East Sussex has lots of accessible walking routes that take place in the South Downs, our stunning beaches and the beautiful countryside.
Walking is good for your physical and mental health and a wintry walk is a great way to dust off those cobwebs and enjoy a blast of fresh air after one too many episodes of your new Netflix obsession.
So wrap up warm, step outside and enjoy a few of our favourite wintry walks through the cold months.
Seven Sisters Country Park, East Sussex
The view of the Cuckmere Valley and the Seven Sisters is perhaps one of the most picturesque in the world.
The Easy Access Trail at Seven Sisters Country Park is suitable for people with impaired mobility, wheelchairs, mobility scooters and push chairs and it’s great for walking or cycling.
The trail follows the valley floor down to the shingle beach and the mouth of the River Cuckmere and is around 1.3 miles (2.6 miles return). It takes in spectacular views of the valley and Seaford Head.
Ditchling Beacon
This Miles Without Stiles circular route is set in a beautiful area of the South Downs National Park and suitable for off-road class 3 all-terrain mobility scooters.
Enjoy stunning 360-degree views from Ditchling Beacon, the highest point on the chalk in East Sussex, and visit the historic Jack and Jill windmills.
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is one of the largest and most important wildlife sites in England, set in an exceptional coastal and wetland landscape that is home to more than 4,355 species of plants and animals.
The Beach Reserve with its long tarmac road is particularly suitable for buggies and wheelchairs. Electric and some manual wheelchair users can get around the short circular route that takes in the Discovery Centre, River Mouth and the Gooders, Parkes and Denny Hides.
Access to the Discovery Centre is step-free and there are two accessible toilets in the building.
Hastings Country Park
Hastings Country Park is a scenic nature reserve with stunning coastal views found within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Beauty.
The nature reserve has 342 hectares of ancient gill woodland, heathland, grassland and farmland together with five kilometres of dramatic sandstone cliffs and coastline.
Two walks, the Fairlight Head walk and the Firehills walk, are on paths with a hard surface and are suitable for buggies and wheelchairs.
The Fairlight Head round trip is about half a mile and takes you to a stunning view over the English Channel. The Firehills walk is a little longer at about a mile in length and takes you towards Fairlight Cove with views over Rye Bay.
Miles without stiles – more accessible walks in East Sussex
123 Walks is a collection of one, two and three mile walks around local parks, woods, nature reserves and rural footpaths. The website includes details of accessible routes with surfaced paths suitable for wheelchairs and buggies.
Accessible Countryside for Everyone is an independent voluntary project that details walks and countryside places which are accessible for those with restricted mobility, or by those who use wheelchairs, pushchairs and mobility scooters.
Remember, route conditions and access can change so please do check locally before travelling.
Image credit – A brisk winter walk at Seven Sisters by Sam Moore
I am an experienced walker, covering about 1,000 miles a year, predominently in Hastings Country Park.
I believe it is important to maintain the existing infrastructure for which you are purely the cuurrent custodians.
The footpaths in Hastings Country Park have not been properly maintained over the past decade and are suffering. Once they are gone it will cost considerably more to replace them.
The steps on the west side of Warren Glen in the vicinity of bollard 18 atr collapsing. Those at the top have been replaced but further down they have crumbled. Even with high quality walking boots and a stick these cause problems.
Likewise the path down the west side of Warren Glen from bollard 18, this is treacherous, no maintenance for over a decade.
The path in Fairlight Glen beside the stream from the Dripping Well to the coastal path is subsiding. Primarily due to the drainage system left to us bu the Victorians has not been maintained and the resultant water coming from the hill is undermining the path. Yes, you have replaced the hand rail on one bridge recently, but the path needs attention.
One other path, not in the Country Park but in Alexandra Park has been closed by HBC as they consider it dangerous, yet no work appears to be planned. This is the streamside path in Coronation Woods at the top of Alexandra Park. I first walked that path over 50 years ago and to find my daughter cannot walk her dog along it due to lack of maintenance is shameful.
It is imperative that maintenance receives greater priority over new paths, otherwise we will be left with fewer and fewer paths available on which to walk.
Thank you for your comments. We are sorry that your perception is that there has been a deterioration in the condition of the paths within Hastings Country Park.
In respect to the public footpath and steps on the west side of Warren Glen, this section of path is now part of the King Charles III England Coast Path and will be subject to ongoing improvements as part of that National Trail. The steps you note which have been replaced at the top of the Glen are part of those ongoing improvements. You will probably also have noticed improvements to other sections of the Coast Path in the park over the past two years, in Warren, Ecclesbourne and Fairlight Glen.
Away from the coast, path improvements to the footpath in the County Park, such as the route to the Dripping Well, have to be considered against the priorities for path improvements across the County’s 2000-mile network. We assure you that any issues are not ignored. They are recorded and their priority is continuously assessed.
The footpath alongside the stream on Coronation Wood in Alexandra Park is not a public right of way. That has historically been provided and maintained by Hastings Borough Council as the landowner and we have passed your comments on to them.
Hastings Borough Council have advised that the Coronation Wood stream-side walk in Alexandra Park is consistently eroded by the stream and has been closed on the grounds of public safety. It is not possible to redirect the footpath due to the difficult terrain and the impact any works would have on the natural environment. The geology in this area is unstable and any work could further destabilise the ground, making remedial works short lived. The Borough Council are sorry it has been necessary to close the footpath, but the safety of residents and walkers is their priority.