Designed for you to wander around the many excellent and varied cultural highlights along the glorious Sussex Downs, this gentle walking holiday immerses you in castles, gardens, old architecture, vineyards, pretty villages and an artists’ hideaway. Linking these together are easy distance walks on the soaring South Downs Way with panoramic vistas and a bird’s eye view of these gems at the foot of the chalk hills. You are walking in the protected National Park of the South Downs – unspoilt yet wonderful, culminating in the magnificent coastal walk atop the Seven Sisters cliffs into Eastbourne.
This walking holiday includes a charming mix of luxury 2 night stays which we are thrilled to offer in a castle, boutique hotel, historic inn and 5 star seaside hotel with transfers where needed to the start or end of the walks. An unhurried immersion or saunter into the delights of rural Sussex. What’s not to like?
Holiday details
Price
- Luxury
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from £3,250 per person
Based on two people sharing a room
Duration
7 nights
Start & Finish
Starts daily except Fridays. Haslemere ends Eastbourne both have mainline stations.
Hotels
- Luxury
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Two night stays at a castle, a 4* hotel and a 15th Century inn with a final night at a 5* hotel
Holiday type
Self-guided so you are free to explore at your own pace. More info...
Activity level
Gentle walking (4) More info...
Mileage
3 days of walking 7-11 miles (11-18 km) or more and 3 days of optional walking 5.5 miles (9 km)
Terrain
One hill most days
What’s included?
Ensuite accommodation every night with breakfast. The services of our friendly local Hosts. Luggage transfers between hotels. 24/7 phone contact number. Adventure Handbook with our local tips. GPS Routes on an App with waterproof phone holder. Guidebook or OS maps. Protection of your funds. Advice, help and guidance planning your trip.
Transfers to start/end of walks as needed. Entry to Weald & Downland Living Museum or Woolbeding Garden, Arundel Castle and Charleston. Read About Our Trips for further details
Itinerary day-by-day
Luxury
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1. Day one
Arrive Haslemere
We meet you at Haslemere station just one hour by train from London and on the Sussex border. Let the fun begin by relaxing in the grounds of your boutique country hotel, taking a dip in the pool and enjoying croquet and tennis on the lawns before sipping a refreshment in the garden with stunning views of the South Downs. Dinner is available at the hotel and your host will meet you beforehand or after breakfast tomorrow to welcome you, run through your itinerary and answer any questions you may have.
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2. Day two
To An Open Air Heritage Museum
Today there's a unqiue experience in store. Your walk takes you up and over the picturesque South Downs with far reaching vistas to a very special open air museum, See what rural living was like with over a 1,000 years of history to explore and more than 50 relocated historic houses on the 40 acre site of The Weald and Downland Living Museum. Volunteers a plenty share their knowledge, work the ovens of the bakery and cook for the manor house gentry. We meet you in the afternoon to return you to your hotel for a second night.
If you are here on a Thursday or Friday and interested in gardens, there is another option, an equally outstanding experience - a charming walk that takes you to the highly creative gardens at Woolbeding. Crafted over the last 25 years with ingenuity and great style, the artistic colour planting and landscaping combined with several modern inventions make this an inspirational visit.
Optional 5.5 miles to museum or garden
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3. Day three
To Amberley Castle
Today is the first of three opportunities to walk the South Downs Way, along ancient routes and droveways atop a chalk escarpment that runs for 68 miles. Unspoilt and with breathtaking views across an immensely beautiful and rural landscape, this is a show stopper of a walk that crosses a Roman road, rises to Bignor Hill and drops down to the River Arun where you walk to your next hotel, ancient Amberley Castle.
7 miles (11 km) or more
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4. Day four
to Arundel castle
Castles are a delight to visit and medieval Arundel Castle is no exception. The Duke of Norfolk and his family live here surrounded by fabulous gardens adjacent to a charming riverside town. Doubling as Windsor castle in a Doctor Who series, the remodelled castle shows you a 1,000 years of history . An interesting walk from Amberley Castle in the morning will give you time to enjoy lunch in the town or castle and an afternoon visit inside the castle and around the wonderful gardens. Afterwards, we meet you for a transfer back to your hotel for a second night.
Optional 5.5 miles (9 km)
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5. Day five
Lewes to Alfriston
A gorgeous walk across the breezy open spaces of the South Downs Way is in store today. Prelude this with a fascinating explore around the small market town of Lewes where we transfer you from Amberley. Lewes is famed for its medieval streets, independent retailers, Tuesday market and historic features including Lewes Castle and the ruins of Lewes Priory. Enjoy the charm of the setting, pick up a picnic and take a 5 minute train hop to the foot of the Downs where your walk begins. From hill top to hill top hike grassy sward punctuated by ancient burial mounds and paragliders at Bostal Hill to reach the show-peice village of Alfriston where you stay 2 nights.
7 miles (11 km) or more
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6. Day six
To Charleston or the Rathfinny Estate
Enjoy pootling around Alfriston village, said to be one of England's prettiest villages and a charming mix of quirky shops, pubs and old buildings. If you want to explore a little further afield, there is a good walk that takes in a historic church and old inn on the way to Charleston farmhouse, the modernist home and studio of painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. It’s a fascinating visit inside and out, (but closed Monday and Tuesday) an art fix more than worth the walk and beyond is a characterful inn serving an excellent lunch. We meet you here mid afternoon. If you prefer a shorter circular walk to a vineyard adjacent to Alfriston then the Rathfinny Estate is a good pick. It too serves an excellent lunch in its Tasting Room Restaurant surrounded by 230 acres of vines.
Optional 3 or 5.5 miles (5 or 9 km)
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7. Day seven
Alfriston to Eastbourne
Your last day of walking the South Downs Way is the most spectacular as you start out along the Cuckmere River. Then take a hilly path onto the roller coaster cliff top walk along the Seven Sisters, the white cliffs, and over Beachy Head. What a fantastic vista as you finally reach the coast and descend for the last time, into old fashioned Eastbourne. Sink into the luxury of your sea front hotel - a fitting finale to a wonderful saunter in Sussex!
11 miles (18 km)
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8. Day eight
Depart Eastbourne
Splash in the sea, enjoy a dip in your hotel pool and depart Eastbourne at leisure - but not before you've had one of its famous ice creams.