Category: Things To Do

We spent a few days exploring Mid and East Sussex and had a great time discovering things to do and enjoying some lovely walks

We enjoyed a lovely long weekend and stayed in Chelwood Common and explored the local area! If you are visiting Sussex or are looking for some things to do/places to eat then we’ve shared what we got up to on our little mini break!

We enjoyed a trip to Sheffield Park & Garden – this is a National Trust property with acres to explore, stunning trees in the Autumn and a lovely landscaped garden.

Bluebell Railway is only a short distance from Sheffield Park Garden and you can pay to access the platform and see the steam trains as well as the museum and cafe.

We also spent a day in Ashdown Forest which was lovely and parked at one of the car parks and enjoyed a circular walk to The Foresters pub. Ashdown Forest is a wonderful area of open heathland, perfect for long walks, and inspired the stories of Winnie the Pooh where the Hundred Acre Wood is Ashdown Forest. Parking is paid for and there are more than 40 car parks to choose from so check out the ashdownforest.org website for a map of these.

The weather was warm and sunny and we were feeling peckish so we took a trip to the 360 brewery which you can find on the Bluebell Business Estate, Sheffield Park, Uckfield. They were selling pizza which we enjoyed along with our beers in the sunshine!

We took a trip to Ditchling which is a picture postcard village, to the north of Brighton and west of Lewes. We enjoyed tea and cake at the Green Welly in Ditchling – a really cosy cafe and much needed as it had just started raining! We combined our trip with a visit to the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft.

Walks

We stayed near Danehill and did a circular walk from Chelwood Common. You can view our Chelwood Common walk here, with the walk PDF linked here but please use a map as well as using our directions! It incorporates lots of lovely lanes, through some fields, past some horses, and through some woods, making it very varied!

West Hoathly

We stopped at West Hoathly and enjoyed a walk from the car park (Finche Field Car Park) and walked around the village. West Hoathly is a village with lots of historic buildings including the church which is 11th century. We would recommend walking around St Margaret’s Church and enjoying the view at the viewing platform as it has stunning views! In the village, there is also the Cat Inn Pub in the village. We also did a circular walk from the centre of the village down near Gravetye Manor and back again. Make sure to check out the Heritage Trail which you can find in the village by the Cat Inn in the bus stop.

Before we headed home, we stopped at Pots and Pithoi to have a browse in their shop and stopped in the cafe for a cup of tea and a bagel! We bought some stunning bowls – highly recommend checking their shop out!

 

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If you are looking for some different activities, then here are some unusual and slightly more off-the-beaten-track things to do in West Sussex.

Queen Elizabeth Oak

In Midhurst, you can find the Queen Elizabeth Oak which celebrates the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. This magnificent tree is situated in Cowdray Park – the best place is to park in Midhurst and access via footpaths. We walked down the footpath down Modbury Gorge, adjacent to Easebourne Street, and followed the footpath to the right through the golf course. Alternatively, you could also take footpaths from the village of Lodsworth instead. We did a circular walk from Midhurst to Selham, which takes in the Queen Elizabeth Oak en route.

Bedham Church

Bedham Church is an abandoned old school and church and a great place for a walk and some photos! It can be found between Petworth and Pulborough and you can access it via Wakestone Lane, there are a couple of laybys down this lane (but it is probably easiest to incorporate into a walk and park elsewhere as it is a narrow lane).

Kinsbrook Vineyard

Discover Kinsbrook Vineyard, a stunning vineyard in Thakeham where you can enjoy their restaurant and farm shop or a glass of wine while taking in the panoramic views. We enjoyed sitting upstairs outside, which is lovely on a summer’s day. Why not walk here from Thakeham and make it into a halfway stop on your way around?

Lordington Lavender

For one week in July each year, visit Lordington Lavender near Chichester to see the spectacular lavender fields in bloom. The lavender field encourages wildlife and there are many species of birds that can be found on the farm and the environment is at the forefront of the mind as no fertilizers or pesticides are used.

Petworth Cottage Museum

The Petworth Cottage Museum showcases a worker’s cottage where Mrs Mary Cummings lived in the late 1800s. The cottage has been restored as it might have been around 1910. The rooms you can discover include a cottage garden, scullery, bedroom, attic, cellar, sewing room, and living room.

Find the Serpents on the Serpent Way

On the Serpent Way, from the Woolbeding Car Park, see if you can spot the Serpents. You can tie this into a walk around Woolbeding Common, or if you are feeling more adventurous, take our Woolbeding walk to the Duke of Cumberland pub (it has a fabulous garden!)

Visit our Instagram to keep up to date at @discover_sussex or check out our other blog posts for more inspiration!