We have some wonderful attractions in Sussex that are well documented and easy to find. But what about secret Sussex and its hidden gems? Where are those wonderful places that are less well known and off the proverbial beaten track? Well, pack your camera and your map, because here are 10 of our favourite secret or not so very well known spots.
Lake Wood Caves
Just outside Uckfield is this part man-made and part natural lake. It’s not very big but it is surrounded by large rocks and a number of man made caves and boat houses. Top tip, visit on an sunny autumn day to catch the golds and reds of the season reflected in the water: Lake Wood.
Fairlight Cove and the dripping well
Drive east out of Old Town Hastings towards Fairlight. Leave Ore behind you and you’ll come to a car park on the hill. From there, you can walk and then climb down to the dripping well tucked away in the Hastings Country Park. The dripping well is a stunningly pretty and natural formation with rock pools and streams, and a wall of rock from which water gently cascades. Carry on climbing down, and you should come down to Fairlight Cove, surely one of the most inaccessible and remote beaches in Sussex. Great for fossils and nudists!
Itchenor Ferry
Plenty of people visit Bosham, but carry on down Shore Road and you’ll come to a leafy footpath that leads to the edge of the harbour. Here, during the summer and for just £3, you can catch what must be the smallest ferry in Sussex across the water to Itchenor on the other side. The journey takes just a few minutes.
Eridge Rocks
In the north of East Sussex, Eridge Rocks is an extraordinary rock formation which you’ll find down a quiet and narrow lane in Eridge. Millions of years old and 10 metres high, the rocks feel magical and you can walk along the base of the 800 metre formation peeping into the nooks, crannies and crevices: Eridge Rocks.
Tottington Manor Cellars and the Green Knight
Tottington Manor is a lovely hotel and restaurant but beneath it lies a secret. During WWII, the Home Guard Auxiliary Units (our equivalent of the resistance) made Tottington Manor their regional headquarters and one of their members built an underground hideout with an escape tunnel. The tunnel and hideout are not open to the public, but they are still there. Not far away, at Wood Mill, there’s a bit of a mystery. A large amount of masonry and what appears to be the tomb of a knight lie in the undergrowth. They were were brought there in the 1930s by a gentleman who was later convicted of murder but it’s not known where they came from.
Sharpenhurst Hill
The Downs Link in West Sussex is a well trodden path, but if you turn off it just after Christ’s Hospital near Horsham, you’ll come to a few hidden gems. Cross the railway and climb Sharpenhurst Hill. From here you can see Leigh Hill and if you look the other way, you’ll see a strange mound. This is home to an underground reservoir with a late Victorian vaulted ceiling. It used to be the water supply to Christ’s Hospital until the 1980s. Keep walking and head into Itchingfield churchyard and you’ll also come to a tiny, 15th century priest house.
Hardham Church
For a centrally located village, Pulborough is full of hidden gems, if you get off the beaten track. Hardham Church (St Botolph’s) is just south of Pulborough in a layby that is easy to miss to the edge of the A29. It’s decorated in the most incredible Medieval frescoes and has a fascinating story about an anchoress called Myliana who was walled up inside a cell within the church: Hardham church. There are plenty more hidden gems in Pulborough including the oldest house in Pulborough that once hosted Queen Elizabeth I and the mound where once existed a Norman castle and a priory.
Devil’s Jumps
The South Downs Way is another well trodden path but turn off the main drag and there is plenty to discover. The Devil’s Jumps are one such thing and are near Treyford but once again, they are easy to miss. They are made up of five Bronze Age bell barrows. They are just shy of five metres high and what is particularly remarkable about them is that they are set out in a line that aligns with sunset on Midsummer Day. They are not to be confused with the Devils Humps not far away. Devil’s Jumps and Humps
Chelwood Vachery
Who doesn’t like an abandoned garden? And this one in the middle of Ashdown Forest is a beauty. Designed and created in the early 20th century, you’ll find waterfalls, a lake and a folly bridge all with a very mystical and magical feel. Chelwood Vachery
Newtimber
Traffic whizzes down the A23 to and from Brighton unaware of some of the gems it passes and as it winds past Pyecombe and Wolstonbury Hill, it passes Newtimber. To access this tiny hamlet you either have to park in a layby and walk across a couple of fields, or wiggle your way down a narrow country lane. If you do, you’ll come to Newtimber Place – a 17th century, moated house with 18th century Etruscan style wall paintings in the hall and a Georgian dovecote in the grounds. Visits to the house are by guided tour only. You’ll also find the 13th century church nearby and it has an interesting connection to Chief Henry Bokleni Ndamase and the Eastern Cape.
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