Newhaven has taken a beating from the powers that be in recent years, but it still has a lot to offer the visiting walker. This walk shows you some of the highlights.
[1] Leave the station by exits to the platform and walk north a few metres to the main road. Turn left here. For the next kilometre or so you will be following national cycle route 2. Keep on the south side of the road, walking along the pavement and cross the swing bridge. Turn left at the end of the bridge and follow the river Ouse. (If you wish to visit Newhaven town (A) cross the main road and walk up the street opposite). After a few metres on your left follow the cycleway alongside the river, passing the Ark pub on your right.
On your left you can usually see fishing boats. This is still a working port. To your right you will see various attractive sculptures and landscaped areas. Usually you only get this sort of thing when the industry is dead and gone, but here an attempt has been made to integrate work and leisure. On your right you will see new residential developments, including some very tall flats. These have had a chequered history, with developers and others involved going bust, and at one time were hard to sell, but most of them seem to be occupied now. To your left you may be able to see the cross channel ferry on the other side of the river. This was once the fastest way from London to Paris and boat trains came direct from London to the Maritime station across the river. But now there are only two boats to Dieppe a day. Lets hope they survive.
Continue on past the fish market and the RNLI station. At the end of the block of flats the cycle lane turn right. Follow it round. Where the cycle lane ends, keep straight ahead on the dock road. Pass an Italian restaurant and continue on to meet Ford Road.
[2] Cross the main road and then turn left. Pass the park, toilets (signposted "Last toilets before France") and the outdoor Gym (free to use should you feel energetic. After the park take the pedestrian route to the Newhaven fort (Fort Rise) which is a metalled road slightly to the right of straight ahead. Walk up to the entrance of Newhaven Fort.
(B) Newhaven Fort (http://www.newhavenfort.org.uk/) defended England for hundreds of years. Now it is a museum which tells the history of that defence, with a particular emphasis on the second world war. A visit is recommended. On the walk you will pass various relics of the defences.
To continue the walk turn right at the entrance. Pass through sculptures depicting soldiers on the move and walk along the left-hand side of the car park. At the end of the car park continue on a path. This meets a track at a point where there are some old concrete defences. Turn left on the track and walk up Castle Hill for about 100 metres. Look out for a clear path going off to the left.
[3] Walk up this path when you find it. At first the path goes through the undergrowth, but then it soon opens out.
Here there are spectacular sea views and views of Seaford Head to the East. If the tide is out you can also see Newhaven's sandy beach, inside the harbour. For years this has been a playground for local people, but now the company that owns the port have closed it off. Locals are still battling to regain access to this lovely amenity. Naturalist Dave Bangs is passionate about this area where he has found Vicia sativa, Vicia tetrasperma , Vicia hersuta. teazel, fleabane, knapweed an Carline Thistle He has also seen giant hawk moths and perigrine falcons. At TQ431001 there are the remains of a bronze age barrow.
Follow the path round to the right and head for the Coast Watch station. Pass in front of this and follow a path which twists and turns but is always obvious. Keep straight ahead. This path is not far from the cliff edge and care should be taken. Pass above a mobile home development on your right and continue on this path until it climbs and you see a small electricity sub-station surrounded by high railings on your right.
This stretch of the walk highlights why the Ramblers is campaigning for a coastal path for the whole of England. The legislation allowing this was passed in the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, but the government is delaying implementing it. Although there is also a further right of way inland of the path you are walking on, much of the original right of way has fallen over a cliff. So you are only able to walk here because the landowner has allowed it. You can see around you how development is creeping into the area. It would be very easy for a developer to buy the land and close it to walkers. The legislation for a coastal path allows for a right of way that moves back if there is further erosion, so that there is always a right of way.
Dave has found scarce bloody-nosed beetles here and other rare species. In any sensible world the area the area you have been walking in would be part of the south downs national park. But since it's near Newhaven the park planners turned their noses up at it and the park boundary stops at the main coast road.
[4] Head for the large white mobile home on your right and meet a car track which curves away to your right. Follow this, passing the mobile home on your left. You walk up this track past the caravan site. The track ends at a T junction with another track, where there is a grand display of the native rose Rosa Rugosa. Turn right and then take the first left, and follow the track as it leads to the main coast road.
[5] If you want to end your walk here you could take the bus back into Newhaven. The bus stop is on the opposite side of the road just to your right.
Otherwise cross the road (very carefully) and then head straight ahead, down Links Avenue, which is really a track. This ends at a gate and here an interesting piece of navigation begins.
You are entering Hoathdown, a piece of downland that was derelict for many years. Dave Bangs says that there are huge numbers of different species of plants and insects here, although owners Lewes District Council have let the gorse run wild. Even to my untrained eye there are large numbers of wildflowers.
The path does not follow the main right of way here. At the gate you will see it heading away just to the right and heading north At first it passes by a horse field. but then it heads slightly left. Initially the way is quite clear. Keep following the main path. But then you find yourself at something of a clearing. A path appears to come in from the right behind you and a further junction follows almost immediately. the main path appears to go left, but you need to bear right, slightly uphill.
After this the route becomes fairly clear again until the path turns right down some steps into a deep, damp, lovely and mystical woodland. This must be amazing in mist. There are quite a lot of paths, but thankfully there are waymarks at every junction. Emerge from the wood at a stile, where there are fine downland vistas.
Turn right after climbing the stile, along the side of the wood. Walk for about 50 metres to where the boundary of the wood turns right (there is no fingerpost at this point) keep straight ahead, across a pathless field, aiming for the highest point ahead of you.
[6] Once you get to the high point you will see a stile straight ahead of you. Climb this and keep straight ahead. Aim for the spire of Piddinghoe church, which you can see in front of you.
Turn to your right and you will see the giant cockroach of the Newhaven incinerator squatting in the Ouse valley below you. Its silver shell is visible from most of the downs round here. It was strongly opposed by many Newhaven people. Most of what it burns comes from large conurbations like Brighton. They obviously thought Newhaven was a good place to dump their rubbish. Although it is next to the railway line all the material comes in on lorries.
Pass a wood on your left and continue downhill with a fence on your left. You will walk through a gate to the left of the farm buildings in front of you. Once through the gate walk along a track straight ahead, which curves right and meets the road up the valley. Cross this road (with care) and take the path ahead of you, which goes through what looks like a garden gate to emerge in the main street of Piddinghoe.
(C) The attractive village of Piddinghoe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piddinghoe) is well worth a wander round. Most of the village is to your right.
[7] If you wish to wend the walk here, there are buses to Newhaven and Lewes from the bus stop straight ahead where the street through the village meets the valley road.
To continue the walk turn left, then the next right, signposted for Newhaven. You are now on the Ouse Valley way (http://www.per-rambulations.co.uk/sussexouse.htm). The path runs down to the river Ouse and then follows it for about 1.5 kilometres to Newhaven. It passes Piddinghoe pond, which is much used for dinghy sailing and also passes the incinerator.
[8] As you approach Newhaven the path follows an inlet to the right of the main channel and then approaches a boatyard. Don't go through the boatyard, but find a place to come off the bank and follow a drainage channel towards a children's playground.
The flat land to the right of the playground is, or was, a flat recreational area where kids kicked around balls, played games and people did all the things that you do in recreation grounds. It is or was pretty much the only area in north Newhaven to do this sort of thing. In 2012 Lewes district council sold it to someone to build a hotel on.
Reach a road and turn left along it. Walk to the end, where you can see the Lewes council depot ahead. Just before the depot turn right up a small alley, right by the gate. Then turn left to emerge on the pavement next to the main road that runs round the town centre. Turn left again, pass a subway on your right and then cross the road which goes to Denton Island on your left. Keep straight ahead to the bridge across the Ouse. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing. You are now back on your original route. Turn left for the station and right for the town amenities.