Last week a colleague of mine remarked that here in the UK, the summer doesn’t gently give way to warm autumnal colours. Instead it’s akin to a broken shower, moving from fantastically hot to f-ing freezing in 24 hours. Looking up at the drizzly grey sky on a Monday morning this certainly appeared to be the case; I’d booked the day off as a bit of a last hurrah, hoping the sun would stay long enough for me to finish off the final leg of the Vanguard Way in warmth. Seemed I was unlucky and the precipitous deterioration that marks the transition from summer to autumn on this set of islands had already happened. But the out-of-office was on, I was committed.
I drove the latter-day-donkey to Alfriston where day 4 ended. It seems the weekday public transport options to this pretty corner of East Sussex are even more dire then they are at the weekend, but there is at least ample and reasonable parking (£7 all day). The VGW out of Alfriston picks up the path by the River Cuckmere and follows its meanders initially through to the hamlet of Litlington. This is largely grazing land, often with cows hanging out casually across the path. Thankfully they were pretty chilled beasties this time! There is some remedial work going on the raised bank next to the river at the moment so the going was a tad muddy after some heavy rainfall.
After Litlington, a chocolate-boxy little place (but don’t worry, still has a pub!) the first of four climbs. This first one up through a series of horse grazing fields, fairly unremarkable, but turn around at the top and admire the view over the Low Weald. Even on a grey day I could see the North Downs in the distance and its pretty special feeling to know that by the end of the day I would have traversed the entirely of the this ancient geological phenomena, from the city behind the North Downs to the sea beyond the South Downs.
Pressing on, past a fabulous view of a horse cut into the hill side opposite, and downwards for a spell there follows another short but steep climb up into the western reaches of Friston Forest. Just on the autumnal turn, this largely beech forest is apparently newly planted but no less tranquil for it. The wide open forest trails (with scary looking red routes for mountain bikers either side) make for a gentle walk, scents redolent of the new seaon to come.
The forest trail descends into West Dean village but I barely saw any of it before climb number three, this time up wooded steps. Not gonna lie, I was pretty out of breath at the top, but it was worth it for the incredible view of the Cuckmere meanders wending their way to the sea; nature's glory at my feet!
Descending down through a sheep field to Exceat, pretty much the last bastion of civilisation if you're heading down to the sea, there is a well provisioned visitors centre which boasts a lovely cafe, gift shop (which includes an exhibition on local natural history, featuring a mammoth tusk) and a decent set of clean toilets. Time for a pitstop.
Following the VGW onwards along the road and crossing Exceat bridge, I headed southwards on the western side of the Cuckmere floodplain. The VGW follows the King Charles III Coastal Path (KC3-CP, which could be the name of a new Star Wars droid...) at this point, pretty much for the rest of the way. This side of the flood plain is less developed that the ever popular eastern side, which links the famed Seven Sisters walk up to Exceat (you need a break after walking over the Sisters!) so some muddy patches, but wide open skies and the scent of the sea on the air! 2km on and I reached the beach; this is not the most remarkable of beaches but the view across the river mouth to Seven Sisters is spectacular! I gazed at it for a while before being disturbed by a couple of Spitfires (of all things) coming in from seaward and performing a loop the loop. Turning my back on the Sisters I proceeded westerly again, climbing again (for the last time) up Short Cliff before a gentle descent into Hopes Bottom.
Following the cliff path over towards Seaford Head, the sun put its head back behind a cloud and the wind started to get up a bit. This is such a glorious bit of coast line but very exposed to the elements; I was glad to reach the precipitous descent down to the Seaford seafront, but not before admiring the town spread out before me, with Brighton winking cheekily (as it is wont to do) in the distance.
The seafront at Seaford is not at all touristy (not an arcade to be seen!) but there was an excellent little ice-cream shack selling local ice-cream from local cows. Try the pear sorbet, it was divine! Also along the seafront the last Martello tower in the long line strung across the coast of Kent and Sussex (I had one in the grounds of my school); this particualar specimen houses the town museum. It was closed. Curses.
I had brought along my swimming kit with a view to a cold dip. However the wind, and waves, were getting high and the beach here is a shelf-type arrangement so you're almost immediately out of standing depth. When it comes to solo sea swimming, discretion is the better part of valour. So I contented myself by donning my excellent Brighton Beach Shoes and paddling in the surf. Feet refreshed and dried, I put my boots back on and continued west towards Mill Creek, where the VGW diverges from KC3CP to head inland, following the course of the Ouse.
The path goes through the remains of Tide Mills, a small village that grew up around an 18th centrury flour and corn mill, but was ultimately abandoned (and not entirely voluntarily) in the late 1930s. An army training ground during WW2, there isn't much left to see. But the very excellent Tide Mills Project (linked above) really brought its history to life. Its quite an eerie place, especially on a grey autumnal day, but there are clear echoes of industry, family life in the pre-electric age and even the small boys who once inhabited a hospital here in the 20s. Recommend a pause here and taking time to check out the Tide Mills Project information boards and links.
Under foot was the old spur line that ran into the mill and I followed this towards the exisiting rail line and the River Ouse. Newhaven is a much more industrial town than Seaford; the huge aggregates yard looms over the opposite bank of the river and the VGW tracks alongside the industrial estate before emerging onto concrete and following the road to trail's end at Newhaven Harbour Station. I carried on the additional 800m to Newhaven Town Station where I hailed a cab back to Alfriston (did I mention the public transport options were dire?!).
So that completes the Vanguard Way! It's taken me a long time, more than two years since setting off from East Croydon Station with Danger and Marv back in 2022. With a bit more focus I think this is very doable in a couple of weekends, with plenty of accommodation options along the way. To be honest I probably would have gone straight through to Newhaven on day 4, but had been planning to do this last stretch with a friend who sadly wasn't well enough.
Overall this is a great trail, showcasing some of the 'greatest hits' but also genuinley suprising, especially inside the M25. Its also nice to have walked north to south for a change! The trail is not as remote as the Greensand, but less populous than the Old Way, making it a bit of a goldilocks zone for the casual walker in my opinion.
On a final note, a few weeks ago I spotted this news story. I missed the sign at Newhaven so one day on the way back from work I popped off the train at East Croydon to take a quick retrospective picture of the Start/End of trail sign now proudly outside the station. Seems like an appropriate note to end on, but I have no doubt that mine and the Vanguard Way's trails will cross again.
Map to come!
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