Ride Information
START: Chichester railway station, Southgate PO19 8DL, 50.832069, -0.781692
FINISH: Arundel railway station, BN18 9PH, 50.847798, -0.546770
DISTANCE: 27.9 miles/45.0km
ASCENT: 3074ft/937m
OFF-ROAD: 85%
TERRAIN: Mostly chalk doubletrack, with occasional grassy bridleways and muddy forest tracks. Four or five significant climbs punctuate a ride that is rarely flat.
NAVIGATION: Fairly simple. Follow NCN route 2 then regional route 88 to Mid Lavant. Here the West Sussex Literary Trail north is only marked as a bridleway. Both the New Lipchis Way and South Downs Way are well signposted. There are a wealth of signed bridleways east of Amberley to chose from but you’ll need OS Landranger 197 to navigate these well. The easier option is the riverside bridleway along from Houghton to Offham, which you can pick up opposite the George and Dragon pub.
Eat & Drink
The George & Dragon, Houghton, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9LW, 01798 831559, www.thegeorgeanddragonhoughton.co.uk
The Black Rabbit, Mill Road, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9PB, 01903 882828, www.theblackrabbitarundel.co.uk
Sleep
Gumber Bothy, Gumber Farm, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 0RN, 01243 814484, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/slindon-estate
Bivvy: Coombe Wood, near Amberley
Provisions
St Martin’s Coffee House, 3 St Martins Street, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1NP, 01243 786715, www.organiccoffeehouse.co.uk
Hargroves Cycles, 106-108 The Hornet, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 7JR, 01243 537337, www.hargrovescycles.co.uk