What time to meet at Hassocks station to start

Train arrives at Hassocks at 10:43

Surprisingly, 9 at the station given the forecast, including a regular south coast small dog. Group cohesion broke down after an hour or so with 5 striding ahead. windy of course, and we did get buffeted about, but also stretches of calm. Generally sunny except for a brief rain storm, witnessed by 3 of us through the pub window. By lunch, it was 2 ahead on a picnic, 3 in the pub and 4 in the willow tree cafe, reported as very good.

The three of us in the pub, were briefly joined by the small dog, who left to take a different route home. We 3 did the walk into Shoreham, enjoying the great views on this walk. After a stop at the Tap for a beer, we got the 1742, meeting the 3 from the cafe group for the train home. Everyone enjoyed the walk and had a great day out.

The 1005 from London Bridge has been cancelled. You will need to get the 1016 from Victoria (Clapham J 1023, EC 1034)

Would you believe Mr Tiger forgot to count people at the station? However, it was at least 9 And don’t forget the dog. As well as the forecast, numbers may have been affected by the cancelled train.

Mr Tiger was soon left behind and, given the steep hills, soon very left behind. A quick half at the Devils Dyke and on. Weather was mixed. Someone had made the mistake of saying “ lucky with the weather” at the station some showers some dryness . If you were as late getting to Upper Beeding as Mr Tiger, - he won’t say how late - you would have been subjected to a torrential downpour waiting for the bus.

One reason Mr Tiger was so late was because he couldn’t find a way out of that wretched field after Truleigh Hill. Went all the way along that fence line and back again. Had to climb back up and continue along the road. Luckily an (unmapped?) bridleway presented itself a few hundred yards later and he was able to connect back to the route

Spectacular views but a tough walk. A bit too tough for Mr Tiger’s liking.

2 on this walk, with a dry start then a little spittle pm then rain .

We passed another walker outside the station but he was in fact looking for a Ramblers group (which apparently had assembled the other side of the station, according to someone else). Once up the first hill, there was the eerie sight of all northern valleys still being filled with morning mist, a bit like a cloud inversion really. Wonderful!

On via some somewhat slippery paths and through some amalgamated fields with a very large cattle herd (very docile though they were). The consensus was to aim for the Devil's Dyke pub, bypassing the couple of farm cafes en route, so on we went. Some spittle started on the last few hundred metres before reaching the pub, but once we had gotten organised and ordered our food and sat down, very dark clouds were indeed passing, so much so that the trig point across the road was invisible and any later arrival in the pub was dripping wet.

A main course and a coffee later, the situation had reverted to the earlier 'grey skies but dry' scenario and it largely stayed that way until close to Shoreham, as that is where we went, walking the extended version of the route. Latent spittle turned to drizzle which turned to rain for the last half hour or so, before we reached Shoreham High Street at 16.15.

That left just enough time for a drink at the first pub on the left before the on-time 16.44 train.

7 on this walk on a warm sunny day with some welcome cloud cover. The walk took us through woods and many fields and up high on the downs overlooking lovely valleys. Lots of butterflies and orchids. Four people stopped for lunch in the Saddlecombe café (positive feedback on the food) whilst three of us picknicked outside or on the hill near Devil’s Dyke. We all met up again in the Castle hotel in Upper Beeding for much needed refreshments, and then walked on along the river to Shoreham by Sea. If you are desparate for a swim, this final section can seem a tad tedious. At the beach two of us attempted to swim but were thrown violently around in the crashing waves so beat a retreat to the icecream shop. Four others went to the Crown and Anchor Shoreham for a different type of refreshment. Three caught the 19.13 train to Haywards Heath and London.

Note on route: Shortly after the youth hostel, the route goes off the road to follow the line of a wood. We all missed the correct path at this point due to overgrown undergrowth, and found ourselves on the wrong side of the fence. Some of us doubled back a bit to climb over a fence to get onto the correct path, whilst the reckless in the group scrambled over a barbed wire fence.

Thank you Stargazer for posting this walk.

Another ticket option for this walk might be a Brighton return with a PLUSBUS ticket.

As far as I can see, the Brighton & Hove PLUSBUS zone appears to cover the area from Upper Beeding to Shoreham-By-Sea and Brighton. The zone maps are at https://www.plusbus.info/prestonprk

It's ~39 mins on the bus from Shoreham-By-Sea to Brighton but, if finishing in Upper Beeding, the ~1 hour bus journey from Upper Beeding to Brighton would probably not appeal.

8 aprox at station with delayed trains. Two more joined for lunch at the farm and then a beverage at the pub stop...wonderful views over the Downs..and down to Shoreham by Sea where the men went to the pub to watch the football...well done to HollyB for posting..

The men had a drink outside the Tap House Shoreham (recommended), one getting the 1812,the other the 1842. No football involved!

I have this afternoon tweaked the higher, ridge option into Shoreham to reflect a new route I have discovered over recent years. This takes you along the usually very quiet ridge top road for a kilometre, down through a farm, and then across the interesting Mill Hill Nature Reserve (where you might just see some rare Adonis Blue butterflies at this time of year), and then down after the A27 to join the Adur riverside path. It is 13 miles from Hassocks to Shoreham station by this route. I uploaded the GPX for this only on Friday afternoon, so if you are interested in trying this route, re-load the GPX after reading this

The new route mentioned above seems to appear on the map of this walk if you view it using Chrome, but not if you view it using Safari. I don't know the reason for this or if it affects the availability of the GPX: I have put in a request to our webmaster to check this

Oh, OK, now it is showing on Safari too

About 22 assembled on the platform at Hassocks for the usual formalities, including a number of less familiar faces...under grey skies with a chilly stiff breeze ....I ended up with the rearguard, somewhat due to a few of us unintentionally exploring extra parts of the downs....Many seemed to have a bite to eat at the Wildflower café, giving it a definite thumbs up; others picnicked on the escarpment by the Devil's Dike pub...I do not think anyone actually visited the pub...as it was fully booked...

The trailing group stopped for afternoon drinks in the front garden of the licensed Truleigh Hill YHA before descending to Shoreham along the new ridge route....In Shoreham, we decided the weather did not bode well for a pleasant swim, so 5 of us opted for an alfresco dinner at the pub in the pedestrian area instead...A very pleasant and relaxed day.....

Windy would be a succinct description of the weather. It was mainly sunny in the morning, cloudy after lunch, but the westerly gale was in our face most of the day, the exception being in the dips between hills in the morning, when it sometimes felt quite warm. Otherwise it was at times like Scott of the Antarctic, straining into the wind. Conversation was sometimes difficult.

This apart, it was a grand day to be on the Downs, with clear views. In valleys and on some of the slopes there was a lot of gloopy mud (especially where a farmer had unwisely let a herd of bullocks churn up a whole hillside), but on the tops the ground was reasonably dry. Lots of larks were singing, but you needed sensitive ears to hear them above the sound of the wind.

21 got off the Victoria train at Hassocks. If any got the later-arriving Thameslink service I would be interested to hear their report. I would to know too what happened to most of the group, in fact, since we got split up. Many, I know, stopped for lunch at the Wildflour cafe, but six or seven of us pushed on to the Devils Dyke pub, which had plenty of free tables. Five of us then improvised a route to Shoreham at the end of the walk, staying on the road on top of the ridge, then passing through the Mill Hill Reserve and ending up on the river. At least four followed the river all the way from Upper Beeding.

In Shoreham the line of cafes in the pedestrian street by the church were all busy closing when we arrived at 4.45. Credit, then, to the bakery on the corner (whose name I forgot to note), which stayed open until 5.30pm and had interesting and tasty cakes and tea in big cups. Some talked of walking after this down to the beach, but six of us got the 5.43 train instead. Lacking a Stargazer, no one could be persuaded to go to the pub.

I think 17 emerged from the train, having mastered the confusion of the train starting from East Croydon. Apologies if I've left out anyone who followed later. We soon spread out across the rolling hills in mostly sunny weather with an occasional suprisingly cold breeze . Most people seemed to stop for an early lunch at the Wildflour cafe, which got good reviews. Six or seven of us carried on fto have lunch watching the paragliders by the Devil's Dyke. Most of this sub-group then walked on to Shoreham via the river Adur. We thought this seemed preferable to the lane in the directions if you follow the river, not the Downs Link path which is dominated by cyclists. It adds about 6 km to the Upper Beeding finish. Others got the bus and a large proportion of the starters regrouped in Shoreham, either for a highly satisfactory tea (huge cake portions) at Teddy's cafe or at the station in time for the 1712 train.

4 lingered in Shoreham, with 2 enjoying an evening swim despite the clouds and cool breeze (warmer in the water than out),followed by drinks overlooking the estuary and fish and chips for the train home.

Please note: if doing the valley ending on this walk an electricity cable was laid across the route earlier this year and the area where the work was done - a long linear gash across the downs - is fenced off. This does not affect the route as described at all but it may confuse you (it confused me for a while and I wrote the walk!). Basically not long after the start of the valley ending the directions say you emerge from between fences onto open downland.....except that due to the works at this very point you come to a fence with a gate in, with another fence and gate beyond. Pretend these are not there. Turn right BEFORE them. The new fence (now to your left) actually provides a useful guide over what was previously open downland. The directions now work fine.

I researched an update to the directions to this effect and made other very minor updates to the valley ending a month or two back, but alas I have not yet had a chance to put an updated document on the site. It was first on my To Do list for NEXT week......

14 on this walk. A fine sunny day made this perfect for a walk in the downs. I am biased (because I created this walk) but to me it has always been the perfect downland outing. A few of us ate at the Hiker's Rest, savouring the opportunity to sit outside in the sun. Others bought cakes to takeaway and headed off mysteriously into the hills with them.

One or two did the harder original route up Devil's Dyke, some ate in the always busy pub there. After lunch it was a cloudier and on Truleigh Hill we ran into a London to Brighton off-road cycle event whose (mostly male) participants clogged the route all the way into Upper Beeding, apart from a central section on grassy paths where we escaped from them.

After a quick drink at the King's Head webthen dashed for the 4.47 bus, some to go home, two to walk the last bit along the River Adur into Shoreham, and four to go to the beach where two of us planned a last summer sea swim. But alas for one of the two - me - the waves looked a bit too big. My more intrepid companion went in regardless and bobbed up and down alarmingly, but emerged satisfied. We then had wine on the beach and watched the sunset (see photo on the SWC Facebook page).

Now the last time I did this Walk. Somebody slipped on some chalk part of the Public Footpath. And a Girl named Jessica called for a Ambulance as he hurt his hand that day. Then we eventually walked until we got to the Ambulance. We had to stop for a Hour that day. It was such a shame really.

Unfortunately, it looks as if Southern trains will be affected by a strike on 18 May.

B****r!!!

Thanks for the update Mark,

I've amended the Post accordingly

the guy broke his wrist, so be careful on the chalky bits if it has rained. Hopefully he has made a full recovery and has reviewed his mobile contract.

That's exactly the point I was making.

Now I might do the walk on Wednesday. But I can't Guarantee I will.

Will take 9.40 from St Pancras, though it costs more, stops everywhere, and takes longer than the recommended train it is much easier for me. I arrive nine minutes ahead of the official train and I will start up the first hill. You will catch up with me before I reach the top. Look forward to this walk.

anyone else doing this walk? intend to go if the showers hold off..

9.40 from St Pancras now confirmed as running for tomorrow. Ticket was £13 something.

Just to confirm, the walk ends at Upper Beeding with a bus journey to Shoreham-by-Sea Station.

If you are not using the trains/tickets advised in the Post, please ensure that any tickets you buy will get you back from Shoreham-by-Sea.

SWC Train monitors may wish to add to this.

A cheap way of doing this walk (especially if travelling on Thameslink services) would be to buy a return to Brighton with PlusBus. On the way back, take the bus all the way from Upper Beeding to Brighton. The Brighton PlusBus area extends all the way from Steyning in the west to Seaford in the east. Sit on the top deck and enjoy the views for an hour, and hop on and off other services if you feel like it.

There is also - or was last time I looked - a bus (the 100?) direct from Upper Beeding to Burgess Hill. See the walk directions for details. If this still operates you only need to buy a day return to Hassocks

There is - or was last time I looked a 100 bus from Upper Beeding to Burgess Hill, with a last bus at 6pm: see walk directions for details. If this is still operating, all you need is a return to Hassocks and Thameslink only tickets may be valid. Check all this before relying on it.

Taking the Shoreham bus all the way into Brighton takes quite a long time. I did it years ago when researching this walk and recall it taking various diversions around housing estates etc. I have not wanted to repeat the experience since.....

Walkers suggestion seems to be still valid. The Bus timetable for the Upper Beeding to Burgess Hill journey (100 route) may be found here (Last updated 24th April 2016)

Buses depart Upper Beeding at 16:18 | 17:18 | 18:22 and the journey time to Burgess Hill is about 45 minutes

anyone doing this walk

Yes - I know of at least 3 who will go.

Also weather is good (no rain and not too hot)

Will go from Victoria Station.

10 on this walk, 5 Southerners from Victoria and five ThamesLinkers from St. Pancras.

The trains arrived about 15 minutes apart and everyone joined up just past the Natural Death Centre. The weather was the classic Simpsons fluffy cumulus as we started with more sun than forecast. Idyllic South Downs scenery apart from a brief encounter with the A23 on the footbridge across from Pyecombe.

The Hikers Rest was in fact open and five stopped for lunch there with the remaining five pushing on to the Devil's Dyke.

Lunch was excellent at the Hikers Rest, all home cooked and very healthy. The five set off after lunch and did the full Devil's Dyke route (not the tempting path which skirts it). This was quite enough for one who dropped out at the Pub, while another of the forward five rejoined. The cumulus cloud was replaced by wispy cirrus adding more atmosphere to the already stunning scenery.

The approach to Upper Beeding was a little tricky where EON had carved a new tract to bury cables carrying electricity from the new offshore Rampion wind farm. This will be all be returned to nature when the project is completed in about two years.

A great day out with weather far better than was forecast.

This looks very interesting. Thank you. Is there an air show - I was thinking of the title?

Those hardy readers who made it to the penultimate paragraph would have found the answer to your question (and a link), Anonymous. Your eyes must have glazed over at the nerdish exposition of train tickets and bus routes.

Apologies, Sean. My reading stamina needs to improve. Your exposition was not nerdish - it was comprehensive.

Potentially beautiful walk but the 8 of us had a later start, by about 45 mins, as the train due to arrive at Hassocks at 10.37 was cancelled. By then it was pouring with rain, so very different from yesterday.

On the descent from Wolstonbury hill one of our group fell on a slippery muddy part and seriously injured his wrist. The emergency services were called and three of the group went on to Pyecombe to meet the ambulance and guide the paramedic up to the injured walker and the remaining 4 stayed with him. Spirits were kept high by animated discussions regarding phone contracts, the merits of 12, 18 and 24 months. The injured walker went to the Royal Sussex hospital and we all wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him on walks in the very near future.

One walker had left the group earlier and two went with the injured walker to the hospital.

That left four, I only went as far as Devil's Dyke but by then the weather had cheered up so was able to enjoy the amazing views.

Paul went to hospital and quickly had x ray and was put in plaster as his wrist was indeed broken. Further x ray showed he may need more treatment later in the week in London but we left hospital after 5pm and got train home to London from Brighton at 5.44pm. He got a free cheese sandwich and coffee on the NHS and is seriously reviewing his phone contract! Thanks for help from all the other walkers. Joe.

Sorry to read Paul's wrist was broken. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. I took a bus back to Brighton from Devil's Dyke and have noted the potential hazards of walking on chalk when it's raining.