Chalk downs, wooded ridges, and a wide arc around Sussex
The Sussex Border Path is a long-distance self-guided travel route linking walking routes, landscapes, and places around the edges of East Sussex and West Sussex. Beginning near Thorney Island on the coast and finishing at Rye, the path traces the county boundary through the South Downs, the wooded hills of the Weald, and the open ridges of the High Weald National Landscape, creating one of the most varied journeys on foot in South East England.
Walking here is shaped by contrast and gradual change rather than sustained difficulty. Chalk downs give way to woodland tracks and farmland paths, with quiet lanes linking villages and market towns. The terrain rises and falls gently, offering steady progress and frequent shifts between open views and enclosed woodland.
The middle sections pass through the heart of the Weald, where hedged fields, small farms, and scattered settlements create a distinctly rural atmosphere. Towns such as Midhurst, East Grinstead, Crowborough, Mayfield, and Battle provide natural stopping points along the way, each with its own sense of local character and history.
As the route turns south and east, the landscape opens again. Wooded ridges descend toward marshland and coast, and the final miles approach Rye across flat farmland and wide skies. The transition from inland countryside to tidal estuary and sea gives the walk a clear sense of arrival.
Rather than following a single ridge or valley, the Sussex Border Path reveals the full breadth of the county — a slow, continuous circuit through countryside, woodland, and coast.
Trail Overview
Distance
Approx. 150 miles / 240 km
Typical time on foot
12–16 days (or shorter sections)
Start
Thorney Island, West Sussex
Finish
Rye, East Sussex
Terrain
Chalk downs, woodland tracks, heathland, farmland, river valleys, and coastal paths
Waymarking
Sussex Border Path markers (green and yellow)
