Market towns continue to draw Londoners away from the convenience of city life and into a seductive web of homes in pretty cobbled high streets with nearby wide-open countryside and wild coastal landscapes. The Martello tower built as a defence is in fine nick and holds an informative museum about this period. This town is an altogether grander and more genteel place, with regal boulevards and streets of stuccoed and whitewashed four-storey regency townhouses. If you long for peace and quiet, head west to Holywell, where you’ll be greeted by well-manicured gardens, colourful beach huts, and a wonderful natural lagoon created when the tide goes out, or go East by the pier and get your fingers greasy with fish and chips before maybe having a candy floss for dessert. These hills give it all of its allure, however, and you will find a range of interesting sites and things to look at. Stop by Ditchling Beacon, the third-highest point on the South Downs, which offers 360-degree vistas where you can take in the sights, sounds, and sea air that blows in from the Channel. Detailing 6 of the best towns to visit in East Sussex. Every few miles in any direction there will be a thatched village with a bed & breakfast and pub, and if you’re up for an adventure the South Downs Way is a 100-mile footpath from Hampshire to East Sussex. Butterflies, wildflowers, and various birdlife are easy to spot and there is a visitor centre to give you a little bit of education before or after your visit. These bluffs were handy for smugglers, who were able to dig networks of tunnels for storing contraband and evading the authorities. So the cliffs that rise menacingly behind the town have a reddish brown colour. Visit Brighton for culture, shopping and nightlife. Beachy Head also has a small museum dedicated to the local area. Instead the foreshore is fringed by imposing regency townhouses and hotels, and there are classy amenities like the bandstand and three sumptuous old theatres. This town has a distinct look for East Sussex, because it’s right where the sandstone Weald enters the English Channel. With over 250 square miles of countryside to explore you will be spoiled for choice. There’s a beach, three-tiered promenade and elegant Victorian pier, but few of the amusements that are a fixture of many English seaside towns. Sand castles might not be possible, but what you will get is striking views of chalk cliffs, waves that look like white horses galloping to the shore, dilapidated wooden groynes and a view to die for. The commute: Berwick station is two-and-a-half miles away. Ranking based on data from the U.S. Census, FBI, BLS, CDC, and other sources. Stare through arrow slots, stride across medieval courtyards, and walk across the bridge spanning the large moat. Kevin Gordon / Footpath north of Lullington Heath, towards Jevington, East Sussex. Most people’s experience of Newhaven will be departing for, or arriving from, the French port of Dieppe. Today it’s marked by a compact market and popular tourist town nestled in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, that grew up alongside the famous historic battleground. This historic village has an interesting story to tell: Up to 1287 it was a large harbour, importing wine from Gascony and home to possibly thousands of people until it was destroyed all at once by a flood. As Rye is filled with winding streets, slanty uneven pavements, and buildings that jut precariously above the street below you won’t be able to appreciate all the medieval charm this attractive little town has to offer if you are too busy trying to keep your balance on the cobbles! It’s also regarded as being one of the best places for beachcombing in the UK. Located at the foot of the South Downs, the Birling Gap offers a cracking view, a nice cuppa, and the ability to explore amongst the rocks down by the sea. This is a Palmerston Fort, constructed when France was deemed a real threat once more during Napoleon III’s rule in the mid-1800s. Click into each city, town and village to see map, location, postal code … From meeting Father Christmas in his magical grotto to shopping for artisan goods and unique gifts at enchanting Christmas markets, Sussex has a little bit of everything. Amid all this history is Brighton, England’s most progressive city, and a sort of miniature London on the south coast. Just north of Worthing is Cissbury Ring, where Neolithic cultures mined for flint. It has actually won the best-kept village award so many times it once had to be withdrawn to give other competitors a chance. ), and various museums and gardens. 7 of the best villages near Rye, East Sussex Posted 1 March 2016 by Helen Christie Rye is a historic town in East Sussex, located 11 miles east of Hastings, and WhatHouse? Rolling meadows, timber-framed cottages with whisps of chimney smoke seeping upwards, and the occasional wooded area make a visit something to remember. You have to go in for a tour, and with the help of an audio-guide you’ll get insights about the opulent lifestyle of the Prince Regent. It was sold to the National Trust in 1896 and became their first ever property. Enjoy the very best festive events, activities and days out when you spend Christmas in Sussex. Scramble up to Lewes Castle, constructed right after the conquest and with a great museum, and see the home that Anne of Cleves was given in her divorce from Henry VIII. In medieval times Seaford had one of the south’s most active ports, but the town went into decline when the harbour silted up. They don’t just give out awards for areas of outstanding natural beauty you know? Whilst not quite as iconic as Beachy Head it also promises great views of the surrounding countryside and is in fact the best place to get the best view (and maybe a quick snap) of the Seven Sisters. It is a rare example of chalk heathland and provides a home to several species only found in this area. ... 20 best coastal towns … Set in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Burwash is a small but lively village in enchanting countryside. There are numerous walks and rambles to partake in amongst this 500 square mile area of gorgeousness. You see, Paul (said husband) was born and raised in Brighton and so is a fountain of knowledge on the best towns to visit in East Sussex. A gorgeous corner of South East England this East Sussex gem is as postcard-perfect as pretty villages come. If you paid attention in your history lessons you’ll know that this gorgeous place in East Sussex is home to a very important historical event. If you go West from the Seven Sisters you’ll find yourself at Seaford Head and their gorgeous long wide beach. Beachy Head is one of Britain’s most iconic landmarks and one of the most famous places to visit in East Sussex. It was inspired by Indian and Islamic styles, fashionable during the days of the empire. This village in the lush Cuckmere Valley is as twee as it gets, and has lots of fun surprises. Beachy head forms the start of the south downs and to the North West, the beauty continues. There are several aspects to the resort’s allure, whether it’s the medieval old town of weatherboard and flint houses, or the Victorian resort, developed in the blink of an eye in the 1890s as a chic getaway for high society. There are old fortifications up here from when Rye was one of the Cinque Ports. Lewes has plenty of accommodation on offer, perfect for striking out into the East Sussex countryside. However, take your camera at sunset and you’ll be able to get atmospheric and indeed quite beautiful images. “Ah but what about East and West?” Well, turn East and you’ll be looking along the length of Beachy head (more about that in a bit) and turn West and you’ll be able to see the iconic Seven Sisters, a series of rocky chalk outcrops that are both beautiful and ever so slightly menacing. There are seafront shops so you can stop for refreshments but its charm lies in the fact that there isn’t too much around. The pebble beach is traced by the promenade that will lead you all the way to Brighton, and there’s a small amusement park for kids and the Hove Museum and Art Gallery recalls life in 19th-century Hove. Move inland and you get to the old part of Pevensey, a town of pubs with names like “Smugglers Inn” and cute weatherboard houses. The extent of the underground tunnels as part of the caponier is incredible. Wonderful villages include: Alciston, Alfriston, Buxted, Barcombe, Beckley, Blackboys, Bodiam, Brightling, Burwash, Ditchling, Ewhurst Green, Fairlight, Forest Row, Frant, Hartfield, Hurst Green, Lower and Upper Dicker, Mayfield, Newick, Plumpton, Robertsbridge, Ticehurst, Wadhurst, Winchelsea and the towns of Battle, Rye, Lewes and their surrounding areas. And then on the seafront be dazzled by the gargantuan Marine Court, an art deco apartment block from 1937 designed to resemble an ocean liner. Alfriston, East Sussex Alfriston is a real walkers’ delight, set as it is in the beautiful Cuckmere River valley and with the South Downs Way going through it. It was founded in the Saxon period and became a market town in the Middle Ages. Also must-dos are the cliff railways, two of the steepest funiculars in the country. There’s a joke in East Sussex that to live in Lewes, you need to have one leg longer than the other, due to the fact it is built on two sides of a steep-sided valley. In the early-1800s England made plans to cope with what seemed like an inevitable land invasion by Napoleon. Pevensey Castle is from the earliest days of the Norman Invasion, but even  more interesting is that they simply occupied and enhanced the ruins of the 3rd-century Roman fort, Anderitum. There is a structured path if you want to stay firmly on the beaten track, with 100 miles of things to see and do along the way. 2020 Best Places to Live in Sussex County About this List Explore the best places to live in the U.S. based on crime, public schools, cost of living, job opportunities, and local amenities. Also throw in jewellery stores, antique stories, traditional pubs, and upscale restaurants and you’ve got yourself a pretty fabulous place to visit indeed! Eastbourne is the best town to live in Sussex Though not as upmarket as Brighton and Hove, Eastbourne is considerably more affordable. The village is steeped in history, and if you're looking to move to the village, you can expect delightful period properties, attractive woodland views and short walks to two friendly pubs - The Running Horses and The King William IV, where you can enjoy rustic British meals and local ales. Exploring the beautiful Finnish wilderness, 20 of the most beautiful places to visit in Bulgaria, 15 of the most beautiful islands in Thailand. Vast sea panoramas and a bit of a walk, great! There are 22 towns & villages near Amberley a city just 69 km from East Sussex and 57 towns & villages near Lambeth which is 88 km distant. Whilst sad, the remains of the pavilion now stand staunchly out to sea, a haunting skeleton that speaks of better times long since passed. Brighton’s West Pier was the pier to copy at one point in its history, it was an example of what the British seaside was all about, but over the years it fell into disrepair before being irreparably damaged by a fire in 2003. One of the prettiest villages in East Sussex, Alfriston is small, cosy and utterly charming. I’m struggling a bit with West Sussex. Map of places in East Sussex compiled from this list See the list of places in England for places in other counties. Unlike Brighton, Bexhill has been left well alone when it comes to tourism. The divisive i360 may have tarnished the coastal skyline for some but the city still retains its traditional charm with the … It’s a hard place to chose but here are the best and most beautiful places to visit in East Sussex, UK…. This landmark has been the subject of sea shanties since at least the 17th century. Crail, pictured, is a historic fishing village located in the East Neuk of Fife and is best known for its picturesque harbour. When facing to the south, a super rocky beach (reached by steep steps, so mind yours) gives a windswept panorama of the English Channel, turn Northwards and you will see rolling meadows and quintessentially English country charm. Whitehawk & Moulsecoomb, Brighton, are third world areas of Sussex; The sleepy retirement village of Little Common (Bexhill on Sea) Brighton - Blackpool of the South; Bexhill-On-Sea aka God's Waiting Room; Battle nr Hastings: Gods Waiting room; 5 towns in the South East that are worse than Hastings The area is already a magnet for pensioners, with almost a quarter (23%) of the 843,000 people living in West Sussex are aged 65 and over. The marquee attraction is Newhaven Fort, the largest defensive structure ever built in Sussex. 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