Off the Rails

List: The best stations to start or finish your ride in Sussex

Sometimes you don't want to go cycling near your home. Sometimes you don't want to have to take your bike in the back of your car. Sometimes you want a more eco-friendly way of moving your bike. So trains!
Here is a selection of the best stations for cyclists in Sussex. Picked mainly because they are the ones I have found most useful, there are other stations better suited for dropping off in the middle of nowhere, but far fewer trains stop at these so a visit has to be more carefully planned, which is why I have left them off this list.

Chichester: City and Beyond
Although Chichester is a fairly large city it is still possible to leave the station and be cycling through the countryside minutes later. South heading routes can take you to Bognor, and then eastwards along the coast, or you an head down on a circuit of the remote coastal plains around Selsey and West Wittering. Alternatively route 2 heads westwards out of town to Portsmouth and beyond. Then again head north is the Centurion Way which follows an old rail track 6 miles to West Dean in the middle of downland, where you can plan your own route onwards, or head back to the city. Of course Chichester is a lovely place well worth spending some time in before passing through.


Visit Chichester website >here<
Information about the Centurion Way from Sustrans >here<


Three Bridges: Fast Escape from London
Three bridges sits on a focal point for national trails heading from London to Brighton, or from three bridges on to Groombridge on national route 21. The area around the station isn't the prettiest place you'll visit, but as a starting point into some beautiful Sussex countryside. By linking here route 21 and route 20 Three bridges can be used as the start and finish point of a long weekend cycle around Sussex.

Information about the Worth Way >here<
Information about the Forest Way >here<

Polegate: Go a Little Cuckoo in the Country
This little two platform station is a great drop off point just north of Eastbourne. The Cuckoo Trail starts here, which is a satisfying ten mile route up to Heathfield. Once you're heading along the Cuckoo Trail the options to branch off are superb. Head east and the Pevensey Levels offer great quiet and level roads just the thing if you fancy a high-gear blast through some tiny hamlets. To the west are the roads and villages around the Arlington reservoir.

Information about the Cuckoo Trail >here<

Christ's Hospital: Posh School, Country Roads
Situated almost in the middle of nowhere Christ's Hospital station exists mainly to serve the school of the same name. Just beyond Horsham on the London to Littlehampton line, its a good midway station for anyone wanting to split the Downs Link path, rather than making the whole ride from Shoreham to Guildford. The countryside around Christ's Hospital is good too, heading west along country lanes will take you to Billingshurst and Petworth.

Information on the Downs Link >here<


Hassocks: Down South, South Downs
Hassocks is a handy drop off point for access to the South Downs, which are a couple of miles to the south. It is the quickest and easiest way to get access to downland if you are leaving from London stations. Country lanes also run from here out to the quaint little village of Ditchling, in one direction and Hurstpierpoint in the other, both are very photogenic. As well as being  a good station for mountain bikers getting onto the downs for those of us who prefer tarmac  Underhill Lane at the foot of the downs is a lovely ride. There are also good cafes and shops near the station, making it a ideal end of day stop.

Hassocks visitor information >here<


Lewes: A Town to Try
Another large station, Lewes has good connections to London via Victoria or by changing at Haywards Heath or Brighton. It's also a changing place to get to Newhaven and for services to or from the east coast of Sussex. From Lewes mountain bikers can get easily onto the South Downs, or all cyclists can cycle into the countryside through towns and villages like Ringmer and Glynde. Route 90 heads out of the town Eastwards,  running on a track parallel with the busy A27 in places. Sometimes its a little noisy and unpleasant but will get you on your way, though my advice is get off it as soon as possible. If you cycle in East Sussex much you will probably find yourself using Lewes station a lot one way or another. The town is good for a finish point with a good choice of pubs and eating places including a popular cafe on the station itself.

Visit Lewes >here<
Runaway Cafe >here<


Littlehampton: By the Seaside, by the Sea
As seaside as the Sussex coast gets, Littlehampton is the place to start if you want a leisurely ride along proms and seaside roads. It's even better if you want a ride that involves a stop for chips on the way. Its not ideal if you want to test out your new racing bike because if the weather is any good there will be families sharing the cycle paths with you. but start before lunch and you could cycle as far as Brighton or Newhaven with little effort, though at the posh private estate of West Kingston you need to turn inland for a bit before dropping back into Ferring to continue your journey through Worthing.

Visit Littlehampton >here<


Hastings: History and Chips
The opposite side of Sussex to Littlehampton Hastings is another classic seaside town, with rides, arcades and more mini-golf courses than anywhere else. But it also has an age old fishing trade, a fantastic old town of half timbered buildings, and a castle. If you're feeling energetic a ride to the east takes you up the east cliff and onwards toward Rye, a fantastic coastal ride. An easier ride is westward along route 2 onto Eastbourne via Bexhill and Pevensey. If you don't mind sharing the road with a bit of noisy traffic heading north out of town you can visit Battle. Battle is, of course where Hastings' most famous event actually happened.

Visit Hastings >here<


For more information on specific services the National Rail website is good, you can also check if there are any limitations on cycles on a particular train. >here<

Gear Crunched in the Balcombe Triangle

Route: 10 miles

Some things don't go as planned, some cycle rides involve a lot more walking than they should. This was one of them.
The Balcombe Triangle is a route I used to ride a lot, it is a simple three point circuit, creating an outing of about 10 miles. Haywards Heath to Cuckfield creates one side of the triangle, then Cuckfield to Balcombe, finally taking the Borde Hill road  back to Haywards Heath.
Passing through a lot of countryside, taking in a couple of really nice villages and passing one of central sussex' most impressive landmarks make this journey worth the time and effort, for added buzz two long stretches of downhill travel allow the cyclist to go as fast as they want. The nasty surprise on this occasion came on the uphill sections.

It was May and days are hot from daybreak so I decided to leave early, setting off just after 7am, sure of being back by 8.30 at the latest, or so I believed. Even at that time the roads were busier than in the previous weeks of the lockdown, so the early start didn't ensure a peaceful ride There are a couple of roundabouts on the way to Cuckfield, they needed a bit of extra care as cars and lorries rumbled by.

But even though I was having to share the road with more motorised vehicles than I had hoped I wasn't perturbed. I knew that once I was through Cuckfield the road would be wide, and slope in a way that allows a smooth, fast ride until it reaches the Ouse Valley.

It was just as much fun as I remembered it, I pulled out of Whitemans Green, clicked my way up through the gears, until I was speeding along at 25mph through Brook Street. An occasional car roared by and the wind blew through the vents in my helmet. The little hamlet whizzed by, the road got a little steeper and the handlebars rattled in my hands. finally the bottom of the slope lay ahead, a little road, Cherry Lane, splits of to the left here and the main road starts to climb back out of the Ouse Valley. In order to  get back out of the valley with the least effort I put on an extra spurt of speed, hit the dip and began to climb out the other side. As the road began to climb I clicked the gear controls down, ready to feel the bike slow and the effort hit in. Hit in it really did, suddenly my push on the pedals produced little result, the easy speed of the downhill vanished and an almost impossible effort took its place. I pulled over as a lorry growled by. Looking down at the rear wheel I could see I was still in top gear, yet the gear changer on the handlebar showed five. The thin cable that runs to the derailleur was limp,whereas it should have been taut. In frustration, a little anger and also puzzlement I realised I would have to push to the top of the hill, there was not enough space at the side of the road to attempt a repair where I was and it was safer to keep moving.

My hope was that I could at least move the gear to a middle setting, once I could pull over and find a place to work on the bike. Unfortunately the verges were all thick with long grass making them useless for the purpose of roadside mechanics, so I spent the next couple of miles pushing the bike slowly uphill and then speeding on any downhill stretches. It was a hassle and I looked forward to ending it.

But it didn't end. I was able to take advantage of the flat tarmac of Balcombe station car park. I soon established that the derailleur was fine. Its good news, except that usually gear change problems are down to the derailleur, so my problem was not going to be simple to solve. The wire that linked the derailleur to the shifter was slack, I followed it back to the handlebar, but it wasn't caught and was unbroken. Then I turned my attention to the shifter itself, and the problem became immediately apparent, the little lever that is used to change the gear down had a distinct wobble to it, instead of moving crisply side to side it was flopping up and down. It was, in short, knackered. 

I would have to make my journey home in the same way I had done the last couple of miles, walking the bike up the hills and making the most of the chance to go fast on the downhill bits.

So I walked the bike through the centre of Balcombe village, where everything was closed due to lockdown, though it was too early for things to be open in normal times. The little tea room, which is a favourite of my parents, had the usual covid-19 signs in the window, there is a nice pub too, the Half Moon, and a well stocked village store. At a normal time of day, in  a less catastrophic era, Balcombe has a lot to make an attractive stop for cyclists.

From Balcombe the road back to Haywards Heath is a long downward sloping ride for a few miles into a different part of the Ouse valley, passing the fantastic viaduct which carries the London to Brighton railway. You've probably travelled over it, you've probably seen photos of it, but cycling by it is the best way to see the viaduct. Then the uphill kicks back in, and the remaining mileage home is up and down, push and ride. But finally and hour later than I had planned I got back.

Even with the difficult mix of walking and cycling and even with the irritation of having drivers buzz by as I tried to push the bike uphill, it was a good trip. And the gear shifter that bust? Once I had opened it up a little twist of a bolt was all it took to get it working again, a far simpler solution than I have experienced in a shifter ever before.

You and me will do the Balcombe triangle again sometime, and nothing will go wrong, and it will be simple worthwhile pleasure , I promise.

Balcombe website >here<

Half Moon Pub >here<

Ouse Valley Viaduct at Transport Trust >here<

START: Haywards Heath, head west - South Road, Muster Green, Tylers Green; Cuckfield - Broad Street, (right turn) London Lane (B2184), head north (right turn) - London Road (B2036), carry on at Whitemans Green roundabout for a couple of miles, sticking to the main road until you reach Balcombe, Bramble Hill, head north-east (right turn), Haywards Heath Road, head south-east (right turn); Haywards Heath, Penland Road, west (right turn), Turners Mill Road, east (left turn), Harlands Road, east (left turn), past station, commercial square roundabout, north (right turn) - Perrymount Road (2028), East (left) - South Road: FINISH