The Sussex Border Path is a 240 km (150 mile) long footpath, roughly along the inland boundary of the county of Sussex. It links Thorney Island in the west to Rye in the east, and one of the wonderful things about it is, that if you’re a keen Sussex walker, you’re likely to find yourself crossing it or walking a stretch of it in multiple parts of the county. When you see the waymarks, it’s like meeting an old friend, bringing with it a sense of comfort.
Although it’s not a National Trail, you will find it on all the relevant Ordnance Survey maps, and it’s well-marked all the way along. The Sussex Border Path was devised in 1983 by Ben Perkins and Aeneas Mackintosh and there is an official reference and website (unsurprisingly named: www.sussexborderpath.co.uk)
The Sussex Border Path – from west to east
Although it’s called the Sussex Border Path, it doesn’t follow the exact route of the border and sometimes deviates in the name of beauty!
The West Sussex section
The Sussex Border Path starts on Thorney Island and includes a quick loop of the island perimeter before heading north towards Stansted Park. It then deviates slightly west towards Rowlands Castle before heading due north again, and north east towards South Harting and all the way to just south of Liphook and Haslemere.
From Haslemere, the Sussex Border Path talks an easterly direction via Black Down. Then slowly it wiggles its way to Rudgwick (stop at the Milk Churn) and on up to Rowhook (stop at The Chequers) and on to Rusper. From Rusper, the footpath takes you north east and to the north of Gatwick before dropping down to Crawley Down and heading on to East Grinstead.
The East Sussex section
Leaving East Grinstead you also soon leave West Sussex as you walk on to Cowden, after which, you start to head south to Crowborough and Wadhurst. Here you go around Bewl Water and just south of Bedgebury Pinetum, passing Flimwell and on to Bodiam, before last stop Rye.
The Mid Sussex section
If you’ve ever come across the Sussex Border Path whilst in the middle of Sussex you may have been confused. This is the Mid Sussex section/deviation that begins at East Grinstead before heading to Sharpthorne and Scaynes Hill to Ditchling, then over the South Downs to a finish point between Southwick and Portslade (the West East Sussex border). This section is 53 km (33 miles).
Stop press! Walk all the way around Sussex
The exciting news is that once the final Sussex section of the King Charles III Coastal Path is opened (scheduled for 2024), you will be able to walk all the way around the county of Sussex.
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