Walks you can reach from Balcombe by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Balcombe.
Hassocks Circular via Ditchling Beacon (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Recommended: Quaint village, woods and hilly.
Hilly: a quarter on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Ditchling (45 mins in)
South Downs National Park: Ditchling Area (National Trust; 1h30 in)
Ditchling Beacon: One of the highest points on the South Downs with near-360-degree views (National Trust; 1h45 in).
4 lunch spots: Ditchling (45 mins in) — the White Horse, the Nutmeg Tree, or Ditchling Village; plus the Jack & Jill (3h in)
1 end-of-walk reward: the Hassocks
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Source: Trains2Green.
Haywards Heath Circular via Lindfield (Sussex)
5 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Low hills, Ouse Valley, woodland, nature reserves, fields, hedgerows, historic villages and canal-era river crossings.
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Haywards Heath to Hassocks (Sussex)
5 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Rolling Sussex countryside and South Downs views; farmland and woodland through Ditchling along an old Roman road.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Wivelsfield to Haywards Heath (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Woods, wildflower meadows, farmland, High Weald ridge, golf course and suburban road sections.
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Hassocks to Lewes (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Balcombe.
South Downs chalk grassland ridge, panoramic views to sea and inland, dew ponds, Iron Age fort, wooded climbs, riverside embankment and historic town.
Warnings: Can be slippery.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
East Croydon to Oxted (Surrey)
30 minutes direct from Balcombe.
First stage of the Vanguard Way, from suburban East Croydon out through Selsdon Wood and the North Downs to Oxted.
Woodland: a third under tree cover.
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Horsham to Haywards Heath (Sussex)
5 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Forest, fields, Sussex villages and views; St Leonard's Forest, historic Slaugham village, Cuckfield, South Downs views.
Woodland: a third under tree cover.
St Leonard's Forest: An expansive forest of ancient woodland between Horsham and Crawley.
Slaugham: Very small, but picturesque.
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
East Grinstead to Wivelsfield (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Hills, streams, ponds, heaths, mixed woodland rich in bluebells and wood anemones, pastures and heathery commons with South Downs views.
Warnings: Mud and flood prone.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Three Bridges Circular via Worth Abbey (Sussex)
5 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Gently undulating High Weald woodland of Worth Forest, past an abbey monastery and managed forest park; bluebells and fungi in season.
Walk details: Travelog Lewes (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Burgess Hill to Hassocks (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Rolling farmland, chalky downland, wooded copses, open hilltops, golf courses, picturesque villages and panoramic South Downs ridge.
Warnings: Can be very muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Hassocks to Brighton (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Chalk South Downs crossing with steep climbs and descents, open downland, light woodland and a finish along the Brighton seafront.
Hilly: half on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
St John the Baptist Church, Clayton: Ancient village church with medieval wall paintings.
Stanmer Great Wood: Woodland on the edge of Stanmer Park.
Brighton Racecourse: Open downland racecourse above the city.
Brighton Palace Pier: A Victorian pleasure pier of rides and amusements over the sea.
Warnings: Steep climbs and descents with stepped sections; significant elevation gain. Can be muddy.
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Haywards Heath to East Grinstead (Sussex)
5 minutes direct from Balcombe.
Recommended: Some of the best High Weald landscapes; A great walk; A fabulous walk for wild garlic. A strenuous 19.5km High Weald hike with plenty of ups and downs, mostly on footpaths and bridleways across small fields and through woodland, following the High Weald Landscape Trail for much of the way, around Ardingly Reservoir and via Weir Wood Reservoir. Several kissing gates, footbridges and a boardwalk, no stiles; muddy and wet in places and spectacular for wild garlic and bluebells. Follows the High Weald Landscape Trail, passing Ardingly and Weir Wood reservoirs. Ardingly and West Hoathly offer pubs and public toilets; a short detour reaches Standen (National Trust, café and WC) and Wakehurst (part of Kew). MetroBus 84 and 222 intersect the route.
Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.
Standen House (National Trust; 2h30 to visit)
Lunch: A bakery at Ardingly for bacon baps, and coffee at the Kingscote Vineyard shop.
Warnings: Muddy and wet in places, with possible fallen trees after storms. Take particular care on the road crossing coming into West Hoathly. A small stream runs down the path below Philpotts Manor School (dries only in high summer).
Walk details: Slow Ways.