Insight Guides Great Breaks Brighton, Sussex & the South Downs (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

Pocket-sized travel guides making the most of the British Isles through clearly laid-out walks and tours.

Explore the best of Brighton, Sussex and the South Downs with this indispensably practical Insight Great Breaks Guide. From making sure you don't miss out on must-see attractions like Brighton's Royal Pavilion, Chichester Cathedral, Petworth House, Lewes and Eastbourne, to discovering hidden gems, including the Bluebell Railway, the easy-to-follow, ready-made walking routes will save you time, help you plan and enhance your Great Break in Brighton, Sussex and the South Downs.

Practical, pocket-sized and packed with inspirational insider information, this is the ideal on-the-move companion to your trip to Brighton, Sussex and the South Downs.

- Over 10 walks and tours: detailed itineraries feature all the best places to visit, including where to eat along the way
- Local highlights: discover what makes the area special, its top sights and unique attractions, and be inspired by stunning imagery
- Insider recommendations: where to stay and what to do, from active pursuits to themed trips
- Rainy day recommendations: uncover plenty of options, whatever the weather
- Practical maps: get around with ease and follow the walks and tours using the detailed maps 
- Informative tips: plan your travels with a useful practical section to ensure effortless exploration
- Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy-reading experience
- Covers: Brighton and Hove, the North Downs, Lewes, the Ouse and Cuckmere Valleys and the Sussex Heritage Coast, Eastbourne and 1066 Country, the High Weald, Chichester and around, Midhurst and around and Arundel and around.

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781839051845

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

This Great Break has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With ­top-­quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the world’s most exciting destinations.

Walks and Tours

The clearly laid-out walks and tours in this book feature options for walking or using public transport wherever possible. The emphasis is on family fun, wholesome outdoorsey activities, local festivals, and food and drink. There are loads of great holiday ideas: kids’ stuff, best beaches, historic pubs, literary connections, unique shops, and – crucially with our Great British weather – what to do on a rainy day.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments – options are shown in the ‘Eating Out’ box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink.

Directory

Also supporting the walks and tours is a Travel Tips section, with a clearly organised A–Z of practical information. There is a comprehensive round up of sports and activities in the destination, recommendations for themed holidays, plus our pick of the best places to stay.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Brighton, Sussex & the South Downs’ Top 10

Overview: Where the South Downs Meet the Sea

Landscapes

Towns and Villages

People and Culture

Food and Drink

Fish and Chips

Country Pubs and Tea Shops

Food Markets and Festivals

Vineyards and Breweries

Tour 1: Central Brighton

Brighton Seafront

The Lower Promenade

Brighton Pier

Sea Life Centre

The Steine

The Lanes

Royal Pavilion

Music Room, Banqueting Room and Kitchen

Royal Pavilion Gardens

Brighton Museum and Art Gallery

Brighton Dome and Theatre Royal

North Laine

Independent shops and galleries

Brighton Toy Museum and Station

Feature: Brighton Festival

Tour 2: East Brighton and Rottingdean

Queen’s Park

Kemptown Village

Kemp Town Estate

Marine Parade and Madeira Drive

Volk’s Electric Railway

Rottingdean

Tour 3: West Brighton and Hove

Jubilee Clock Tower

Regency Square Conservation Area

Views from Regency Square

West of Regency Square

The Bandstand and Peace Statue

Brunswick Conservation Area

Early Victorian Hove

Tour 4: The Downs North of Brighton

Cissbury Ring

Chanctonbury Ring

Steyning

Bramber

Devil’s Dyke

Clayton

Ditchling

Ditchling Beacon

Tour 5: Lewes

Lewes Castle

Lewes Arms and the Needlemakers

Lewes Town Hall

Cliffe

Southover

Keere Street and High Street

Tour 6: Ouse Valley, Cuckmere Valley and the Sussex Heritage Coast

Monk’s House

Glynde

Firle, Charleston and Berwick

Bloomsbury-in-Sussex

Michelham Priory

Wilmington

Alfriston

Seaford

Sussex Heritage Coast

Seven Sisters to Beachy Head

Tour 7: Eastbourne and 1066 Country

Eastbourne

The seafront

Pevensey

Herstmonceux Castle

De La Warr Pavilion

Hastings

Hastings Old Town

Battle Abbey and Battlefield

Tour 8: The High Weald

Nymans

Wakehurst Place

Sheffield Park and Garden

Bluebell Railway

Bateman’s

Bodiam Castle

Great Dixter

Tour 9: Chichester

Chichester Market Cross

Chichester Cathedral

Altars and sacred art

The Cathedral Close

Pallant House Gallery

East Street, Little London and Priory Park

Priory Park and The Guildhall

The Novium Museum

Feature: Art and Literature

Tour 10: Around Chichester

Chichester Harbour

Fishbourne Roman Palace

Bosham

Stansted Park

West Dean

Weald and Download Museum

The Trundle

Goodwood

Boxgrove and Tangmere

Tour 11: Midhurst and Around

Uppark House

Midhurst

Cowdray

Petworth

Petworth House

Tour 12: Arundel and Around

Arundel

Arundel Castle

Arundel town centre

WWT Arundel Wetland Centre

Bignor Roman Villa

Amberley

Parham House and Gardens

Active Pursuits

Walking and Hiking

Cycling

Beaches and Swimming

Lidos and Leisure Centres

Watersports

Horse Riding

Wildlife, Nature and Bushcraft

Paragliding

Themed Holidays

Walking and Cycling

Horse Riding

Glamping, Wildlife and Nature

Art and Design

Practical Information

Getting There

By Road

By Rail

By Coach

By Air

By Sea

By Cycle

Getting Around

Bus and Coach

Cycling

Rail

Driving

Car Hire

Parking

Facts for the Visitor

Emergencies

Entertainment

LGBTQ

Opening Hours

Tourist Information

Travellers with Disabilities

Accommodation

Hotels and B&Bs

Brighton

Lewes

Ouse Valley, Cuckmere Valley and the Sussex Heritage Coast

Eastbourne and around

High Weald and Hastings

Chichester and around

Midhurst and around

Arundel and around

Brighton, Sussex & the South Downs’ Top 10

From the bracing hills of the Downs to historic sights and fashionable seaside resorts, this scenic and varied part of England has much to offer

Royal Pavilion. This outrageously extravagant seaside palace was built for the Prince Regent in the 1810s. For more information, click here.

Steve Cutner/Apa Publications

Brighton Festival. One of Britain’s biggest and most varied arts festivals, with drama, comedy and music staged in venues throughout the town. For more information, click here.

Shutterstock

South Downs Way. Britain’s first designated long-distance bridleway and a popular path for walkers of all abilities. For more information, click here.

VisitEngland

Lewes. The scene of battles since Saxon times and today best known for its explosive Guy Fawkes celebrations. For more information, click here.

Getty Images

Bloomsbury in Sussex. The Bloomsbury Set started in London but ended up in the country. The former home of Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Monk’s House in Rodmell, is now a National Trust property. For more information, click here.

Getty Images

Sussex Heritage Coast. This magnificent stretch of coastline between Seaford and Eastbourne includes the imposing chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters, of which the highest is Beachy Head. For more information, click here.

iStock

Chichester Cathedral. Founded by the Normans in 1076, this Gothic-Romanesque cathedral is known for its graceful interior and a vibrant stained glass window designed by Marc Chagall. For more information, click here.

Shutterstock

Eastbourne seafront. A fashionable Victorian seaside resort and still a popular tourist destination, this genteel town boasts some fine Victorian buildings. For more information, click here.

VisitEngland/Visit Eastbourne

Petworth House. One of England’s finest stately homes, it contains the National Trust’s largest painting collection with works by Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Blake and Turner. For more information, click here.

iStock

Arundel Wetland Centre. A beautiful spot to see Sussex wildlife with reed beds boat safaris and great activities for kids. For more information, click here.

Shutterstock

Overview: Where the South Downs Meet the Sea

With fine architecture and bags of character, Brighton is a city that’s easy to love. Facing the sea and backed by beautiful Sussex countryside, full of historic interest, its setting is hard to beat

Barely 60 miles (97km) from London and under 80 miles (129km) from Normandy, the South Saxon kingdom of Sussex was a region worth invading. Dotted with the remains of Iron Age forts and Roman walls, it took the brunt of the Norman Conquest in 1066 and has been staunchly defended ever since. The Normans built castles at Chichester, Arundel, Bramber, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings, the Plantagenets walled in the Cinque Ports of Winchelsea and Rye, and Georgian Martello towers sprang up along the coast during the Napoleonic Wars. Further defences appeared during the world wars and while the barbed wire and bomb sites have long since been cleared, pillboxes, memorials and veterans’ settlements remain.

Ditchling Beacon.

Mark Hannaford/AWL Images

But it’s the long intervening years of peace that have left the most enduring legacy on these hills, valleys and shores. Farmers and fishermen have woven the tapestry of fields, hedgerows, woods and villages that we see in East and West Sussex today, with well-connected landowners developing its grand country estates and flourishing towns and cities.

Brighton

Of these, the largest and most influential is Brighton, a city which made its fortune by offering 18th, 19th and 20th century visitors a breezy, healthy and indulgent respite from London. Today, it embraces a multitude of influences. Part tourist resort, part hub for education, new media and the arts, its broad-minded, up-for-it atmosphere tends to make a big impression right from the start.

Landscapes

Much of Sussex is protected by the South Downs National Park and by two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Chichester Harbour and the High Weald. Even beyond these special landscapes, there are fields and woods to refresh the soul. Newcomers to Sussex are sometimes surprised to find so much open countryside so close to London, let alone to Brighton, which wears the South Downs round its shoulders like a cape.

With thin soil exposed to the salty southwesterlies, the grassy-topped Downs provide grazing for sheep and rabbits and a habitat for rare butterflies and wildflowers. These curvaceous hills are mostly chalk, shaped during the last Ice Age, but here