Fishersgate to Shoreham-by-Sea. April 12, 2025.

Despite a potentially off-putting announcement, eleven people met at Fishersgate station to trial a new walk. The  way followed the Sussex Border Path which starts at the station and leads straight up to the Downs up by way of suburban alleys and shady, well signed footpaths; a  steady but  gentle ascent. Fallen trees had been cleared since the first partial recce in February but secateurs were now needed  for overhanging bramble growth.

The route seemed straightforward on the map; the Monarch’s Way is clearly marked.  Not so on the ground, where a myriad paths forged by dog walkers and a clever concealed tunnel over the A270 serve to confuse and deceive. A second recce was necessary and even after this there were moments of searing doubt.  However we soon triumphed and the Monarch’s Way took us directly  to lunch – albeit four hot miles away. 

We stopped for a snack and  were encouraged  by sea views and ancient burial mounds. The route onward  included a couple of steep downhill sections, one probably an old drovers road which lead down to the ancient village of Bramber where we lunched.  

On the recce we had eaten at a newer and pricier pub opposite the ruined caste , but the Kings Head certainly dates back to the seventeenth century and was apparently a former pilgrims inn on the Winchester to Canterbury route. It was only after choosing this for our pub stop that I read the Trip Advisor reviews featuring the grumpiest landlord in Sussex! He lived up to his reputation, but the garden, leading enticingly onto a footpath beside the river Adur, is lovely and the interior of the pub suitably aged.

Food eventually arrived; the kitchen was evidently a one woman band – and was declared closed for those wanting merely chips! The afternoon walk is reassuringly flat and after some discussion we decided to cut off about a mile by way of a cross path. An untried route is always risky, especially with this leader, however we were soon en piste again, the leader overruling an attempt to cut out an attractive Downs Link section.

Once across the Adur the path led straight to Shoreham following the course of the river. We were treated to a wonderful display of cowslips en route. Deciding to forgo the only opportunity for tea in favour of an earlier train we arrived at the station via a quiet, but long, suburban road.

This was a brand new walk for Morley Ramblers; I had estimated it as twelve miles but our various step counters told us it was only ten and a half, although we all felt it had been more.  Nevertheless it was voted a success, combining sea views, classic chalk downland scenery and a flat afternoon – worth repeating.

Thanks to Ljubow for the photos.