Best walks near Hastings by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Hastings and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Hastings.
Wadhurst Circular via Bewl Water (Sussex)
30 minutes direct from Hastings.
Highly recommended: Quiet fields and country lanes running through rolling wooded hills. Mostly secluded.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Wadhurst: Quaint little village (1h45 in).
Bewl Water: An aqua park, and the largest body of water in South East England.
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Old Vine (1h30 in; excellent), or La Petite France (3h45 in)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 2.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Tunbridge Wells Circular via Groombridge (Kent)
45 minutes direct from Hastings.
Highly recommended: Escarpments.
Woodland: a third under tree cover.
Time: 8h (6h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: Frant (1h30 in) — the Abergavenny Arms, or the George
3 end-of-walk rewards: the Crown Inn, the High Rocks, or the Pantiles
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Sevenoaks Circular via Ightham Mote (Kent)
1 hour direct from Hastings.
Highly recommended: Pleasantly rolling hills and dales, fields and vales, oast houses and hay bails. Beautiful expansive views to the South, which make you appreciate well preserved the wooded hills of the Kent Downs are. Wandering through Knole Park is idyllic, especially toward the evening when the humans are gone and the deer are in force. Mostly secluded.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself (45m in).
The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio (National Trust; 45m in)
Knole Park (National Trust; 45m in)
One Tree Hill (National Trust; 1h30 in)
Ightham Mote: Immaculately preserved medieval manor house with idyllic gardens. Touring the house thoroughly takes an hour, and the gardens another 30 minutes (2h15 in).
Deer in Kent Downs National Landscape (National Trust; 3h45 in)
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: Ightham Mote café (2h15 in; not bad), or the Bucks Head (3h30 in)
Warnings: Some mud inevitable.
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Lewes Circular via Southease (Sussex)
45 minutes from Hastings, with one change.
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.
Penshurst Circular via Chiddingstone (Kent)
1 hour from Hastings, with one change.
Highly recommended: Stately home.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Chiddingstone Village (National Trust; 45m in)
Penshurst Place (2h in)
Chiddingstone (National Trust; 45m in)
Penshurst (2h in)
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
4 lunch spots: Chiddingstone (45m in) — the Tulip Tree, or the Castle Inn; Penshurst (2h in) — the Leicester Arms Pub, or Penshurst Place café
1 end-of-walk reward: the Little Brown Jug
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Pevensey to Battle (Sussex)
30 minutes direct from Hastings.
Highly recommended: Beautiful landscapes and multiple historic sights.
Pevensey Castle (15m in)
Herstmonceux Castle (2h30 in)
Battle Abbey and Battlefield (7h30 in)
Battle (7h15 in)
Time: 10h (8h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
2 lunch spots: Nuthatch Kitchen and Terrace (2h30 in), or the Ash Tree Inn (4h45 in)
2 end-of-walk rewards: the White Hart Pub, or Battle Abbey and Battlefield
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Berwick to Eastbourne (Sussex)
45 minutes from Hastings, with one change.
Highly recommended: Farmland, reservoir, chalk downland, ridge grassland, chalk figure, smugglers villages and seaside resort.
Eastbourne (5h30 in)
Time: 7h30 (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
2 lunch spots: the Eight Bells (2h45 in), or Jevington Tea Garden (2h45 in)
1 end-of-walk reward: the Duke of Devonshire
Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 2.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Glynde to Seaford (Sussex)
45 minutes from Hastings, with one change.
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.
Lewes to Southease (Sussex)
45 minutes from Hastings, with one change.
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).
Charing to Chilham (Kent)
1 hour from Hastings, with one change.
Highly recommended
Woodland: a third under tree cover.
Canterbury (4h15 in)
Chilham (4h15 in)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Flying Horse (1h45 in), or Perry Court Tea Room (2h15 in)
3 end-of-walk rewards: the Chilham Square, the White Horse, Chilham, or the Woolpack Inn, Chilham
Warnings: Penultimate section of the Pilgrim's Way to Canterbury.
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Borough Green & Wrotham to Sevenoaks (Kent)
1 hour direct from Hastings.
Highly recommended: Greensand hills, apple orchards, woodland paths, streams, deer park, open parkland and historic manor grounds. Mostly secluded.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Ightham Mote: Immaculately preserved medieval manor house with idyllic gardens. Touring the house thoroughly takes an hour, and the gardens another 30 minutes (2h in).
One Tree Hill (National Trust; 2h45 in)
The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio (National Trust; 3h30 in)
Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself.
Knole Park (National Trust)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Plough (45m in), or Ightham Mote café (2h in; not bad)
3 end-of-walk rewards: the Chequers, the Restoration, or the Sennockian
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Yalding to Sevenoaks (Kent)
1 hour direct from Hastings.
Highly recommended: Undulating Kent farmland, orchards, bluebell woods, greensand escarpment and deer park.
Ightham Mote: Immaculately preserved medieval manor house with idyllic gardens. Touring the house thoroughly takes an hour, and the gardens another 30 minutes (3h30 in).
One Tree Hill (National Trust; 4h15 in)
The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio (National Trust; 5h in)
Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself.
Time: 7h30 (6h walking, 1h30 lunch)
3 lunch spots: the Swan on the Green (1h30 in), the Kentish Rifleman (2h30 in), or Ightham Mote café (3h30 in; not bad)
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.