106km London to Brighton
Brighton Beach
Ride Overview
To the sea, the sea!
For over 200 years, Brighton has pulled Londoners to its shingle beaches and sea air. On any hot summer’s day, the trains are filled with pleasure seekers and the main arterial roads choked with traffic, which makes this very tranquil route all the more enticing. There are many published cycle routes to Brighton from London, but few if any, equal this; traffic-light lanes, views and stop points, both for food and visits. The route rides over the North and South Downs with their marvellous chalk land views, it crosses the Weald, once home to Britain’s pre-industrial iron industry and of course it finishes right beside the sea. Along the way are historic inns, popular farm shops selling cakes and things, as well as one of Southern Britain’s best gardens, and the ride ends in the old fishing quarter of Brighton, where a swim in the sea followed by oysters and smoked mackerel, await.
Ride Practicalities
START/FINISH: Hammersmith/Brighton DISTANCE: 106km. TOTAL ASCENT: 1008m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: The ride is exclusively on road other than a short section of shared gravel path north of Brighton. The route uses a mix of quiet country lanes and suburban roads, however, there are two short sections which are on main roads - the first, off the North Downs on Pebble Hill road, the second on the way up to Devil’s Dyke. Both are steep and can be busy. However neither last for long. FOOD AND DRINK: Betchworth; The Dolphin, Newdigate; Tanhouse Farm shop and village stores, Rusper; Community Village Shop, Brighton; The Old Smokehouse MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: Overground at Shepherd’s Bush, Hammersmith and City Line at Hammersmith and Brighton.
LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: Wandsworth to Richmond Epsom Gallop, NCN2, The South Coast Trail
Ride notes
Brighton is where London goes to meet the edge of England, on its steeply shelving, pebbled shore. The city has a mythical hold over many in the capital - for its sense of escape, its freedom and adventure. Whatever it is that you are searching for, Brighton will have it; the sea, piers, promenades, grand terraces, oyster restaurants, antique shops and seedy pubs to name but a few. But to get there, without the crush and jams of roads and trains, you’ll have to ride there.
Make your way to Hammersmith, west London, where the route begins. It’s accessible from other parts of the capital by tube and the nearby London overground. The first kilometre is beside the sacred Thames and thence it’s into the Royal Deer Park of Richmond, where the grasses wave in the breeze, deer graze and the great oaks stand as they have for centuries.
Richmond Park in mid-summer
From the Park to Epsom Downs, the riding is through the suburbs of South West London. It cannot claim to be picturesque, but it is quiet and easy cycling, well away from the frenetic main roads out of the city. Once up on the Epsom Downs, the journey really begins; there are views over distant London and there is the race course where horses have raced since the 1640s. At the Rubbing House pub, just past the grandstand, there is a choice of routes; either follow the well-signed bridleway to Langley on a very rideable surface (stopping for the horses at all times), or you can ride the steep and sometimes busy road down - and up- to Langley Vale.
12th century, Newdigate Church
The route continues to its highest point at Walton-on-the-Hill, before having to share the busy and steep Pebble Hill Road which takes you off the North Downs to Betchworth. Take every care on this road as there are tight bends, gravel lurks in the corners, the surface can be poor and the cars fast. Sadly it’s unavoidable but mercifully it is not long. Once over the roundabout, the real tranquility of the ride begins; quiet lanes, delightful villages full of the vernacular architecture the Weald - that of pan-tiled walls and triangular gables. Medieval churches, historic pubs and intimate grass fields grazed by horses offer further delight.
The pastures and woods of the Weald
The route continues in this vein; quiet and wooded lanes, green and pleasant pastures, horses grazing. There is a suggested stop at Tanhouse Farm shop, which is popular and busy on a Sunday with cyclists. As you ride through the Weald, the land between the chalk cliffs of the Downs, you’ll see many clues of the pre-industrial iron industry’s past; lakes of dammed rivers which provided power for the hammers, along with many references to ‘Hammer’ - ponds, cottages, houses and lanes. You ride past the boundary of St. Leonard’s Forest, where legend has it that a French hermit who once lived there, fought and killed a dragon. It is from his name, St. Leonard, that the forest takes its name.
St. Leonard’s Forest
The road undulates through the Weald, sometimes surprisingly steeply. Just off the route is the Bolney Wine Estate, one of the foremost vineyards in England (you need to book a tour and tasting), and Sussex Prairie Gardens, one of the most beautiful in the whole of the South of England.
South Downs National Park
Then, through the trees, you see the wall of the South Downs National Park. Make no mistake, it’s a tough climb - in fact two climbs. There’s a short section - less than a kilometre - on the unavoidable and busy A281 until the turn-off for Fulking, which is another pretty Sussex village complete with pub, The Shepherd and Dog. From the village, the climb up to Devil’s Dyke is steep and you’ll pass the dramatic dyke, where legend states, the devil was so furious at the conversion of the local people to Christianity that he dug a dyke through the chalk hills, so the sea could flow in and drown their villages. Perhaps climate change and the rising oceans will do the devil’s job in the future, but that’s not today’s concern - reaching the summit is.
The Devil’s Dyke
The route returns briefly to the A281 before turning onto Saddlescombe road which can be busy, especially on a summer’s day. At the top of the climb, there’s a decision to be made - either to continue straight into Brighton on Devil’s Dyke road, (there’s an intermittent line on the road masquerading as a cycle lane) or turn off, as marked on the map, onto the more tranquil cycle route 82, which will take you into Brighton on a shared path.
After some happy downhill kilometres, the glistening sea beckons and you ride along the promenade, three miles of peerless seafront, with imposing Regency terraces. It was - and still is - a place to socialise, parade, to sit and gaze at the sea.
The Old Smokehouse, Brighton Seafront
Opposite the Old Ship Hotel, take the ramp down to the Old Brighton Fishing Quarter on the beach. The ride ends at the Smokehouse, a traditional fish shop selling huge rolls filled with the local catch, smoked or unsmoked. Beer and ice-creams are nearby.
The old Smokehouse, Brighton Seafront
Every route on this website has been carefully researched as well as ridden. However situations on the ground can change quickly. If you know of changes to this route, or cafes, pubs and the like which you think other cyclists need to know about, feel free to share your thoughts below.
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