Walks you can reach from Three Bridges by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Three Bridges.
Fishbourne Circular via Chichester Harbour (Sussex)
1 hour direct from Three Bridges.
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).
Balcombe Circular via Nymans (Sussex)
6 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
Recommended: Many worthy historic sights along this route — Nymans itself, the village of Slaugham, and two beautiful medieval churches. The first half of the walk is through idyllic rolling woodland. The second half is marred by mostly following (very quiet) roads and lanes rather than footpaths. Mostly secluded.
Woodland: half under tree cover.
Footbridge and Lake Overflow at Nymans Woodland (National Trust; 1h15 in)
Bench With View of the Lake, High Weald National Landscape (National Trust; 1h15 in)
Nymans: "An extensive yet intimate garden set around a romantic house and ruins" (1h45 in).
St Mary's Church (2h15 in)
Slaugham: Very small, but picturesque (2h15 in).
The Ruins of Slaugham Place: The remains of a fine Tudor mansion (2h30 in).
St Mark's Church, Staplefield (3h in)
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
3 lunch spots: Handcross (1h45 in) — Nymans café, JO.CO cafe, or the Red Lion
1 end-of-walk reward: the Victory
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Hassocks Circular via Ditchling Beacon (Sussex)
30 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
Recommended: Quaint village, woods and hilly.
Hilly: a quarter on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Ditchling (45m 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 (1h45 in).
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
4 lunch spots: Ditchling (45m 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)
9 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
Low hills, Ouse Valley, woodland, nature reserves, fields, hedgerows, historic villages and canal-era river crossings.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Balcombe to East Grinstead (Sussex)
6 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
Gentle wooded hills, muddy farm tracks, landscaped gardens, reservoir shoreline, open fields and woodland paths.
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be very muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Haywards Heath to Balcombe (Sussex)
9 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
Undulating High Weald farmland, woodland, golf course, reservoir dam wall, fields and a private school grounds.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Haywards Heath to Hassocks (Sussex)
9 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
Rolling Sussex countryside and South Downs views; farmland and woodland through Ditchling along an old Roman road.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Horsham to Haywards Heath (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
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).
Earlswood to Oxted (Surrey)
15 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
Gentle greensand ridge, pasture, arable fields, woodland, bluebell woods, escarpment views and low-lying meadows.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Wivelsfield to Haywards Heath (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
Woods, wildflower meadows, farmland, High Weald ridge, golf course and suburban road sections.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
East Croydon to Oxted (Surrey)
15 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
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.
Time: 7h30 (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Hassocks to Lewes (Sussex)
30 minutes direct from Three Bridges.
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).