Walk no: 25
Length: 10 miles
A 10 mile linear walk from Amberley to Halnaker, forming the 25th stretch of the Sussex Hospices Trail. This stretch begins along the South Downs Way, crossing the pretty River Arun, before quickly joining the Monarch’s Way which leads you gently uphill through the beautiful Houghton Forest to reach Bignor Hill. From this point, mid-way along your walk, you will be rewarded with outstanding views down to the south coast. The journey continues by following the line of an old Roman road, Stane Street, which today leads you through pastures, woodland, a vineyard and scrub to reach the tiny village of Halnaker.
Difficulty
The route has no steep sections, but there is a very long and steady climb for the first half and the equivalent descent for the second half. The paths are almost all unmade and can get very muddy at times. Whilst most of the paths are well-walked, towards the end some of the paths are very narrow and are prone to becoming overgrown in late summer, so wear long trousers and carry a stick at this time of year. There are a couple of 200m stretches along the edges of roads so take care of traffic at these points. You will need to negotiate several gates, kissing gates, bridges and 8 stiles (6 of which have large gaps alongside, but 2 of which have only medium-size gaps so larger dogs may need a lift over). You will be sharing some of the fields with sheep and two fields may be holding cattle so take care with dogs. Allow 5 hours.
Map
Accessing the Trail
There are several ways to follow the Trail!
On paper
You can download and print the PDF leaflet for your walk at the top of this page. These include turn-by-turn directions, photos and a simplified map. For extra safety, we recommend that you carry an Ordnance Survey map of the area too.
On an app
The walks can be found on the free AllTrails App. They are already downloaded and the directions are in the section called Waypoints.
This version of AllTrails will work as long as there is an internet (3G/4G) signal.
Note: within the AllTrails App you have the option to pay a subscription to upgrade to AllTrails Pro. This gives you the ability to follow the guides without using any internet data in areas where there is no 3G/4G coverage.
On a GPS device
If you have a Garmin or another GPS-based App e.g. the Ordnance Survey App, you can download the GPX File for your chosen walk from our website to use on these devices. (Please note that the GPX Files are for personal use only and must not be published on any other platform)
