Page 96 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - Great Britain

94 BACK ROADS GREAT BRITAIN

WHERE TO STAY
6 Ditchling
DITCHLING East Sussex; BN6 8TB
The Bull moderate Before reaching this classic Downland
With four smart, themed rooms (with village, the road winds up Ditchling
en-suite walk-in showers), this cosy Beacon, at 270 m (886 ft) the highest
village pub makes a friendly place to point on the Downs with great views.
stay. It serves good local food, too.
2 High Street, BN6 8TA; 01273 843 147; The excellent Ditchling Museum of
www.thebullditchling.com Art & Craft (closed Mon except bank
hols; 01273 844 744; www.ditchling
AROUND DITCHLING museumartcraft.org.uk) features the
Blackberry Wood inexpensive work of local artists and craftspeople
An idyllic rural campsite with pitches in
woodland glades 5 km (3 miles) east of who lived in the village, including
Ditchling. As well as normal pitches, Eric Gill (1892–1940), sculptor and
you can rent a gypsy caravan, a tree designer of the Gill Sans typeface, Above View of the rolling green countryside of
house, a bus and a helicopter. and Edward Johnston (1872–1944), Sussex, from Ditchling Beacon
Streat Lane, BN6 8RS (take Lewes Road creator of the London Underground
from Ditchling through Westmeston
then fourth on the left); 01273 890 035; typeface. More art is on show at the largest in England, dating from c. 300
www.blackberrywood.com Turner Dumbrell Workshops, on BC, and Chanctonbury Ring, marked
the High Street, where work can be by a beech copse. A round route from
AMBERLEY bought directly from artists’ studios. Steyning will take about 4 hours,
Amberley Castle expensive Afterwards pop into the Bull pub for although Cissbury can be reached in
Spend a noble night in this fantastic a pint on the grassy terrace (see left). under an hour and Chanctonbury can
castle with walled gardens. Four posters,
of course, jacket-and-tie fine dining and ª Go west along West Street/B2116 to be more easily conquered up an easy
a portcullis that closes at midnight – so Hurstpierpoint, then south on the B2117, track, a short drive west, off the A283.
no returning late from the pub. over the A23 and right on the A281 into ª Continue west along the A283
BN18 9LT; 01798 831 992; a left-hand bend. At Henfield, turn left (passing Chanctonbury Lane on the
www.amberleycastle.co.uk
on the A2037 all the way to the A283 left). At the roundabout, just after
ARUNDEL (skirting Upper Beeding) and turn left Storrington, take the second exit onto
The Swan Hotel moderate to Steyning. Park on the street. the B2139 to Amberley. Park on street.
There are 14 en-suite rooms with a
smart, chic vibe at this 18th-century 7 Steyning 8 Amberley
inn. A great central location too, at the West Sussex; BN44 3YE West Sussex; BN18 9LT
bottom of the High Street.
27–29 High Street, BN18 9AG; 01903 882 Half-timbered and quaint, Steyning This small village of honey-coloured
314; www.swanarundel.co.uk is a typical Downs market town and cottages is one of the prettiest in
worth a stop for a stroll and some Sussex. Amberley Village Pottery
Below Pretty thatched cottage at Amberley, tea in the Steyning Tea Rooms in (closed Wed), in an old chapel in Church
West Sussex the High Street. Take a look in The Street, is where Caroline Seaton makes
Dollshouse Shop (closed Sun & Mon) pots in Amberley Blue, a deep-coloured
and don’t miss the handsome glaze which she developed in 1964.
Norman church. The town is a great Amberley Castle is actually a manor
base for walks to the Iron-Age hill house and has been turned into an
forts of Cissbury Ring, the second impressive hotel (see left). There is a
Below The Steyning Tea Rooms in the old market town of Steyning, West Sussex

Where to Stay: inexpensive, under £80; moderate, £80–£150; expensive, over £150

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