The summer of 2025 in Sussex has been a good one. Lots of dry weather, a fair degree of sunshine and masses of wild produce decorating our hedgerows.
Looking back at the summer’s highlights
Autumn brings with it lots of guilty pleasures, but if you’re already planning ahead to next year, here are some of our summer highlights which you might want to try:
A favourite summer walk this year has to be the Cuckmere Pilgrim Path which we did back in June. For me, it bookended nicely with the Octagon Way in West Sussex, which I did in January. As a walk, the Pilgrim Path really captures the spirit of this part of Sussex and it has heritage and history in spades. All under the watchful eye of the Long Man of Wilmington.
In early July, I was thrilled to finally get out on the sea to visit Rampion Wind Farm. It’s a unique experience and the wind turbines are fascinating. It was great to see the coast from a different perspective and bumping along in a boat proved to be a lot of fun.
In August, I faced my fears! Namely, cycling downhill. After a false start owing to bad weather, I enjoyed an incredible bike ride across the South Downs, which concluded with a fabulous lunch at Chalk at Wiston. I am now a complete convert to e-bikes and this is another unique Sussex experience.
I was lucky enough to eat at some great places over the summer, but one that stood out was the Horse and Groom where I enjoyed a guilt-free octopus dinner (because I got up early and hiked up Kingley Vale the next morning to burn it off).
Finally, one of the stranger but absolutely fascinating places I visited was the magnificent Brede Steam Giants. For budding engineers or anyone who likes something really different and an extraordinary backstory, this place is a must.
Looking forward to…
The days are notably shorter and the mornings are definitely colder, so it feels like time to look forward to some evocatively seasonal activities in the months ahead.
Autumn is the time for walking so that you can make the most of the colours for which our county is known. There’s a good selection of walks here from across the county here:.
For autumn gardens and a great family legacy, I am looking forward to visiting all three gardens that make up our Loder Trail ©. I may well be spamming Instagram with the footage for some time!
Over the last few years, I have tried a few different wine harvest experiences and they are all unique, interesting and fun. It’s vineyard therapy listening to the click and plop of the grapes being gathered in, and what’s not to love about tasting the fruits of your labour at the end of a hard day’s work.
I was both delighted and excited to learn about this new jazz festival. It sounds like it’s going to be amazing and yet again, something unique for the county.
Finally, earlier this month, I met up with the team at Zari to discuss their autumn menu and they really came up trumps. Having tried their incredible biriyani, I am looking forward to going back and sampling their Peshwari naan bread and butter pudding after a hearty walk at Tilgate or Buchan Country Park.
So, happy autumn, everyone. I hope some of these ideas inspire you to indulge in Sussex in the months ahead, and if you’re still looking for ideas, try:
