pdf.
There are two shortcuts possible within the full walk, one going right past the race track and main stand of Goodwood, as well as an alternative ending from St. Roche’s Hill to the twee village of West Dean (with a fantastic tea shop, a lovely pub and a frequent bus to Chichester from the doorstep of that pub).
For details of this, as always, check page 2 of the pdf, or the route map on the website.
For summary, route map, height profile, walk directions, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.239
  • 03-Aug-17

    forecast looking good. intend to 'do' the sculpture park.

  • 04-Aug-17

    Expext the train to very busy with people going to Goodwood. You have to be in the front half of the train. Coaches 3 and 4 are best, as that's where the exit is from Chichester station. Turn left through barriers, turn right across road, follow narrow path to right of buildings into bus station. Stand 6, line 55, Tangmere bus, £3.60 fare.

  • Karen
    06-Aug-17

    15 mixed sunshine and overcast skies a couple of heavy showers

    Shared the train down with punters headed to Goodwood for the races. 13 made it from station to connecting bus quickly, with 2 more missing it and catching the next one. They caught us up at lunch.

    8 of the initial 13 peeled off to do the extension into Cass Sculpture Park and the rest of us continued on the main walk at a leisurely pace. A stop for coffee at The Star and Garter in East Dean, though had to make do with various other beverages as coffee machine was broken. Had to take shelter later under some trees during the worst of the heavy shower and then meandered on to Singleton where three of us has had a good lunch at The Partridge Inn. The two walkers who missed the bus in Chichester arrived and the picnickers joined for coffee and pudding.

    Leisurely pace again after lunch and everyone enjoyed the views down to Goodwood from St Roche's Hill. Back in Chichester, some made straight for the train and the remaining caught up with the sculpture vultures for a rather chaotic dinner for 8 at Wagamama. 6 rushed off for the 21:07 train, but due to the late arrival of one main course, two caught a later train back to London via Brighton, sharing the train with revelers returning from the Brighton and Hove Pride Weekend.

  • 07-Aug-17

    The 8 "sculpture vultures" enjoyed a relaxing visit to the Cass Sculpture Foundation under bright skies where about 50 large format pieces by various artists were strategically placed outside around the grounds -- some in woodland and others in more open spaces. There was also an exhibition of amusing smaller pieces in one of the indoor spaces. Dark clouds gathered during our visit and the heavens opened as the last of us were finishing up giving us the chance to catch the others up who we found sheltering under a tree not far away... Having missed the main lunch crowd, we enjoyed a tasty and peaceful lunch in the charmingly outfitted Star and Garter in East Dean. On arrival at St. Roche Hill, we caught glimpses of the penultimate race at Goodwood and saw the horses heading out to the start line for the final race as we set off down the hill in the evening sunshine for the final stretch....All in all, an interesting and worthwhile diversion to the main route...

Thomas G
SWC Walk 239 – Scenic steep chalk downlands around the Upper Lavant Valley, the Goodwood Estate on the Opening Day of the Race Season, unrivalled views from St. Roche's Hill (incl. of the race track below) and historic Chichester's centre
Length: 22.9 km (14.2 mi) [shorter options available, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 500 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10 (with several steep ascents around lunch, so may feel tougher than that)
09.06 train from [!] London Bridge [!] (East Croydon 09.24 [the 08.43 from Victoria connects with this]), arrives Chichester 10.35. Then take the Number 55 Bus at 10.40 (usually from Bay 6 at the Bus Station), arrives Halnaker Crossroads 11.01. The Bus is half-hourly. The write-up lists nearby cafes should the train arrive late.
Return trains are 2-4 per hour, today mostly to London Bridge. Last direct train: 21.07. Last train with under 2 hours journey time: 22.40. Buy a Chichester Return.
This strenuous West Sussex walk makes for a long day out, as it involves a bus connection on the way out 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 enabling a visit to Cass Foundation’s Sculpture Park (on an extension) in the morning, and 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 some of the best views of any SWC walk.
On the full walk the scheduled lunch stop is The Partridge Inn in Singleton (11.4 km/7.1 mi), just before the ascent to the highest point of the walk: St. Roche’s Hill; a table has been booked for 13.30 hours. There’s also the Star and Garter in East Dean, but that comes a bit early (5.6 km/3.6 mi). On the short walks the lunch stops are the Star and Garter or The Fox Goes Free in Charlton (9.4 km/5.9 mi) [Shortcut II only].
Chichester has lots of commendable drinkeries and eateries. For details, as always, check page 2 of the pdf.
There are two shortcuts possible within the full walk, one going right past the race track and main stand of Goodwood, as well as an alternative ending from St. Roche’s Hill to the twee village of West Dean (with a lovely tea shop, a good pub and a frequent bus to Chichester from the doorstep of that pub).
For details, as always, check page 2 of the pdf, or the route map on the website.
For walk directions (pdf) click here. For summary, route map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here.
Get Hill Fit for Ullapool – The Schedule
23/04 – SWC 251 Tisbury Circular (via Ludwell and Berwick St. John)
30/04 – SWC 239 Halnaker to Chichester (via Cass Sculpture Park and Goodwood)
07/05 – SWC 263 Haslemere to Midhurst (via Temple of the Winds and Henley)
14/05 – SWC 068 (Revised) Rowlands Castle Circular
T=swc.239
  • Anonymous
    25-Apr-16

    Fantastic walk. Will take Alternative Ending to West Dean and then the bus to Chichester. Bus xx14 and xx44 past the hour. Cutting 6.5km off the end of walk.

  • 28-Apr-16

    as you can see above, it's only 5 minutes between the train arriving (if on time) and the bus leaving (if on time). therefore aim to be at the rear of the train when it pulls into Chichester, as that's where the exit is, and follow page 5 of the pdf to the bus station. do the meet-and-greet there, or even in Halnaker (silent 'l'), once off the bus.

  • 29-Apr-16

    Goodwood Racecourse: there are 7 races today, the first at 13.45, the last at 17.10, so we'd be very unlucky not to see and hear some action during our ascent up St. Roche's Hill

  • Kelda
    01-May-16

    14

    Beattuful sunshine (and_a_brief_hailshower_for_the_less_speedy!)

    Absolutely stunning scenery and lovely weather made the trip down to Chichester extremely worthwhile.

    No mud, and a very clearly navigable route enabled a fun and relaxed day out. Besides being a little on the slow-side (order at the bar next time) the pub lunch was delicious and served in our own cozy private dining room...

    The post lunch climb up above the Goodwood racecourse afforded stunning views across the coastline and also the occasional race on the track below.

    A few went on ahead for cake and tea, 9 headed to the pub in Chichester, followed by dinner.

    Don't be put off by the bus connection at the beginning (really no trouble at all). This walk is a little bit of a stunner and well worth the effort!

  • Karen
    01-May-16

    14 cool sunny and heavy rain shower in the afternoon.

    14 walkers off the train at Chichester and dashed for the connecting bus to Halnaker. The morning was cool and bright. 8 dined at The Partridge Inn at Singleton. On this occasion, the service was very slow. A reservation had been made in advance and the pub didn't appear to be particularly busy, but no explanation was forthcoming. That said, the food when it came was very good. Due to the long wait, most of the picnickers went on ahead and were not seen for the rest of the day. (A special mention to intrepid two who also managed to fit in a pre-lunch drink at The Star and Garter - for research purposes, of course. They reported back that it was a convivial establishment.)

    In the afternoon, as promised, we witnessed some of the action at Goodwood Racecourse from our vantage point on the top of St. Roche's Hill. We also noticed a dramatic dark cloud in the distance. That cloud eventually caught up with us on the outskirts of Chichester. A sudden, very heavy shower of hail, followed by heavy rain for abut 10 minutes drove us to seek shelter wherever we could find it. Arriving in Chichester at about 18:00, 9 regrouped at The Old Cross pub on North Street. 2 took off for the train and the final 7 decided to stay on in the town for dinner at Côte. The 21:24 back to London.

    I believe one walker may have taken one of the short options and dined in Havant...?

    Another good day out.

Sean
Extra Walk 239 – Halnaker to Chichester
Length: 22.9 km (14.2 miles). Toughness: 7/10

09:02 Portsmouth Harbour & Bognor Regis train from Victoria (Clapham Jct 09:08, East Croydon 09:18), arriving Chichester at 10:34. You need to be in the front (Portsmouth) part of the train. Buy a day return to Chichester.

On arrival I suggest postponing the polite round of introductions on the platform. Instead, march smartly to the nearby Bus Station where a Tangmere-bound Stagecoach 55 leaves from Bay 6 at 10:40 (see the Walk Directions for details of the short link route). The buses are half-hourly so it's not a disaster if you miss the connection, but it's going to be a long day so make every effort to catch it. Alight at Halnaker crossroads to start the walk.

Direct trains back from Chichester to Victoria are half-hourly at 11 & 41 minutes past until 17:41, then 18:12, 18:37 and hourly from 19:07. If you just miss one of the hourly ones, take a Brighton train at 25 minutes past and change at Barnham.

This long and hilly walk in a hitherto-undiscovered part of the South Downs was enthusiastically received on its Valentines Day début four months ago, so it will surely get even more rapturous reviews in the mud-free days of mid-June. There are quite a few steep hills as you make your way across the valleys in this part of the downs, but the walk document describes a few shortcuts for the faint-hearted.

The suggested lunch stop is the Partridge Inn in the village of Singleton, described last time as offering “tasty fare”. This is halfway through the walk but there are a couple of earlier alternatives if you don't think you'll reach it in time. There's a long list of tea places in Chichester.

You'll need to print the walk directions from this pdf document.
  • Anonymous
    13-Jun-15

    I intend joining this walk.

  • 15-Jun-15

    7 sunny with diminishing clouds

    3 of the 7 had been on the walk-check in February as well, so only 4 newbies to this walk, disappointingly. the rest missed out on a very good day out...

    It was muddy in the woods in the morning from the heavy overnight rainfall, but we had a good walking surface thereafter; the sky was getting bluer during the day, therefore we had wonderful (if a bit hazy) far views when it mattered: in the afternoon; excellent food was had again in The Partridge, in Singleton, this time out in the back garden, then we went on to the village fete at the cricket ground, where the raffle was raided by the girls, while the horseshoe-tossing attempts were as unsuccessful as the first ever bowled over by the undersigned (I hit the stumps once, but with an illegal arm movement, or some such, apparently); then up to St. Roche's Hill, from where said views were had.

    5 stayed on for drinks in Chichester, 4 then had the tenacity to stay on for dinner in Chichester as well, plus another drink upon arrival in Victoria Station. Not to forget the raffle-won bottle of plonk on the train... Back home at midnight. Very nice walk (but I would say that).