Shoreham harbour to Devils Dyke
This trip was quite an endurance exercise in this direction. Almost all up hill for 9km. I imagine it’s much easier the other direction. Would make a good day out getting the bus to the top of the dyke (mostly only runs weekends and holiday) and then walk back to Hove. You can jump on a bus once you get to Mile Oak area or wander all the way down to Hove Lagoon.
The route start seems to be a bit inconsistent depending on where you look. Either at the coast by Hove Lagoon or at this corner of St Richard’s Road and Wellington Road.
If you want a nice cuppa before heading off there was a nice looking cafe next to the station just up the road. Though I did not try it this time as I started later in the day than I would have liked.
The first leg of the path is a rather nice walk out of town up a footpath alley with plenty of trees, hedges and walls that provide cover on a blustery day. The main roads you have to cross have fairly good crossing points. The local shop over the bridge from the station will be the last shop you will pass for a while, so grab anything you need here.
Towards the top of the path before hitting the open countryside it can get a bit muddy underfoot if there has been rain recently.
As I burst out into the countryside by the electrical pylons all you could hear was the chatter of the small birds perched along the wires. This is one of my favourite walks as the views of Mile Oak on the right and the rolling hills towards Shoreham never seem to fail to make stunning vistas.
Once again can get a bit muddy in places if it had rained but mostly fairly easy along this little hill… Though you do have to watch out for rabbit holes as there are quite a few around here. Also watch out for slugs as I’ve seen some quite large ones around these parts. As well as plenty of birds, mostly pigeons, crows and gulls but there are a few birds of prey too.
If you stick to the trail it will take you down a fairly steep and sometimes slippy bridleway down to just above the farm. Though you can also take a slight detour from the path down a very short but steep hill down to the cafe for a pit stop. As the next leg is quite gruelling this could be worth the detour.
The path up from the farm starts off very steep and it’s a bit of a slog but if you run out of breath just stop for a bit and take in the stunning views. After the initial steep bit the path levels off to a more easy climb up the hell… But the climb is fairly continuous all the way up till you get near Fulking Hill.
There was quite a puddle next to the gate at the top of the path. At this point the path once again bypasses the pub at the top of the dyke and caries on to Patcham but for me I called it a day and headed toward the pub for refreshment and calling it a day as the sun was setting within the hour. So I took the old railway route back to Hangelton and jumped on a bus back to town.
My thoughts on this part of the route is that I think it would have been a lot easier in the other direction as you would have instead been going downhill most of the way. Also there are not many places to stop and rest except the farm cafe and pub at the top of the dyke. Though if you do try it this way then at the top of the steepest hill up from the farm, if you turn right there is takes you back down to Foredown tower. After that you are fairly committed to pushing on to the dyke.
Was most certainly a good workout and took me a good 4 hours to get to the top and another hour to walk back to the nearest bus stop… Though there is a bus that run up to Devils Dyke but it mostly only runs on weekend and bank holidays. So you can catch that back.
If you want the easiest way to do this walk I would say get the bus to Devils Dyke and walk down to the coast. It will be an easier walk but you will have the sun in your face most of the way down, if the sun comes out that is. Also remember the weather at the top can change quickly and can be quite different to what it feels like at ground level so make sure you have the right clothes with you and plenty of water if it’s hot.
Next part I will attempt to do the bit between Devils Dyke and Ditchling