Sussex Exclusive Magazine Issue 6 2023

Mount Caburn
Stunning views
of the River
Ouse and
beyond and
Iron Age forts
make this walk
a winner
Heart Pumping Climb to Mount
Caburn, East Sussex
This walk is all about the wildness of
the South Downs. At certain points, it
feels like the place that time forgot but
it’s postcard picturesque and food for
the soul! Even if it feels like you’re going
horizontally heavenward, it will get your
heart pumping and warm you up even on
the coldest of days!
Distance: 8.5 km. Elevation: 293 m.
Difficulty: Medium to hard. Ordnance
Survey Explorer 11.
From the A27 heading east, take the first
proper left turn to Glynde (at the time
of writing there was no sign to Glynde
here). As you enter the village, go over the
bridge and there is a car park immediately
to your left. What3words: bandstand.
notes.headrest.
Glynde to Mount Caburn
From the car park, turn left and after a
short distance turn left again. Just after
the village shop, you’ll see a footpath
leading up to Mount Caburn. It’s 1.8 km
from the car park to the summit but I
think I’ll rename this hill “heart attack
hill” because it feels like it goes vertically
up. Eventually, and as you round the
crest of the hill, you clearly see Mount
Caburn to your left. Although the
footpath goes straight on, you really
can’t miss out on the summit so take a
short deviation to conquer it.
Mount Caburn
Mount Caburn is a 146-metre hill
and the highest part of an outlier of
the South Downs, separated from the
main range. This is also a National
Nature Reserve so a haven for wildlife
and home to the remains of an Iron
Age hill fort where there are over 140
burial pits. Even on a grey and cloudy
morning, it has the most magnificent
views all around, including of the River
Cuckmere and Glynde, and if you
achieve nothing else apart from walking
to the top, and then going home, well,
it’s been time well spent! There’s a bench
at the top from which to admire the
view, but in winter, it’s jolly chilly!
Mount Caburn to Oxteddle
Bottom
Return to the path you deviated from.
This path runs all the way from Glynde
to Lewes. That means (if you ignore the
deviation you have just taken) you just
follow the original path up and over the
brow of the hill and straight down the
other side. You’ll know you have arrived
at Oxteddle Bottom because you’ll
see a dew pond and you’re also into
the Southerham Farm Nature Reserve
here. But be warned, it’s not brilliantly
signed here.
Bible Bottom
About 1.8 km from the brow of
the hill at Mount Caburn and past
Oxteddle you come to a path that
almost doubles back up to the main
footpath that runs along the edge of
Lewes Golf Club. If you want to carry
on for a longer walk, you can, and you
just stick to the path which takes you
due north (and right) up to the Lewes
Tunnel and then right again back onto
the Golf Club footpath.
If you don’t want this longer point,
just double back. You’ll know when
you get to the main path. You’re
walking along above Bible Bottom,
home to the Bible Enclosure which is
a Medieval livestock enclosure. It’s also
a Scheduled Monument but you can
apparently only see it in certain light.
It’s called the Bible Enclosure because
it looks like a bible (apparently)
although it used to be called the
Devil’s Book.
Bible Bottom back to Caburn
Carry on past Saxon Cross (site of a
Medieval settlement site on the eastern
side of Saxon Down and another
Scheduled Monument) and the wind
turbine and from there you can see
Mount Caburn clearly in the distance
and you just have to follow the path
back to it. Back at Mount Caburn, just
follow the path downhill to Glynde.
There’s a rather gorgeous tearoom next
to the shop, well worth a stop. Or head
into Lewes.
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