Walks you can reach from Bishopstone by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Bishopstone.
Lewes Circular via Southease (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
Highly recommended: Three distinct downland ridges, wide open chalk paths, panoramic views, historic town streets and gentle valleys.
Monk's House – Virginia Woolf's Home (National Trust; 4h in)
Time: 8h30 (6h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
5 lunch spots: Glynde (1h45 in) — Glynde Stores & Post, or the Trevor Arms; plus the YHA Southease Hostel & Campsite (3h30 in), the Abergavenny Arms (4h in), or the Juggs (5h45 in)
Warnings: Three steep climbs.
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Lewes to Southease (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
Highly recommended: Escarpments, three distinct downland ridges, wide open chalk paths, panoramic views, historic town streets and gentle valleys.
Hilly: a third on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Lewes (15m in)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Trevor Arms (1h45 in), or the Ram Inn, Firle (2h30 in)
1 end-of-walk reward: Courtyard Café at YHA Southease Hostel
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Glynde to Seaford (Sussex)
3 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
Highly recommended: South Downs ridge, chalk downland, Firle Park, river valley, ancient villages, forest, coastal cliffs, shingle beach and esplanade.
Alfriston Clergy House (National Trust; 3h15 in)
Time: 8h (6h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
5 lunch spots: Alfriston (3h15 in) — the Star Inn, the Old Smugglers Inn, or the Six Bells; plus the Ram Inn, Firle (45m in), or the Plough & Harrow (3h45 in)
2 end-of-walk rewards: the Cuckmere Inn, or the Old Boot Inn
Warnings: Crumbly cliff edges.
Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Eastbourne to Seaford (Sussex)
3 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
Highly recommended: Spectacular white cliffs in a well-protected national landscape. Immense white chalk cliffs, sea, marshes, meadows and beachfront.
Hilly: a quarter on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Coastal: four fifths along the coast.
Eastbourne (2h30 in)
Birling Gap (National Trust; 3h15 in)
Cuckmere Valley (National Trust; 4h45 in)
Time: 8h30 (6h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
4 lunch spots: the Kiosk (1h15 in), Cadence Cafe Beachy Head (2h in), the Beachy Head Pub (2h in), or Birling Gap café (3h15 in; excellent)
1 end-of-walk reward: the Cuckmere Inn
Best months: Jun-Jul (when the chalk is gleaming).
Warnings: Very popular and busy.
Source: Trains2Green.
Seaford Circular via Alfriston and Bishopstone (Sussex)
3 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
Steep coastal cliffs, chalk downland, open panoramic ridgelines, vineyard tracks, village greens, shingle beach and seafront promenade.
Time: 8h (6h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Steep coastal climbs.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Southease Circular via Telscombe (Sussex)
9 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
Ouse valley villages of literary curiosity, past a youth hostel cafe, Virginia Woolf's former home and a round-towered church; a couple of short steep climbs.
Monk's House: Virginia Woolf's country home in the Ouse valley village of Rodmell.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: No public toilets along the way.
Walk details: Travelog Lewes (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Southease to Seaford (Sussex)
9 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
River valley, ridge-top South Downs, open downland with coastal views, pretty villages and seaside esplanade.
Monk's House (National Trust)
Time: 7h30 (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Similar walk: Travelog Lewes.
Southease to Eastbourne (Sussex)
9 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
Open treeless downland ridges, steep ascents, scenic Cuckmere Valley, coastal promenade, beach and pier.
Time: 8h30 (7h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Steep ascents.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Lewes to Seaford (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
South Downs ridges, open downland, sweeping valley, remote hidden valley, coastal shingle beach and recreation ground.
Time: 8h (6h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Warnings: Steep climbs.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Berwick to Seaford (Sussex)
3 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
South Downs chalk hills, open downland, river valley, coastal cliffs, shingle beach and picturesque village.
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
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 Bishopstone.
South Downs chalk grassland ridge, panoramic views to sea and inland, dew ponds, Iron Age fort, wooded climbs, riverside embankment and historic town.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be slippery.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Plumpton to Lewes (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Bishopstone.
Downland climb to the wooded summit of Blackcap and Mount Harry, then down past a castle, a historic lido and the High Street; one 120m climb.
Blackcap: A National Trust downland summit topped by a clump of trees north of Lewes.
Lewes Castle: A Norman motte-and-bailey castle on a ridge above the county town.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Travelog Lewes (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).