Outdoors & Nature

Ideal for a sunny day. And for a cold rainy day: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing".

London Bridge: Brighton, the Downs and the Weald by train

Brighton in an hour, the Seven Sisters by way of Seaford, and the Weald, from the station under the Shard.

Day trips by trainCountrysideSeaside

The white chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters catching low sun across a calm bay, seen from a grassy valley leading down to the shingle. — The Seven Sisters from Cuckmere Haven. Seaford, then walk. Photo by Roy r lindman, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Brighton's pier stretching out over a glittering sea from a shingle beach, with a viewing tower and beach bars along the front in bright spring sun. — Brighton, about an hour. Photo by Andy Li, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lewes Castle's flint barbican and gatehouse among the red roofs of the town, with the white chalk of the Downs and green hills behind. — Lewes, the castle and the Downs. Photo by Andy Li, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

A row of coastguard cottages on a green clifftop above a bay, with the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters beyond under a blue sky and scattered cloud. — From Seaford Head, where the walk begins. Photo by Andy Li, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Chalk paths across a green headland leading to the edge of a sheer white cliff, with a red-and-white lighthouse standing in the sea below. — Beachy Head, the other end of the walk. Photo by Poliphilo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Knole's long stone front of Dutch gables, tall brick chimneys and a battlemented gatehouse tower, on a lawn in evening sun. — Knole, a walk from Sevenoaks. Photo by Michael Coppins, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Two fishing boats hauled up on a shingle beach, one red-hulled, in front of black net huts and the funicular railway climbing the sandstone cliff behind. — Hastings, the fishing beach and the net huts. Photo by kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The lines south from here cross the South Downs to Brighton in about an hour, with Lewes on the way and Seaford, where the walk over the Seven Sisters begins, a change beyond it; Eastbourne is the other end of that walk. The Kent lines run through Sevenoaks, for Knole's deer park, to Tunbridge Wells and the villages of the Weald, and on to Hastings, its old town and the net huts on its beach. It shares most of Brighton with Victoria and most of Kent with Charing Cross; what it has to itself is being on the way home for half of south London.

Where: Station Approach Road, SE1 9SP

Google Maps visitbrighton.com

Trains from early morning until after midnight

Submit a correction for this listing.

Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.