If you’re looking for a fun, stunning and interesting walk in West Sussex, then you’re in luck. The Chalk Stones Trail is approximately 8 km and will deliver all that, and more.
It starts just south of Cocking at the Cocking Hill car park (parking is free) off the A286 and ends in the grounds of West Dean. Or, of course, you can do it the other way round.
The story of the stones
This is no ordinary trail. In 2002, 15 chalk stones were installed along a 5 mile stretch of West Sussex countryside by Andy Goldsworthy. It was part of the Strange Partner’s programme, involving Pallant House Gallery, the Sussex Downs Conservation Board, the National Trust at Petworth House, West Sussex County Council, Chichester District Council, Leconfield Estate, West Dean Estate and Cowdray Estate.
Andy Goldsworthy is an internationally acclaimed artist who creates his sculptures exclusively from natural materials. His work is often ephemeral and importantly, these boulders were only ever expected to last about five years before they crumbled and disintegrated back into the environment. The chalk stones were sourced from a local chalk quarry, chalk representing the very essence of this part of the world but in a way that is not as visible as it is, for example in the chalky faces of the Seven Sisters.
The trail of misinformation
There’s not much literature about the trail out there but what there is often states that there are 13 or 14 stone balls / boulders. There are in fact 15. You may not find them all, but guided by the erudite Malinka from Rural Strides, I did. That said, Malinka will be the first to confess that she had to do this walk a number of times before she found them all.
Malinka is the person to walk with if you want to know more about the landscape, and if you don’t want to have to think too hard about where you’re going. The reason we were doing this trail was because I wasn’t convinced about the concept of great big balls of chalk as an artistic endeavour. But I wanted to understand more and I promised to keep an open mind. Malinka explained from the outset that I had to think about these boulders more in terms of land art and understanding the landscape than as sculpture in the strictest sense.
The trail
You’ll notice from the map, I have not plotted where you’ll find the various boulders. That is in part because I can’t remember (although we did stop at, photograph and discuss each one). But also because this is a trail that works on many levels, and one of those levels is the joy of search and discovery. A giant treasure hunt as Malinka put it and I don’t want to spoil the fun. That said, I will give you a few tips and a couple of small spoilers.
From the car park at Cocking Hill, you head west along the South Downs Way. It’s a nice steady climb all the way to the first boulder which is clearly visible at a junction and with views across the valley towards Heyshott Down. You have found your first boulder!
From here, you leave the South Downs Way and head into Bepton Woods and on to West Dean Woods and the West Dean Estate. Bepton Woods are stunning and we saw deer, birds of prey and enjoyed views south of The Trundle and Chichester (you can see the Cathedral spire). But what of the boulders? Well, in this first part of the walk, a lot of them are situated at woodland crossroads, so they are fairly easy to spot. But a word to the wise, as the walk progresses, some of the boulders get harder to find. Some have sunk into the ground. Some have cracked and crumbled, therefore shrunk in size. Some are overgrown. It will also depend on what time of the year you walk. We walked in April when the undergrowth was not at its height. I still walked straight past a couple.
A short time after you have passed the ruined cottage, you turn left. This stretch of woods is simply magnificent. At first, gorse gives way to vast avenues of pine. But then there is oak, hazel, and beech until a path eventually narrows into a tunnel and lands you gently at Keeper’s Cottage and the lane. By the time you have reached this point, you should have seen nine boulders. Don’t worry if you’ve missed any, you can always walk back the way that you came.
A bit of quiet country lane walking takes you passed a long straight avenue of beech trees before a long steady climb. Between here and the disused railway at the edge of the A286 you should see another five boulders, the last one being easy to spot and next to the railway bridge. But that’s still only 14, I hear you say. Yes, and you’ll find the last boulder in the parklands in front of the house in the grounds of West Dean. They do charge admission but there is more to see than just the boulder!
When you’ve finished, you can either retrace your steps, catch a bus back to the car park, or walk back a different route. We walked to Singleton and then walked up Levin Down and New Lipchis Way until we rejoined the South Downs Way and walked back to the car.
Why this trail works
Of course, it’s not for me to tell you whether this trail works. That’s up to you. But having been unconvinced before I had walked it, I was seduced by its charms. Here’s why:
- It’s a stunning walk and a lot of fun. We passed no one else on this trail and in parts it feels remote and magnificent.
- The boulders are, in their own way, everchanging works of art both individually and as a collective. They are tactile, moorish and colourful and presumably they must change every hour, every season and every decade as the light and their surroundings change.
- They are little pockets of science and throw up questions of geology and climate.
- As the Sussex sculptor Jon Edgar commented, they get you interested and therefore they start conversations, and that’s the most powerful art of all.
But don’t take my word for it, walk the trail. And walk it more than once. Or walk it with Malinka!
If you’ve liked this post about the Chalk Stones Trail, you may also like:
New Sussex Sculpture Trail
The Serpent Trail, West Sussex
Hastings Sculpture Trail
