Firle

About trip

Location details
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills along the coast, from Winchester to Eastbourne. Forming the UK’s newest National Park, they provide a large area of countryside in which to escape the city crush. There’s a wide range of riding, with rolling chalk tracks along the top, shallow descents to the south and steeper ones in the north.

Start/finish
Firle village car park (grid ref TQ 469/075, postcode BN8 6NS).

Getting there
The ride starts in Firle, between Brighton and Eastbourne, just off the A27. The nearest railway stations are Seaford and Polegate.

Maps & books
Ordnance Survey Landranger 199: Eastbourne & Hastings.
Ordnance Survey Landranger 198: Brighton & Lewes.
Mountain Bike Rides in and Around North and South Downs by Max Darkins (Rough Ride Guide).

Accommodation/facilities
In Firle, there’s The Ram Inn (www.raminn.co.uk, 01273 858222) and Roundhill Glamping (www.roundhillglamping.co.uk, 07733 103309). You can rent sleeping pods at the South Downs YHA in Lewes (www.yha.org.uk, 0345 371 9574) and there’s camping in Alfriston (www.alfristoncamping.co.uk). Refreshments can be found at The Ram and the Saltmarsh cafe (www.saltmarshfarmhouse.co.uk, 01323 870218). There are various places in Alfriston, plus The Eight Bells pub in Jevington (www.theeightbellsjevington.co.uk, 01323 484442). Contact Eastbourne Tourist Information for more accommodation options (www.visiteastbourne.com, 01323 411400). Try Evolution Cycles in Eastbourne (www.evocycles.co.uk, 01323 737320) for spares/repairs.

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/icon/1v2.png Go left out of the car park and follow the tarmac to the right. After a farm, bear left. Follow this wide track parallel to the hill to Bo-Peep Farmhouse. Turn right on the road and climb to the Bo Peep car park, then go left on the South Downs Way (SDW).

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/icon/2v2.png After 1.7km go through a single gate to follow a fence. Turn left through the next gate and drop downhill on a bridleway to the left. After another gate, bear sharp right. Keep right on a faint track when the hill levels out, into and between the trees.

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/icon/3v2.png Turn right on the byway, then join the road to Alfriston. Go left, past the island, on a dead-end road. Take the SDW over a bridge, beside the road and uphill. Cross a road just after a car park. Go left halfway up the hill to traverse the hillside.

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/icon/4v2.png Pass the Long Man and follow the hill edge for 4km, until you descend to a grass triangle junction. Go right here. When you meet the SDW in the woods, bear left, down to Jevington. Turn right on the road, then right again, past a car park. Join a bridleway heading uphill.

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/icon/5v2.png Continue into the forest, by a bench. Cross a track. After 1km turn left where a forest track and bridleway cross. Look for a right turn onto the waymarked MTB trail (Purple/Jeremy Cole route).Follow this down to the Seven Sisters visitor centre.

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/icon/6v2.png Go right on the main road (A259). After the bridge, turn left, through a car park, and follow the new NCN.2 route between the fields. Turn right at a track by some houses (Chyngton Lane). Follow this over the A259, then keep straight ahead on a bridleway alongside the houses.

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/icon/7v2.png Cross a road and climb for 5.5km, to the top of the South Downs, emerging by the Bo Peep car park. Turn left and follow the SDW along the ridgetop for 1.5km. Shortly after passing through a gate, on a shallow grassy descent, bear right at the bridleway fingerpost.

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/icon/8v2.png Follow the steep, rough singletrack to a T-junction. Turn left, on the wide track along the field edge. Bear right, through the farm, and retrace your steps to the car park, past The Ram Inn.

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/storage/t_bd59b4030990cf60494a52c0d628f975.jpg

Follow Mountain Biking UK on BikeRadar, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Subscribe to our print edition
Subscribe to our Android edition on Google Play
Subscribe to our iPhone/iPad edition on Apple Newsstand

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/storage/t_96a814f52b37a0b023777325e5147548.jpeg
Routes produced in association with Rough Ride Guide

http://my.viewranger.com/uploads/storage/t_6430cd2b2dc1952d565f2ce7de7fc9f6.png
MBUK Big Ride images by Russell Burton