The South Downs Way
Climbing Beeding Hill
On your right and left you are flanked by open fields, albeit with a sturdy barbed wire fence on your right shoulder. It's worth turning round every now and then along the way to enjoy the wonderful view of the Adur Valley unfolding beneath you. If you get the chance to walk this during the winter on a clear cold morning during the winter then take the opportunity. The whole of the Weald can seem like a massive fluffy pillow of cotton wool with wisps occasionally escaping from it like feathers floating away.
As the sun starts to burn off the water vapour, the view reveals itself as a constantly fluid and evolving scene and one that stays in the memory for many years.
The climb up beeding Hill isn't an arduous one, taking you from just above sea level to 169 metres, before a further gentle climb towards Truleigh Hill. As you get near the top, having seemingly escaped the noise of the road below, civilisation in the form of the motor car reveals itself again in the form of two roads - one heading south towards Mill Hill and Shoreham, the other being the easy way up from Upper Beeding.
As the road flattens out towards the top you can see the masts of Truleigh Hill dead ahead of you. Strangely the ugly masts seem smaller as you approach them than they do from a distance. To your left the north west slopes of Beeding Hill are scarred by a massive chalk cliff face and a series of ancient terraces worn into the hillside over thousands of years.
To see these ancient grooves in the hillside at dusk or dawn when the low light accentuates them is really rather beautiful.
There are new chalk workings too above the village - a sign that man's need to exploit the mineral wealth of the Downs, the Weald and all around is a never ending one.
Just out of sight (apart from the top of the chimney) the massive chalky scar of Beeding Cement Works sit waiting for a new purpose after their abandonment.
Down in the valley below the sheep seem both at home but also to be miniaturised by the massive scenery all around them.
Places to visit close to the South Downs Way
Amberley | Arundel | Ashington | Bepton | Bignor | Bramber | Bramber Castle | Burpham | Bury | Chanctonbury Ring | Charlton | Chilgrove | Clayton | Cocking | Compton | Cootham | Devil's Dyke | The Devil's Humps | Didling | Duncton | East Dean | East Harting | Edburton | Findon | Graffham | Harting Down | Heyshott | Houghton | Hurstpierpoint | North Marden | Parham House | Poynings | Pyecombe | Rackham | Singleton | Slindon | South Harting | South Stoke | Stedham | Steyning | Storrington | Torberry Hill | Treyford | Trotton | Truleigh Hill | Uppark | Up Marden | Upwaltham | Upper Beeding | Washington | West Dean
- Butser Hill to Harting Down
- Harting to Cocking
- Cocking to Upwaltham
- Upwaltham to Amberley
- Amberley to Washington
- Washington to Upper Beeding
- Upper Beeding to Devil's Dyke
- River Adur Valley
- Beeding Hill
- Truleigh Hill
- Leaving Truleigh
- Fulking Escarpment
- Edburton Hill
- To Devil's Dyke
- Devil's Dyke to Ditchling Beacon
- South Downs Way Tips
- Cycling in Sussex
- Bike repairs
- Bicycle hire
- Mountain Biking
- Sussex Walking
- The Ramblers
- Other trails
- Horse riding
- Arundel
- Bognor Regis
- Burgess Hill
- Chichester
- Crawley
- East Grinstead
- Haywards Heath
- Horsham
- Littlehampton
- Midhurst
- Petworth
- Shoreham-by-Sea
- Steyning
- Worthing
Wednesday February 08