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indicates every 2 milesGuildford to Brighton via Downs Link Cycle Route
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| This is basically an off road route, via the Downs Link, that initially follows waterways, then tracks and paths and finally ends on roads in Brighton. I wouldn't advise anything other than a good mountain bike. Also, a pretty fit person, if you want to do this at the speed we did. We didn't break any world records, but we managed it in 3hrs 41mins, and raised a fair bit for my charity. The start of the ride down the waterway is absolutely gorgeous, and it gets better!! The kind of ride that you could do over a couple of days camping or B&B'ing. We tried to blast it as best we could, but still managed to take in all of the amazing scenery, the heritage of the railway and it's many bridges. The ride starts off gently and the hills are minimal, until you get to about 11.5 mile in the woods. It's steep on the way up and very steep on the way down!! but a good blast! Most of the rest of the way is either flat, downhill or very slightly uphill, nothing major, but it does sap your energy. The only other hill was coming up to Bramley, but this isn't too bad. Stopped into a lovely pub in Partridge Green, called the Partidge, nice pub and beer. As I say, the rest of the ride is pretty easy, just very sapping. I will be doing it again, but next time I will make sure I take more food, energy drinks and hydration, as I suffered form terrible cramp over the last 12 miles or so. Enjoy!! :) |
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| Landmarks/Pubs for lunch/Sites to see? | |
| Lots and lots of pubs, and amazing silent scenery. The best!! |
| Your comments? | ||
| posted by:Amy | Rating :  | difficult :  |
| I have not done the cycle ride yet but plan to do it in May for a fundraising event but how do i get a bigger map so i can print it off and then follow it on my cycle ride? Would really appreciate it if someone could help me. Thanks Amy | ||
| posted by:iginger | Rating : | difficult : |
| Hi Amy, to be fair, you can follow the route very easily without a map, you can buy specific maps for this route but i found it easier to print off screen grabs from online maps. It is mainly the start and the finish where a map was handy, the rest is straight forward and well signposted. it's a lovely ride, i'm doing it again soon in training for a 150k ride from bristol to reading. Ian | ||
| posted by:brandon | Rating :  | difficult :  |
| My son aged 10 has just returned from doing this route with his scout group. He went from Guildford, down to Steyning and stayed at the youth hostel near Upper Beeding overnight and did the return journey the next day. He really enjoyed doing this and wants to do it again. | ||
| posted by:chris | Rating :  | difficult :  |
| Most boring ride we (husband, wife , daughters 11 & 7 )have ever done. Started at Christs Hospital to 2 miles outside Guildford and back. Have walked final stage from Shoreham. Detour on road and hill were main interesting features. Virtually no view most of time. Makes Crawley to Eridge route seem interesting. | ||
| posted by:kevgerb | Rating :  | difficult :  |
| It's brilliant to have a route like this on your doorstep. The scenery isn't the lake district but there plenty old railway nostalgia to enjoy especially at East Grinstead. More hills than I imagined there would be but none that difficult. We took 6 hours with 1 for lunch and 1 for punctures and pit-stops so 4 hours cycling to Brighton. I'll be doing this agin but probably start somewhere in London. | ||
| posted by:Noah | Rating : | difficult : |
| Hi, I did this ride and returned by the same route in a day last year, really great route! Am going to do it again in a week or so. Loved the steep climb/fast downhill bit in the woods. Really smooth and flat thanks to it being partly old railway, which allows you to cruise along. All parts near the canal system etc were lovely too. Worst bit was one you get into brighton how long the beach is to the pier! Great route, thanks for putting it up! | ||
| posted by:iginger | Rating : | difficult : |
| Hi kevgerb, i'm doing London to Brighton off-road on 14th July, you're more than welcome to join, just a few of us doing it, none of us a super fit, but we have good fun doing it. 75 miles approx. anyone else fancy it, feel free. see the link below and you can see the route. http://www.bikemap.net/route/1382916 | ||
| posted by:elderflower | Rating : | difficult :  |
| Lovely overwhelmingly flat ride. Definitely *don't* need a mountain bike. My 7 year old bog standard trek women's hybrid was fine. The downhill bit was a teeny bit scary. | ||
| posted by:type49 | Rating : | difficult : |
| Did this ride last year (2011) My first "long" ride & a great way to start. Easy going, being mostly flat. Would like to do it again as part of a fund run, if I can find any events featuring it.... | ||
| posted by:Clare | Rating : | difficult :  |
| We did some of this route yesterday, for Father's Day at my husband's request. We had our 2 boys, in a trailer, with our 4 yr old's bike attached to the back of it until we found suitable terrain for him. We started at the beginning at St Martha's Hill - big mistake! The route from here to Bramley uses none of the old railway routes, and is in fact a downhill off road route! With all the rain we've had recently, areas of it were very boggy, and channels had been created, making the terrain for pulling a trailer extremely difficult! I actually had to get off and help my husband by pushing from behind at various points. I'd say that this first section is more for the confident rider, and wouldn't really want to see kids doing it, and it certainly isn't recommended for anyone with a trailer/kids on board!It must have taken us 1-1.5hours to get to Bramley, and my husband had to leave us at Bramley on the way back to cycle the route back to the car at St Martha's and come pick us up. He loved it on his own incidentally. Start at Bramley if you're looking for a family friendly flat ride. | ||
| posted by:31907 | Rating : | difficult : |
| I have only done Christ''s Hospital to Brighton. Shoreham to Brighton should be rated separatley because it is quite a different route, on tarmac and next to the sea. I did this on a touring bike (granted it was a gentle falling gradient most of the way) and no map. I lost the path a couple of times but found it again easy enough.When I do it again it will be on a bike with at least front shocks. The views aren''t anything special until you get to the Downs, but watch out for wildlife by the river. | ||
| posted by:Alicja | Rating : | difficult :  |
| It was one of the worse cycling routes I have done. It started nice. The surface pretty rough most of the time and hardly any views from Guildford to Horsham. Just a green tunnel. From then on better views,more open landscape but still rough surface, lots if sharp stones. It took us 6 hours including nearly ome hour break for a puncture. | ||
| posted by:8211 | Rating : | difficult : |
| I''ve only gone as far as Horsham, starting in central Brighton. Ideally, I''m looking for a similar route that would be suitable for a road bike as I''ve done away with my hybrid. Anyone have any routes I could take from Brighton to Longcross? | ||
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