This attractive 11 mile walk over the Downs takes us along several of the slightly lesser travelled paths in the area and features some good viewpoints. Please note that it is a hilly walk with a few relatively steep sections, so be prepared for this as well as the usual mud in various places.
Lunch is in picturesque Alfriston and our stop will probably last for around 75 minutes. You can either bring a picnic to have on the benches next to the village green or there is a choice of pubs and tea rooms serving food.
The 12 bus leaves at 9.25am from Brighton station, Stop D on Queens Road (instead of Churchill Square). Diversions are being set up because of the Brighton Half Marathon and this means that the 12 bus is unlikely to arrive at Tide Mills until around 10.25am, although the revised timetable is unspecific. Services will be running normally again later in the day with return buses 12 or 12A to Brighton every 15-20 minutes. The 13X bus does not stop here.
Alternatively, leave on the 9.47am train from Brighton to Bishopstone station (Seaford), arriving 10.18am. Then walk 0.6 miles to the Mill Drove car park at Tide Mills. This should take approximately 12 minutes. Click here for directions. Return trains from Bishopstone station to Brighton via Lewes run half hourly and taking this option at the end will not further increase the length of the walk.
I shall be going directly to the starting point, so somebody will have to let me know if there are any delays / problems with the designated bus or train. Otherwise, the walk will begin at 10.35am latest. See here for my contact details. For those of you travelling by car then there is usually ample free parking at Mill Drove, adjacent to the Tide Mills bus stop on the A259 between Newhaven and Seaford.
I hope that you can join us on the walk this Sunday.
Chris
P.S. Care will need to be taken crossing the A259 which is often made difficult by the volume and speed of the traffic.
