Ditchling Beacon

My legs… my legs… must keep going… must… be…nearly…there…yet…HOLY SHIT IT CONTINUES?
There are hills, and there are HILLS. This is one frickin’ monster of a hill and the challenge of many a cyclist judging my the number of them passed out on the top (none of whom passed me I am proud to add). I didn’t deliberately route plan my cycle ride to Brighton this way, google’s walking routes did!
Still, what an achievement. And it’s not all cycling, there is a car park at the top (with ice cream van), lots of tracks you can walk your dogs on and a rather gentler descent towards Brighton on the other side.
If you are coming by car you should probably come from the South to avoid the winding lane full of cyclists going very slowly and wobbling rather a lot. From my count there were the remnants of about 300 wing mirrors on that hill.

Ditching beacon is the site of a Paleolithic hill fort, though sadly nothng remains of the original structure. What is left is one of the most breathtaking views you will get of the Sussex county.
The site is a nature reserve maintained by the National Trust and if you want to get out of the city and have a walk along the downs, then this should be your first port of call. If you follow the route West along the chalk downs you will pass a couple of old dew ponds (used by herders in times past for watering their flocks) and end up coming to a quaint little windmill.
The actual car park will usually have an ice cream van stationed for any refreshments, but aside from that don’t expect a pub or venue to quench your thirst. Hence, bringing along some snack and drinks is a good idea. The car park is fairly adequate, but on summer weekends you may have to resort to parking on the side of the road.
I came here a lot as a kid and would really recommend this as a nice Sunday afternoon walk to burn off the effects of the Sunday lunch.

For me Ditchling Beacon is little more than Sussex’s most beautiful car park. Maintained by the national trust it serves as the final and most brutal challenge of the London to Brighton Bike ride. For the main part it’s a great place to start a long walk across the downs on a route that (heading west) has a few interesting points to offer including some historic dewponds and an area of land known to the mountain biking community of Sussex as Tank Tracks. The reason for this being that it was used a training ground for tank drivers during the Second World War.
As with most places on the downs the whole walk offers incredible views all year round and unlike Devil’s Dyke for example you are free of the reminder that the pub offers of how close you are to civilisation you are.