South Downs Way

Washington car park – Amberley - Littleton Farm

To take a walk from the car park west, you have to find it first! It nestles just off the A24 Worthing - London road and can be reached from Worthing by driving north on the A24 until you reach the Washington roundabout; take the exit at 4 o’clock, pass the garage on your right and then turn right almost immediately into Washington village. Drive straight past the pub on your right and then follow the road up through a wooded area until you get to a sharp bend left off the tarmac onto a gravelly track that takes you into the car park.

If you’re heading west on the SDW, retrace your route from the car park and cross the A24, then pick up Glaseby Lane that winds up from the main road. Soon it bends round to the left, past one or two houses, whilst on the left is the Washington Tap, yes, another water stop, marked by a sign saying 7 miles to Botolphs, 6 miles to Amberley.

Going on, to the left of the entrance to Bostal Hill Farm the lane is sealed off to further motor vehicle progress by a lockable metal pole in the middle of the thoroughfare and a corresponding sign; beyond, the lane continues steep and sheltered almost completely from the sun, taking you up to a gate and crossroads. Carry straight on over what appears to be some sort of cattle trap by the gate. The path continues upwards onto open downland with views of the Sussex weald to the north and sheep grazing to the south. It’s a glorious day and you can see the North Downs in the far distance; betwixt here and there is gently undulating scenery splashed with plentiful woodland.

As you near the top of the hill just to your right is a concrete bunker which must have been some sort of world war 2 gun emplacement / lookout point, complete with hole in the top and slits to peruse the surrounding country. Much of it is covered in rusting squares of metal.

Shortly, the seascapes have opened up and you can see the English Channel beyond Worthing and Cissbury ring. Fields of yet to flower poppies are on both sides. Down to the left is a large wooded area but before that another concrete bunker snug in the fields.

At this point a route strikes off the path north (alternative SDW route avoiding the A24).





Looking towards Worthing and the sea



East to Chanctonbury Hill along South Downs Way



Chanctonbury in distance

You are now riding the crest of the South Downs and can see Storrington to the north and the definition of the Isle of Wight clearly to the west. Open downland dominates the landscape just as it does east from here to Eastbourne.

At this point we have Sullington Hill to the right and a path weaves its way down off the main track to Sullington and Storrington. Your landmark is a large corrugated iron shed. Walking is easy as we’re on the level.



North to Storrington



South to the sea

Weald of Sussex

You now lose sight of Storrington and are faced with a wonderful sweep of countryside between the South Downs Way and the sea of which you have an uninterrupted view virtually from Cissbury to the Isle of Wight. The area immediately to the left is the Angmering Park Estate and forms the mellowest of English landscapes. It really is a belter of a walk along this stretch, with landscapes and seascapes a real eyeful for the rambler. Along the way you hit the Chantry car park, at the top of Chantry Hill,  where the signpost marks a major crossroads: east to Washington, west to Amberley, north to Storrington, south east to Long Furlong and south to Lee Farm. A narrow access road falls north from this point to meet the A283 at Storrington. For the agriculturally minded, grain dominates the landscape.



South to the sea

Further on, within sight of Kithurst Hill car park, you reach a sign-posted route down to Storrington to the right (1 and a half miles) and a public bridleway to the left. Strike south on this track and soon you stumble upon the rusting remains of an old battle tank, now a permanent relic.



Old battle tank

Back on the SDW, a gentle descent takes you to the car park, again accessible from the B2139 west of Storrington – there is space a plenty for cars and it’s an ideal spot for an evening barbecue. On a hot August day there still the bewitching sight of the Isle of Wight hazy on the far horizon.

West from Kithurst Hill the path climbs Springhead Hill, rolling open downland continues to the north and south, with extensive, unencumbered  views of the sea and weald. You then hit a strip of woodland with a spur that rudely interrupts the landscape by striking south in a dead straight line of trees, obscuring the panorama.

Once through the trees, however, you get your first glimpse of Arundel Castle away to the south west, the Arun river snaking in front of it. To the north and way below is Parham House, a beautiful Elizabethan mansion in accompanying parkland that kisses the foot of the Downs. At this point pheasants, possibly the daftest animals on God’s earth, are chasing along the other side of the fence, and we begin to descend into the Arun valley.

The view opens right out again in three - dimensional splendour and you can see across to Bignor Hill and Arundel Park on the far side of the river.

Soon the path drops steeply with a magnificent vista of the Arun valley; reaching the level again, with the ample outbuildings of Downs Farm to the left. The path falls further, winds into some trees, then hits the road up to Downs Farm from Amberley. You then follow the road down past an interesting looking Victorian House on the right, set in a nook with an incomparable setting. It was at this point that in the evening, whilst retracing my steps, a multi-coloured balloon passed overhead and appeared to come into land just north of the South Downs. I watched as it failed to land and skated north across the countryside, eventually disappearing into the distance as I focused on other things.

You carry straight down to the main Amberley road; on the way is an interesting little sunken enclosure adjacent to the lane and on the left – a square of grass, a small shelter and a bench on a mound looking out over Amberley Museum, nestled in the old quarry.

Reaching the bottom, you find the lane is called High Titten, and a signpost surprises you with the fact that you are 50 miles from Eastbourne and 51 miles from Winchester (HALF-WAY MARK!)

If you want to keep to the SDW you turn north along the main road for a few hundred yards, but this is a good spot for diversionary tactics. Turn left and follow the wind of the main road and you find yourself in the bit of Amberley by the river. In this cosy hamlet you can have a drink at the Bridge Inn  - half a Guinness at £1.40, lunch at the Boathouse Brasserie, or visit the Riverside tea garden & restaurant (jacket potato with bacon, cheese and salad + pot of tea for £6.40). If you’ve finished your walking you can catch the train home from Amberley Station.

Returning to the SDW, a secluded pedestrian path clutching the main road brings you to a bridle-way that strikes west across the valley. Almost immediately you cross a railway bridge from which you can see the medieval pile of the Amberley Castle Hotel to the north.

Carry straight on and soon the well sign-posted path bears left for a while, then right and converges with the River Arun. Cross the cream coloured bridge and if you’re not tempted to return to the nearby riverside tea rooms again, you trace the Arun for a short distance until it veers north – west, perhaps gaining sight of a tent on the bank or a canoe on the water.

You’ve now traversed the floodplain with its cow covered meadows, river and ditches and the path begins to climb again onto the downs. As you make your way up to the A29 grain continues to dominate the landscape and if it’s late August/ early September the combine harvesters will be working across the curves.

Another terrific view of the Arun valley behind you opens up as you begin to hug the side of Coombe Wood. Over the A29 and keep climbing, you reach another summit where the perspective multiplies, turn round to see the Arun valley and look over Houghton Forest to the south-west and the sea.

2) The path continues to climb steadily, with Houghton Forest on your left and the immediate surroundings of open down-land. In the distance to the left are the TV/radio masts just beyond Bignor Hill. You are now on Westburton Hill, grain again being the main crop.

The track then rolls along at a gentle pace on the level, diverging slowly from the woods on the left, and meanwhile the view to the north opens up again with its distant line of hills. Later the track begins to descend towards an outbuilding on the floor of the vale; this proves to be a large storage shed partly filled with hay bales.

A little further on, a major intersection indicates the SDW to the left; the path immediately climbs up fairly steeply through some tree cover, and eventually a T-junction indicates right. We are now back on open down-land with a great view of the Weald to the north-east opening up. Very quickly the path veers to the left and heads west. Climbing steadily upwards, and after passing a sign ‘Slindon Estate,’ you are awarded an almost 360 degree view – to the east along the scarp slope of the downs, Houghton Forest and the drink to the south, and a panoramic view of the weald as we find ourselves on Bignor Hill (225).

The path caresses the top of the downs, then dips to the left of woodland towards the car park, running almost parallel to the tree line 200 yards to the right.

Bignor is a major thoroughfare for downs activity. There is ample car-parking with a lane dropping north-east to Bignor village. A bumper size sign-post indicates paths to Sutton to the north, Slindon to the south, Noviomagus and Londinium (the same direction as Bignor). At this point you are 208m above sea level.

On a gate-post near the signpost the SDW is indicated, heading off towards the radio mast, then forking to the left to Gumber Bothy. Shortly you hit another signpost and a track off to the left goes to Gumber itself (1 ¾m) where you can stay the night in the camping barn or erect your tent perhaps with the farmers’ permission.

A little further on the landscape opens out again with views across forest and wood to the sea beyond the coastal plain. The SDW follows a fence across a large field chasing the contour, with sheep grazing to the left and radio mast to the right.

At the other end of the field a signpost points to Gumber Bothy 1800m to the south. Carry straight on at this crossroads which marks the end of the Slindon Estate.

Moving ahead, the track then moves gently across the landscape, crosses through a line of trees, then reveals another classic English landscape as we begin to descend into the valley through which the A285 runs. Your landmark here is Littleton Farm, sitting right on the road.