On The Trail of The Daddy Longlegs Railway, East Sussex

Public Transport:  Brighton and Hove buses 7,14b, 21, 21b, 23, 27, 27a, 47, 52 and 57 run to Brighton Marina.  Brighton and Hove buses 2, 2a, 12, 12a, 12b, 14, 14b, 14c, 27, 27a and 47 run to Rottingdean.  Buses also stop outside the Royal Sussex County Hospital.  Walk down Paston place towards the sea and there are step down to the start.  The Volks Electric railway runs along from near the pier to just before the marina.  There is wheel chair access at the top of Duke's Mound to the East of Paston Place.

Car parking:  There is parking along the marine drive to the east of Brighton pier. This is obviously more heavily used in summer bank holidays and weekends.  It may be a good idea to travel along the drive until you reach a parking place.  Cars park parallel to the road so trailer parking should be possible outside peak times. There is also a public multi-story car park in the marina.

There is a small car park near the ramble at Rottingdean but this is often full.  There is a larger car park just to the east of Rottingdean, but the surface of this is quite rough and there is a steep hill down into the village.  Car parking is possible in the streets around the seafront at Saltdean. The streets nearest the front have double yellow lines.

[1] The ramble starts from the Volks Electric Railway at Paston Place - the midpoint on the line.  It was at this point that passengers would disembark to join the daddy longlegs, which started from the groyne to your left.  Start off along this groyne.  Cross the railway and immediately turn left along a concrete path.

Follow this path alongside the railway (and past Britain’s first urban naturist beach.- The naturists are, however hidden behind a stone barrier). to reach Black Rock station.  After this, cross a car park, aim for Brighton Marina, passing under the road to the Marina and aiming  to keep as near to the cliff as possible.  Emerge on to a concrete walkway which goes to Rottingdean.

[2] Once on the undercliff walk it is impossible to get lost.  Keep going straight ahead with the cliffs above you and the sea on the right. (Sometimes the first stretch is closed because of rock falls. There is a step free route through the marina, running mainly along the north edge of the boating area. Ask for directions)

On the first part of the way, views are obscured by the marina development.  As far as Ovingdean there is a sea wall about a metre high to the right.This  obscures the view for smaller wheelchair users.  At low tide  the concrete blocks that mark the route of the daddy longlegs railway can be seen.The daddy longlegs ran on twin tracks,18ft apart.

[3] On reaching Rottingdean, go up one of the ramps if you wish to visit the village.  Avoid the first one on the left, it looks temptingly gentle, but only leads  to the next ramp, which is at an awkward angle.  The other ramps rise for about 10 metres at around 1 in 10.  These lead to the centre of Rottingdean.

You can end your walk at Rottingdean or return to Brighton by retracing the route out. Alternatively, continue along the undercliff to Saltdean, a further kilometre, The route to Saltdean has some fine views.  At  the end, there is a small ramp, through a tunnel and then turn right, travelling about 100 metres at around 1 in 20, or attempt about 100 metres at something like 1 in 7.  The first route brings comes out near Saltdean Lido (not accessible) near some reasonable car parking.  The second comes out on the south side of the road, going past a café. Return the way you came. The route back to Rottingdean along the top of the cliffs is not recommended. There are some steep hills and you must go along the side of the road.

It is possible to take a cliff top route from Rottingdean back to Brighton. It is hilly and there are a number of stretches of up to 100 metres with a gradient of up to about one in 10.  It has fine views, but you will be by the side of a main road.  Follow the footpath west past the pub and then across the pub car park.  From here you can pick up the paved footpath/cycle route, which is good tarmac or attempt the grass route by the edge of the (fenced) cliff, which is more scenic and a bit further from the road.  The grass track varies between wide stretches of fairly smooth grass and narrow stretches where the path may be muddy.  You may have to double back to the cycle route at some points.  Both routes are obvious. When you are above the marina the cycle route descends steeply.  You can follow this back to the marina and marine drive, but if you started from Paston Place you may prefer to remain at high level and go along Kings Cliff, which has a wide sea-side pavement.  This road gradually descends to the pier.  Cross Marine Drive to the Pier and then turn left to travel along the drive back to the start.

This ramble follows the course of the famous railway that ran from Brighton to Rottindean in the sea.  The daddy longlegs ran on twin tracks, 18ft apart. You can find more details at  http://www.whitstablepier.com/volks/dll.htm.  East of Brighton Marina at low tide it is still possible to see the concrete blocks which formed the sleepers.    At high tide in high winds this can be a dramatic and adventurous route, with waves crashing against the sea defences and flying high in the air. This is one of the few seaside accessible routes which has substantial stretches without buildings.

Accessible toilet: At Ovingdean, on the ramble, about half way along and at Rottingdean on the undercliff walk just immediately east of the ramp to Rottingdean, also slightly off route in Brighton Marina in the shopping Mall on the South side of the main road.

Refreshments:  Various pubs and café’s in Brighton Marina which, being of recent development, are likely to have wheelchair access, Various cafes and pubs in Rottingdean, also kiosks by the Volks station.

Photo - Remains of the Daddy Longlegs Electric Railway © (Simon Carey) / CC BY-SA 2.0