Lancing College Circular via the South Downs Way and Coombes.

Escape the coastal traffic and take a walk into the downland and hidden valleys

View the route map online here:

https://www.njq.me.uk/tbm/steyning_district_walks_fs.html

The walk starts behind “The Sussex Pad”, which was a hotel but is now the nursery school of
Lancing College. The Grid Reference is TQ 19985 0602

1. Take the private road to Lancing College; when it turns right take the chalk path on the left,
passing through the trees. This path climbs steadily, passing Lancing Ring Nature Reserve on
the left before reaching the highest point.
2. Pass under a line of pylons, ignoring the paths to left and right, keeping ahead to walk out onto
open fields. The path leads to the road coming up from Sompting. Turn right and walk for about
100 yards, then right again through a gate onto Annington Hill, to join the South Downs Way.
Keep the fence on your left to walk across the hill to reach a clump of trees, called Bramber
Beeches, planted by the Women’s Institute to celebrate their Diamond Jubilee in 1979.

3. From the trees go right and through a gate on the left, to pass through a large pig unit and down
to a gate and farm lane passing the entrance to a house called “Tinpots”.
4. Just a few steps past this, take a right turn at a signposted path which runs down through a strip
of trees to a field. Turn right in the field, keeping to the edge with the trees on the right. After a
further two fields pass through a gate, to follow the path up a bank to a pylon, and onto Coombes
Road.
5. Turn right to continue on the road, taking the first turning on the right, passing through the hamlet
of Coombes and into the yard at Coombes Farm. Pass through a sign-posted gate on the left and
walk up to Coombes Church, passing it to reach a path on the woodland. Turn left and follow the
path through the trees to reach open downland.
6. Cross a concrete farm path and contunie into the valley, passing “Cowbottom Hovel”, an old flint
stockyard, on the right. Walk ahead and cross the top of Lancing Hill, to re-join the path leading
from the start. Turn left and retrace your steps to the beginning.