East Sussex

East Sussex

While visiting the Sussex village of Burwash on a summer’s day in 1900, the writer Rudyard Kipling set his heart on a nearby Jacobean house called Bateman’s. Two years later he completed the purchase and settled into the house that he would make his home for the rest of his life. Kipling died in 1936 and ever since then his literary reputation has divided opinion, but it is clear from many of his writings that Sussex became his adopted home and affected him deeply. At about the time Kipling moved into Bateman’s, he wrote the poem Sussex. For anyone today standing on the crest of the downs that lie between Lewes and Eastbourne or on the sea cliffs that stretch eastwards from Hastings towards Rye, the series of images evoked in Kipling’s poem can read not so much like a list of locations to be visited but rather a litany of sacred places to be revered. With his poetic eye, Kipling conjures up Sussex’s ‘fair ground’, far from Baltic pines and palm groves, far even from Surrey glades. What he loves about Sussex is a surprising promise of wildness and perspective – the chasing shadows on the whale-backed downs, the gnarled and writhen thorn, the Channel’s leaden line. He imagines the signs of past inhabitants – the barrows and camps and old gods of a heathen kingdom. Others, Kipling surmises, may prefer the places and English counties that lie from the Thames to the Tweed, but for him there is nothing fairer than the land of Sussex between ‘Rake and Rye, Black Down and Beachy Head’. Kipling was born in India, sent to Britain to be educated and then returned to India for his early life as an adult. When first married, he also lived for a number of years in the United States. By the time he arrived at Bateman’s Kipling was in search of a more settled, peaceful life. Near the end of the poem comes his expression of hope that if we can but give our hearts to the land, even to just one small spot of earth, then something magical happens and its effects can be beyond the limits of speech and thought and reason. Kipling came across his ‘earth to love’ unexpectedly and, as he describes in the poem, it fell to him by lot on the bare slopes of the downs, along the white cliff edges, in the woods of the Weald, beside the wide-banked Ouse, among the shaws and deep ghylls and under the rolled scarp. In whichever of these places Kipling found himself, he experienced a simple and profound joy, shared by many since, in his beloved ‘Sussex by the sea’.

About this guide

This guide contains 40 routes ranging in length from an hour’s stroll to a day’s walking, divided into five sections broadly based on the topography of the county. Most of the routes are circular and are intended as comfortable walks or strolls. On some routes the cumulative ascent or some steeper escarpments of the downs may require greater exertion than the strict route length suggests, but in general the walking is on well-worn paths, lanes and tracks, with plenty of waymarks, which should require minimal time and effort for route-finding. The route descriptions concentrate on the salient points of navigation, but may not cover every twist or turn. If in doubt, the obvious path is usually the line to take. In addition, the accompanying sketch maps serve an illustrative purpose and, for the longer or more complex routes, it would be a good idea to have access to the relevant OS Explorer mapping, details of which are given at the start of each walk. The recommended time for each walk is an estimate based on an average walking speed of 4kmph, with a small allowance added in on some hillier or clifftop routes. However, timings will vary significantly, not only for individuals but also given the seasonal effects on paths, especially those crossing fields, or tracks on the downs, sections of which can become muddier and more slippery at certain times of year. A few routes also pass along cliff edges, tidal rivers or sections of coastline which can become inaccessible depending on the state of the tide. Most paths covered in the routes are well-used and well-maintained by local agencies but, in spring and summer especially, hedges and undergrowth grow vigorously and nettles, brambles and thorn can infiltrate narrower paths, stile crossings and gates. Signage of rights of way in East Sussex is generally very good, especially on waymarked routes such as the South Downs Way, the England Coast Path, the Wealdway, and the 1066 Country Walk. It is hoped that there is plenty of interest along the routes themselves and it would be possible to spread a short walk over half a day if time is taken to explore along the way. Conversely, some of the routes are short enough to attempt two in a day. In addition, this volume’s companion West Sussex: 40 Coast and Country Walks provides further scope for exploring the region on foot.

Getting around and access

Many of the towns in East Sussex can serve as useful bases for walking. In the north of the county, the main towns are Crowborough, Uckfield and Heathfield, while East Grinstead and Royal Tunbridge Wells are within easy reach, just over the county border in neighbouring West Sussex and Kent. The county town of Lewes is the gateway to the section of the South Downs that runs eastwards from Brighton to Eastbourne, which itself is also well-placed for exploring the coast and Pevensey Levels. Finally, the towns of Hastings, Battle and Rye provide an historic setting for discovering the easternmost part of the county. There are no motorways in East Sussex and the major routes of the A21, A22 and A27 can become very busy at peak times and during holidays. A good number of the main towns have railway stations, with mainline routes from London to Lewes and Hastings, as well as a regular service along the south coast between Brighton and Rye. Regular bus routes serve the main towns and, in particular, several services along the south coast are useful for walkers. An effort has been made to start walks from places which are served by public transport and, in addition, it would usually be possible to plan the completion of a walk from a town to coincide with train times. It is worth noting that it is increasingly the case that many villages in rural areas are only intermittently served by public bus on a weekly or seasonal basis. Access by car is still the preferred option for many and, while towns cater adequately for parking, this can be a sensitive issue in smaller villages and hamlets. Pubs and inns can be very accommodating if the intention is to visit before or after a walk, but where parking is outside designated car parks consideration should be shown for the needs and access of local residents and the farming community. East Sussex is still substantially a rural county and has traditionally been associated with mixed farming, including fruit orchards and now vineyards, and in some areas sheep, arable and dairy farming can all be encountered in the space of a single walk. At lambing time, signs on gates may well request that dogs are kept on leads and the presence of dogs for cows can be problematic – it is not unheard of for cows with calves to behave in a very protective way. Even without a dog, cattle just released from winter shelters or cows which have recently calved should be left well alone. If in doubt, it is usually advisable and possible to find a short detour to avoid such livestock.