There are some walks that take you completely by surprise, and this beautiful circular walk from Tottington Manor to Bramber is one of them.
At approximately 10 km, it’s long enough to feel like you’ve had a proper morning out but short enough to leave plenty of time for a very tasty second half of the experience: heading back to Tottington Manor for a well-earned seasonal lunch at their TERRA Restaurant.
And what a lot this walk manages to pack in. There are wide, watery levels and distant views of the South Downs; the ruins of a Norman castle; one of Sussex’s loveliest historic villages; ghost stories; medieval history; autumn berries and, towards the end, a climb that rewards you with glorious views across the landscape you’ve just explored.
Walk summary
- 10 km circular route with one steep but optional climb
- Several opportunities to shorten the route, so you don’t have to tackle the full 10 km
- Start and finish: Tottington Manor (park for free)
- Ordnance Survey or other map app is recommended to help you plan your walk
You’re going to love this walk if…
- You love history: particularly if the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry in London has reignited your interest in 1066 and the extraordinary story of the Norman Conquest.
- You fancy a little autumn foraging: in autumn the hedgerows are laden with sloes, rosehips and hawthorn berries, so bring a bag and start thinking about homemade sloe gin or rosehip syrup.
- You love a good ghost story: with Bramber Castle and its tales of hauntings at the heart of the route, this is a wonderfully atmospheric walk as Halloween approaches.
- You simply love a beautiful walk and somewhere really good to eat at the end: expect wonderfully diverse countryside, from the wide, watery levels to woodland, historic villages and the South Downs, with superb views and plenty of places to stop along the way.
Walk details
You can access our Strava route here: Strava Flyover 3D replay. You will need to sign in but you can do so for free.
Stage 1. Across the Adur Levels
Park at Tottington Manor and set off along the quiet lane towards Upper Beeding. At the main road, turn right and follow the verge for a short distance before taking the footpath on your left towards Horton Hall Farm.
Follow the footpath ahead as it bends left and then carries you out across the fields. This is where the walk starts to reveal its character. The landscape here is wonderfully flat and watery but with views across to the South Downs. Footpaths cross open grazing land divided by ditches and small waterways, with little bridges carrying you from one field to the next. Feathery reeds hide diverse bird life such as heron, pheasant and goose, and, in autumn, the hedgerows and field margins are peppered with rosehips, hawthorn berries, blackberries and sloes.
Continue until you reach a T-junction of footpaths (about 2.5 km), where you turn right and, shortly afterwards, turn left, continuing across the Levels towards the River Adur. You’re heading for the distinctive iron bridge and the castle in the distance. It’s worth remembering that you’re walking through an ancient working landscape. Close to the route are the sites of a medieval priory and old salt workings while ahead, the ruins of Bramber Castle look down on the river.
Stage 2. Up to Bramber Castle
Cross the footbridge over the River Adur and after a short distance turn left and start the approach to the ruins of the castle within a clump of trees. The official footpath follows the lower edge of the old moat, although there is also the opportunity to scramble up and walk higher along the ridge. Either way, follow your chosen path around and you’ll emerge close to the church and the entrance to the castle.
A direct connection to 1066
Bramber Castle was founded by William de Braose by 1073, just a few years after the Norman Conquest. It was a defensive and administrative centre for one of the great territorial divisions established in Sussex after the Conquest and has commanding views over the River Adur and Levels to the South Downs.
Today only fragments remain, most dramatically a great section of the stone keep standing some 14 metres high. Information boards provide lots of detail and you can walk around the castle enclosure and view the countryside you’ve just crossed spread out beneath you. Entry to Bramber Castle is free, and the site is normally accessible during reasonable daylight hours.
Ghosts and ghools
But Bramber has a much darker story too. According to local legend, the ghosts of starving de Braose children wander the castle grounds in rags, begging visitors for food. The folklore grew from a genuinely grisly chapter in the family’s history: after William de Braose fell foul of King John, his wife and sons were captured, and Lady de Braose and two of her sons died of starvation while imprisoned at Windsor Castle.
It makes this an excellent walk to include in an autumn ghost trail, although if you’re planning a late-afternoon version, allow yourself enough daylight to get safely back to Tottington.
Stage 3. Into Bramber
Have a look at the little church beside the castle before following the road downhill into Bramber itself. This is a particularly pretty stretch, taking you past historic buildings and into the heart of the old village. One building demands a closer look: St Mary’s House.
This extraordinary timber-framed house dates from around 1470 and began life as a medieval pilgrim inn. Its history subsequently gathered some remarkable associations, including Elizabeth I and Charles II; inside, the King’s Room holds a mystery connected with Charles II’s escape in 1651. The house also has beautiful gardens and is Grade I listed.
Opening is seasonal, so check before setting off if you’d like to go inside.
Stage 4. One last climb or not
From Bramber and with St Mary’s to your right, carry along the road and re-cross the river. For the 10km route, continue until the road bends right towards the roundabout. Take the left-hand route and continue past the school until you reach the footpath on the left leading up Windmill Hill.
After all the flat walking across the Levels, Windmill Hill provides a fabulous finale. As you reach the higher ground, the landscape opens around you with far-reaching views towards the Downs and back over Bramber and the Adur valley. From here, there are different ways to complete the circuit. The simplest is to continue until you meet the main road and follow it back towards the lane leading to Tottington Manor (Edburton Lane).
If you’d prefer to minimise the amount of walking beside the main road, turn left by the caravan park, descend and then turn right, re-joining the road considerably further along. Along the way you’ll pass some emus (yes, emus) before emerging on Smugglers Lane. From there, it’s a final short stretch before turning back into the quiet lane for Tottington Manor.
Finish with the flavours of autumn at TERRA Restaurant
And after 10 km of walking, there’s surely no better way to finish than with a long, well-earned lunch. We ended our walk back at Terra Restaurant at Tottington Manor, where the emphasis is firmly on local and seasonal produce. In fact, one of the first things you see on the menu is a map showing TERRA’s local producers and where they are based, a lovely reminder of just how much of what arrives on your plate comes from the surrounding area.
Taste Testing at TERRA Restaurant, near Henfield, West Sussex
And our lunch tasted distinctly autumnal. We shared ham hock, black pudding and quail’s Scotch egg with burnt apple purée and mustard seeds; Sussex white crab sourdough toast with brown crab mayonnaise, Ticehurst apple and prawn butter; and whipped Golden Cross goat’s cheese with squash, charred red onion and toasted walnuts.
Then came a wonderfully comforting ham hock and sugar snap pea pie, served with buttered new potatoes and red cabbage. Add a selection of local Sussex wines and spirits and it felt like a proper celebration of the season and after our morning’s hike, entirely well earned.
On a warm September day, take your lunch outside into TERRA’s new courtyard. As October brings cooler days, you can still sit outside under cover with the heaters on, while by the time those cold, blustery November days arrive, retreat inside and settle in somewhere warm. Either way, with the South Downs stretching away beyond you, it’s a rather lovely place to sit back, rest tired legs and soak up the flavours of autumn.
Make it your own
One of the things we particularly like about this route is its flexibility. For a shorter walk, when you reach the bridge over the River Adur, turn left and follow the river path into Bramber village and pick up the main route back to Tottington (7 km). Finally, for a 5 km walk, turn left at the first opportunity after you have crossed the Levels and before you come to the river, and then left again and you will loop back around to the start.
This walk is brought to you in partnership with Tottington Manor. If you have enjoyed this walk and lunch, you may also like:
