Start of tour Lewes rail station; end of 5 night tour Rye rail station; end of 7 night tour Staplehurst rail station (bus or taxi from Sissinghurst and Cranbrook).

Rail stations. To the starting point at Lewes there are hourly direct trains from London Victoria via Gatwick Airport. Journey time from Victoria 1 hour; from Gatwick 30 minutes. At end of 5-night tour hourly train service from Rye: for Gatwick change trains at Hastings; for London change at Hastings or Ashford. At end of 7-night tour hourly train service from Staplehurst to London; for Gatwick change trains at Tonbridge.

Eurostar. Eurostar trains currently (late 2024) do not stop at either Ashford International or Ebbsfleet iInternational. Currently the only Eurostar station in England is London St Pancras International. From St Pancras change trains at Gatwick Airport or Hayward’s Heath for Lewes. From Rye to St Pancras change trains at Ashford. From Staplehurst change trains at London Bridge.

Airports. The nearest international airport is London Gatwick (LGW), where the train station is in South Terminal. From London Heathrow (LHR) travel to Lewes via London Victoria (underground from Heathrow) or via Gatwick Airport rail station (bus from Heathrow).

Tour code X5E:
5 night tour, ES or private facilities every night: £720. Single room*: £1080. STS**: £70

Tour code X7E:
7 night tour, ES or private facilities every night: £980. Single room *: £1470. STS**: £120

Please read the notes below on pricing:

• Single room* This price applies for 1 room when booking is for 1 or 3 or 5 persons
• STS** = solo traveller supplement (applicable when booking is for one person only)
• Extra nights: Up to £90 per person per extra night. Single rooms will cost more.  

Prices quoted are per person on basis of two people in double or twin-bedded rooms. Included in the price are bed and breakfast each night, with baggage transfers, maps and route directions. ‘ES’ (en suite) facilities means that there is a private bathroom with shower or tub and toilet within the main door of your room. ‘Private facilities’ means that the private bathroom is outside the main door of your room. When the booking is made for a party of 3 or 5 customers, a single room supplement is payable. When the booking is made for a single traveller, a solo traveller supplement is payable. Note: normally a maximum of 1 single room per booking.

Some of Britain’s best hiking is to be found on the high chalk ridges or ‘downs’ of Sussex. Starting from the historic county town of Lewes, for the first two days our route follows the South Downs Way National Trail to the English Channel coast. Here the Downs end abruptly at the famous chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head.

Further east on our route is the site of the Battle of Hastings where in 1066 the invading Duke William of Normandy defeated the English king Harold and changed the course of English – and world – history. The little town of Battle grew up around the abbey founded by the site of William’s victory. Hastings itself was in the middle ages one of the confederation of Cinque Ports, and here fishing boats are still winched up the beach to the fishmarket with its picturesque black ‘net shops’.

Eastwards from Hastings the ‘Saxon Shore trail’ first follows a line of dramatic sandstone cliffs where deep wild wooded valleys sweep down to the rocky shore, then crosses the flat sheep pastures of Romney Marsh to the two ‘Ancient Towns’ of Winchelsea and Rye. Rye is indeed a gem, with its cobbled lanes – including the celebrated Mermaid Street and quaint houses. The town has many other attractions, including extensive views over Romney Marsh to the sea. Here at Lamb House – open to the public just two afternoons per week – the novelist Henry James lived from 1898 to 1916. For those on the longer 7-night tour our route strikes inland from Rye for two days across the orchards, hopfields and woodlands of the High Weald to the magnificent moated castle of Bodiam (a National Trust site, open daily), and the pretty whitewashed timberclad houses of the market town of Cranbrook. A little way outside Cranbrook, and also maintained by the National Trust, is Sissinghurst Castle Garden, made famous by Vita Sackville-West. The garden is open to the public at least 5 days each week. For current opening dates and times see the National Trust website.

Great Dixter, another fine garden on our route, is open daily except Mondays. See www.greatdixter.co.uk

If you wish to include a visit to Sissinghurst Castle Garden (National Trust) near Sissinghurst (night 7 of this tour) this garden is normally open daily throughout our season. See nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/sissinghurst-castle-garden for details.

Our route passes another superb garden at Great Dixter (www.greatdixter.co.uk). This garden is normally closed on Mondays, except bank holiday Mondays. In most years Bank Holidays in England are on Good Friday, Easter Monday, the first and last Mondays in May and the last Monday in August.