Since our ride down to Brighton a couple of weekends ago, my friend and I had been planning our next excursion. The weather forecast for Sunday was looking good, so once again, we were off on our adventures.
We considered attempting the ride all the way from Warlingham, but instead opted for the option of taking the bikes on the back of the van as far as Crawley and picking up the route from there. We'd already done the section from Warlingham to Crawley a couple of weeks ago and by skipping it, we could shorten the ride from 75 miles (8 hours) down to 51 miles (6 hours). A couple of hours less in the saddle was particularly appealing as I was about to try my new Rido R2 saddle (birthday present) for the very first time. My wife was kind enough to drop us a stones throw from Three Bridges station in the carpark of Tescos. We stocked up on energy drinks, stared at our satnavs, mounted our trusty steeds and were on our way. {Hmm... this new saddle is a lot harder than I was expecting... not sure this was such a good idea}
We found the first route 21 sign at Three Bridges station and started on our way. A mile or so later we were staring at our satnavs once again. Somehow we'd lost the route already, but we worked it out quickly and got back on the right track with a couple of turns taking us into Worth and the start of The Worth Way - a seven mile stretch of fine-gritted shared-use bridleway running all the way to East Grinstead along the bed of an old single-line railway track. The sun was baking down, but as we started along the Worth Way, were shaded by trees which had grown along the embankments on either side. We were not the only ones tempted out by the fantastic weather - scores of other cyclists and walkers were enjoying it too. It was nice to see so many cycling families out with their little ones as I got to have a good look at a variety of tag-a-longs and trailers, but with so many other people on the route, it was slow going at times. The path crosses the railway line at East Grinstead and deposits you in a corner of the train station car park at the back of Sainsburys. We took the opportunity to buy a couple of sandwiches and munched our way through them. {1 hour in... Saddle not as hard as I first thought.. seems hard when you sit on it, but soft when you go over bumps - bum holding up OK}
The route heads through East Grinstead town centre along the high street, which turned out to be far nicer than we'd imagined, and then cuts through a couple of residential roads and onto another converted railway line - The Forest Way. This is a 10 mile strecth of fine-gritted shared-use bridleway running through Forest Row, Hartfield and Withyham and ending up in Groombridge. Once again, high embankments on either side and trees overhead keep you out of the sun, but after a few miles, we started to get a bit bored. I'm usually a great fan of non-road routes, but with the high embankments on either side, most of the views of the surrounding countryside are obscured. We should probably have stopped off at one of the little towns along the way to break up the route a bit, but as we'd already had our refreshments in the station car park, we didn't feel the need. The views improved a bit as we got closer to Groombridge. A mile downhill on the road takes you from Groombridge to Eridge where we passed a nice looking pub. We followed the route up a steep muddy path and suddenly found ourselves next to a dual carriageway, so we turned right, passed the same nice looking pub again and decided it was probably time for refreshments. {2.5 hours in... saddle still OK... bum feeling a bit numb, but gentlemans vegetables not}
Here's a photo taken towards the end of the Forest Way after the embankments disappeared.
Feeling refreshed, this time we managed to get the route right, going past the 'Private - No Entry' sign, through the subway under the dual carriageway, and up a wooded path along the south side. At the end of the path, a right turn onto the roads finishes the Eastward part of our journey and starts us heading South for the coast. The roads are fantastic. Not a car in sight. A mile long downhill stretch from Eridge Green, a long smooth climb up past a couple of farms and then a downhill stretch that lasts for miles (apparently I reached 39.5mph down there). There's a price to pay for that downhill stretch though, and this time it's a long long long climb 241ft uphill which makes you glad you bought an e-bike and takes you into Rotherfield.
Near the highest point, just outside Rotherfield... we stopped to gaze at the view for a while and drink some more pop.
From Rotherfield, it's miles and miles of downhill all the way to Mayfield, and then another long long glad-its-electric climb up to Heathfield where once again, we went round in circles for a while trying to find pictures of bicycles to guide us. After a couple of runs up and down the high street, we spotted a sign for The Cuckoo Trail (no bike picture though) and followed it. Helpfully someone had scrawled 21 on a lamp post with permanent marker, so we knew we were still on route. I generally far prefer non-road to road based routes, but the last 40 miles of riding turned it on it's head. The bridleway sections felt like I was on a motorway with high embankments on either side and heavy cycle/pedestrian traffic but road sections had beautiful views across the countryside, smooth surfaces, high speeds and not a car in sight. I soon discovered though, they saved the best bit for last. The Cuckoo Trial is another converted single-track railway line running 11 miles from Heathfield to Polegate with an extension running all the way to Hampden Park in Eastbourne. Unlike The Worth Way and The Forest Way this one does not have high embankments on the side. It's a wide tarmac path with even wider hard-dirt sections at the side which are handy when there are others on the path. It's littered with trees at the sides, but with plenty of views, and it's downhill all the way to the coast. The trail works it's way through Horam, Hellingly and Halisham passing the old station buildings. There are plenty of information boards along the way giving details of the route's history, and even a pub with a beer garden backing on. There was very little traffic when we were on it, and as we still had plenty of battery life left we cruised along at 12-15mph almost all of the way to Hampden Park. {sit bones feeling decidedly pummeled by the new Rido R2 saddle at this point, but overall, I think it was more comfortable than the original Belle Virtual one that came on the Agattu. Feel fine everywhere except the sit bones rather than numb in the general area}
From Hampden Park, shared-use cyclepaths at the side of the roads wind their way through an industrial estate, and then down over four roundabouts (with toucan crossings) to the sea front - Hurray - we've arrived. 53 miles. We snapped a couple of photos by the sea side and then hopped back on the bikes to head along the sea front, past the pier, into town, and to the train station for the hour long journey back to East Croydon. We made it back from East Croydon to my local pub at quarter to ten.
The sea side..
As before, I exported the GPS trace from SportsTracker pulled it into Google Earth, so here's how the ride looks on a map.
I will most definitely be doing the 11 miles of Cuckoo Trail again and again now that I've found it. I think it probably rates as the best cycle route I've ridden so far. There's a long-term car park at the start of the trail in Heathfield so it seems like a great way to use the bikes take the kids to the sea side.
Total distance: 61 miles (accroding to speedo), 63 miles (according to GPS)
Total time with wheels turning: 6h 24m
Max Speed: 39.5mph
Starting Point (Three Bridges): 358ft above Sea Level
Highest Point: 687ft above Sea Level
Lowest Point: Sea Level
Battery power used:
Me: 370Wh
My Mate: 200Wh
We considered attempting the ride all the way from Warlingham, but instead opted for the option of taking the bikes on the back of the van as far as Crawley and picking up the route from there. We'd already done the section from Warlingham to Crawley a couple of weeks ago and by skipping it, we could shorten the ride from 75 miles (8 hours) down to 51 miles (6 hours). A couple of hours less in the saddle was particularly appealing as I was about to try my new Rido R2 saddle (birthday present) for the very first time. My wife was kind enough to drop us a stones throw from Three Bridges station in the carpark of Tescos. We stocked up on energy drinks, stared at our satnavs, mounted our trusty steeds and were on our way. {Hmm... this new saddle is a lot harder than I was expecting... not sure this was such a good idea}
We found the first route 21 sign at Three Bridges station and started on our way. A mile or so later we were staring at our satnavs once again. Somehow we'd lost the route already, but we worked it out quickly and got back on the right track with a couple of turns taking us into Worth and the start of The Worth Way - a seven mile stretch of fine-gritted shared-use bridleway running all the way to East Grinstead along the bed of an old single-line railway track. The sun was baking down, but as we started along the Worth Way, were shaded by trees which had grown along the embankments on either side. We were not the only ones tempted out by the fantastic weather - scores of other cyclists and walkers were enjoying it too. It was nice to see so many cycling families out with their little ones as I got to have a good look at a variety of tag-a-longs and trailers, but with so many other people on the route, it was slow going at times. The path crosses the railway line at East Grinstead and deposits you in a corner of the train station car park at the back of Sainsburys. We took the opportunity to buy a couple of sandwiches and munched our way through them. {1 hour in... Saddle not as hard as I first thought.. seems hard when you sit on it, but soft when you go over bumps - bum holding up OK}
The route heads through East Grinstead town centre along the high street, which turned out to be far nicer than we'd imagined, and then cuts through a couple of residential roads and onto another converted railway line - The Forest Way. This is a 10 mile strecth of fine-gritted shared-use bridleway running through Forest Row, Hartfield and Withyham and ending up in Groombridge. Once again, high embankments on either side and trees overhead keep you out of the sun, but after a few miles, we started to get a bit bored. I'm usually a great fan of non-road routes, but with the high embankments on either side, most of the views of the surrounding countryside are obscured. We should probably have stopped off at one of the little towns along the way to break up the route a bit, but as we'd already had our refreshments in the station car park, we didn't feel the need. The views improved a bit as we got closer to Groombridge. A mile downhill on the road takes you from Groombridge to Eridge where we passed a nice looking pub. We followed the route up a steep muddy path and suddenly found ourselves next to a dual carriageway, so we turned right, passed the same nice looking pub again and decided it was probably time for refreshments. {2.5 hours in... saddle still OK... bum feeling a bit numb, but gentlemans vegetables not}
Here's a photo taken towards the end of the Forest Way after the embankments disappeared.
Feeling refreshed, this time we managed to get the route right, going past the 'Private - No Entry' sign, through the subway under the dual carriageway, and up a wooded path along the south side. At the end of the path, a right turn onto the roads finishes the Eastward part of our journey and starts us heading South for the coast. The roads are fantastic. Not a car in sight. A mile long downhill stretch from Eridge Green, a long smooth climb up past a couple of farms and then a downhill stretch that lasts for miles (apparently I reached 39.5mph down there). There's a price to pay for that downhill stretch though, and this time it's a long long long climb 241ft uphill which makes you glad you bought an e-bike and takes you into Rotherfield.
Near the highest point, just outside Rotherfield... we stopped to gaze at the view for a while and drink some more pop.
From Rotherfield, it's miles and miles of downhill all the way to Mayfield, and then another long long glad-its-electric climb up to Heathfield where once again, we went round in circles for a while trying to find pictures of bicycles to guide us. After a couple of runs up and down the high street, we spotted a sign for The Cuckoo Trail (no bike picture though) and followed it. Helpfully someone had scrawled 21 on a lamp post with permanent marker, so we knew we were still on route. I generally far prefer non-road to road based routes, but the last 40 miles of riding turned it on it's head. The bridleway sections felt like I was on a motorway with high embankments on either side and heavy cycle/pedestrian traffic but road sections had beautiful views across the countryside, smooth surfaces, high speeds and not a car in sight. I soon discovered though, they saved the best bit for last. The Cuckoo Trial is another converted single-track railway line running 11 miles from Heathfield to Polegate with an extension running all the way to Hampden Park in Eastbourne. Unlike The Worth Way and The Forest Way this one does not have high embankments on the side. It's a wide tarmac path with even wider hard-dirt sections at the side which are handy when there are others on the path. It's littered with trees at the sides, but with plenty of views, and it's downhill all the way to the coast. The trail works it's way through Horam, Hellingly and Halisham passing the old station buildings. There are plenty of information boards along the way giving details of the route's history, and even a pub with a beer garden backing on. There was very little traffic when we were on it, and as we still had plenty of battery life left we cruised along at 12-15mph almost all of the way to Hampden Park. {sit bones feeling decidedly pummeled by the new Rido R2 saddle at this point, but overall, I think it was more comfortable than the original Belle Virtual one that came on the Agattu. Feel fine everywhere except the sit bones rather than numb in the general area}
From Hampden Park, shared-use cyclepaths at the side of the roads wind their way through an industrial estate, and then down over four roundabouts (with toucan crossings) to the sea front - Hurray - we've arrived. 53 miles. We snapped a couple of photos by the sea side and then hopped back on the bikes to head along the sea front, past the pier, into town, and to the train station for the hour long journey back to East Croydon. We made it back from East Croydon to my local pub at quarter to ten.
The sea side..
As before, I exported the GPS trace from SportsTracker pulled it into Google Earth, so here's how the ride looks on a map.
I will most definitely be doing the 11 miles of Cuckoo Trail again and again now that I've found it. I think it probably rates as the best cycle route I've ridden so far. There's a long-term car park at the start of the trail in Heathfield so it seems like a great way to use the bikes take the kids to the sea side.
Total distance: 61 miles (accroding to speedo), 63 miles (according to GPS)
Total time with wheels turning: 6h 24m
Max Speed: 39.5mph
Starting Point (Three Bridges): 358ft above Sea Level
Highest Point: 687ft above Sea Level
Lowest Point: Sea Level
Battery power used:
Me: 370Wh
My Mate: 200Wh
Last edited:
