Away Day: Lewes to Brighton (13 miles / 21km - Moderate, Booking Required)

This walk is for up to 15 people, including the leader.

Join us for a daytrip to the South Downs National Park and the seaside! We'll take the train South to Brighton, then East to nearby Lewes, and make our way back to Brighton through the rolling South Downs.

Passing through the village of Kingston Near Lewes we climb up onto the Downs at Swanborough Hill, then head south down green slopes almost to the sea at Rottingdean where we will have lunch and a pub stop on the beach.

Refreshed, we pass a windmill on the cliff, and conquer Beacon Hill, Cattle Hill and bag the trig on Red Hill before descending through the Blackrock Valley to join the Brighton seafront at Kemp Town.

Following this to the pier we turn in to the town past the famous Taj Mahal-style Royal Pavillion back up to the station to return home - but not before having dinner! This may be fish & chips on the beach or something else depending on time (ETA in Brighton ~6pm), weather & numbers. 

GETTING THERE ON THE CAMBRIDGE LINE
08:53 Cambridge
09:07 Royston
09:12 Ashwell & Morden
09:17 Baldock
09:21 Letchworth Garden City
09:25 Hitchin - £29.10, or £19.20 with a railcard.
09:31 Stevenage
...
11:18 Brighton

ALTERNATIVE GETTING THERE ON THE BEDFORD LINE
08:48 Bedford
08:59 Flitwick
09:03 Harlington (Bedfordshire)
09:08 Leagrave
09:13 Luton
09:16 Luton Airport Parkway
09:22 Harpenden
09:27 St Albans City
...
11:13 Brighton - then go and wait 5 mins for the Cambridge train to arrive

PAY ATTENTION AND READ THIS Whichever train you come down on, in addition to your return ticket, AT THE SAME TIME PLEASE PURCHASE a single ticket from Brighton to Lewes.This costs £5.30 or £3.45 with a railcard, so that we dont waste time having to do this on arrival in Brighton, and can then hopefully catch the 11:26 train to Lewes if everyone is organized.

GETTING BACK Trains back to Hitchin from Brighton leave at xx:14 and xx:39. The :14 is a direct train that takes 1h50m to get to Hitchin. The :39 requires a change at Gatwick Airport and takes a total of 2h10m. I am thinking we will probably catch the 20:14, which gets to Hitchin at 22:04; but it could be earlier if we walk and eat faster or if you decide to skip dinner and head straight to the station.
The direct trains returning to Bedford leave at xx:28 and xx:58; and ones with one change leave at xx:14 and xx:44.

This walk is not suitable for dogs.

Booking your place: If you would like to join, you must book in advance using the Stag Walkers Meetup group - see Notes for how to book & what to bring. If you are unable to attend, please cancel your booking so that someone else can take your place.

Please do not turn up for a walk without booking, as places are limited. Unless you opt in to further communications, we will only use contact information you provide to get in touch about the walk.

Please car-share or use public transport if possible. To offer a lift or ask for one from a fellow walker, please use the Meetup event page. 

If you have any questions, or need to contact the walk leader urgently on the day of the walk, please post to the Meetup event chat.