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.
Time: 3h–6h
4 lunch spots: Bosham (1h30–3h in) — the Anchor Bleu, Timberley's, the Berkeley Arms, or Marwick's
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: 8h–15h30
1 lunch spot: Columba's Kitchen (4h–8h 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.
Time: 5h30–10h30
2 lunch spots: the Black Horse (3h–6h in), or the Gun Inn (3h–6h 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.
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.
Time: 5h30–10h30
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.
Warnings: Can be very overgrown.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
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.
Walk details: Travelog Lewes (tips, photos, 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: 3h30
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Portsmouth Harbour 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.
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: 3h30–7h30
Warnings: Woodland after Vann Lake can be muddy.
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
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: 4h30–9h
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 Town 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.
Warnings: Exposed in high wind.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Similar walk: Railwalks.