Welcome to Capital Walkers, the friendly London Ramblers group for people aged 40+. We walk every weekend and usually at least once during the week.
Your lean into the climb out of Hassocks will be rewarded with the distinctive silhouette of the Clayton windmills before a bracing walk along the South Downs chalk grassland, with sweeping views inland and out to sea near Brighton, passing medieval dew ponds and an Iron Age fort at Ditchling Beacon.
Please bring your own packed lunch to eat at a viewpoint on the downs, before descending into Lewes along the River Ouse. Through the gateway of the Norman Castle (after a final cheeky climb), the quaint High Street of Lewes invites exploration, with plenty of options for tea and coffee. And beer (Lewes is the home of Harvey's brewery).
The chalk trails may be slippery, so you will need walking boots. For those that use them, walking poles might assist, and a windproof / waterproof and multiple layers will help you stay warm.
The finishing time is an estimate only and dependent on a number of factors such as weather, group size, and speed of the group.
Travel
Take the 09:46 Southern train from London Victoria (Clapham Junction 09:52), arriving Hassocks 10:44.
Return trains to London Victoria from Lewes at 25 & 56 mins past the hour until 22.25.
Buy a day return to Lewes.
Toilets at Hassocks and Lewes stations, and, hopefully, the outbound and return trains. No toilets on the walk route.
Drop-out points: Ditching Beacon (bus to Brighton), Plumpton (bus to Lewes and, 3 km from the Half Moon pub, the train station).
No booking required.
No dogs.
Photo attribution Jack & Jill Windmills, Clayton by David Boness, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
Hassocks railway station car park.
Lewes castle entrance
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