Walks you can reach from Southbourne by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Southbourne.
Fishbourne Circular via Chichester Harbour (Sussex)
9 minutes direct from Southbourne.
Beginner-friendly: Just follow the coast and come back along a straight walk. It’s almost too simple! Flat, short and plenty of choices for lunch. Chichester Harbour is a little-known National Landscape. Its protected saltmarsh landscape feeds an abundance of birdlife. It’s a major recreational harbour but somehow has a romantically melancholy and isolated air — you can imagine sea shanties being composed here.
Coastal: three fifths along the coast.
Chichester Harbour (1h15 in)
Bosham (1h30 in)
Fishbourne Roman Palace & Gardens (2h30 in)
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
4 lunch spots: Bosham (1h45 in) — the Anchor Bleu, Timberley's, Marwick's, or the Berkeley Arms
2 end-of-walk rewards: the Bull's Head Pub, or the Woolpack Inn
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Amberley to Shoreham-by-Sea (Sussex)
45 minutes direct from Southbourne.
Highly recommended: Open chalk ridge, South Downs escarpment, wide well-marked paths, exposed hilltops, riverside estuary path and suburban road walking near finish.
Hilly: half on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Time: 10h (8h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
1 lunch spot: Columba's Kitchen (4h in)
2 end-of-walk rewards: the Buckingham Arms, or the Crabtree
Warnings: Very exposed in wind.
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Goring-by-Sea to Worthing (Sussex)
30 minutes direct from Southbourne.
Recommended
Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.
Highdown Gardens (30m in)
Cissbury Ring Hill Fort (National Trust; 3h45 in)
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Black Horse (3h in), or the Gun Inn (3h in)
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Reverse direction: Railwalks.
Shoreham-by-Sea to Littlehampton (Sussex)
45 minutes direct from Southbourne.
Flat coastal promenade, shingle beach, sandy beach, grassy seafront paths and seaside resorts.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Check tide timings.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Horsham to Haywards Heath (Sussex)
45 minutes direct from Southbourne.
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.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Brighton Circular via the Royal Pavilion (Sussex)
1 hour direct from Southbourne.
Historic city core and seafront, with a medieval church, Regency squares, the piers, the Royal Pavilion, the North Laine and parks.
The Royal Pavilion: George IV's exotic Indo-Saracenic seaside palace in central Brighton.
Brighton Palace Pier: A Victorian pleasure pier of rides and amusements over the sea.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Travelog Lewes (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Portsmouth to Havant (Hampshire)
30 minutes direct from Southbourne.
Flat coastal walk, seafront promenade, sandy beaches, short ferry crossing, disused railway path and harbourside shore path.
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Angmering to Littlehampton (Sussex)
30 minutes direct from Southbourne.
Open downland, coastal plain, quiet alleyways, farmland, residential streets, shingle beach, seafront promenade and riverside walk.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Ockley to Horsham (Surrey)
45 minutes direct from Southbourne.
Easy walking, deer park and historic Horsham; secluded Vann Lake, Warnham Deer Park, pretty historic centre.
Woodland: half under tree cover.
Warnham Deer Park: A deer park near Horsham, home to many red deer.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Woodland after Vann Lake can be muddy.
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Balcombe to Horsham (Sussex)
45 minutes direct from Southbourne.
Wealden woods, farmland fields, streams, ponds, riverside nature reserve and old market town.
Time: 8h30 (7h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be very overgrown.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Hassocks to Brighton (Sussex)
1 hour direct from Southbourne.
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.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
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.
Newhaven to Brighton (Sussex)
1 hour direct from Southbourne.
Harbourside path, white chalk cliffs, clifftop and undercliff concrete paths, shingle beach and busy seaside promenade and boardwalk.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Exposed in high wind.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Similar walk: Railwalks.