| Downs Link | |
|---|---|
 The Downs Link passing through the formerBramley & Wonersh station | |
 | |
| Length | 36.7 mi (59.1 km) |
| Location | South East England |
| Trailheads | St Martha's Hill,Surrey 51°13′31″N0°31′23″W / 51.2253°N 0.5230°W /51.2253; -0.5230 (Downs Link (northern trailhead)) Shoreham-by-Sea,West Sussex 50°50′26″N0°17′12″W / 50.8405°N 0.2868°W /50.8405; -0.2868 (Downs Link (southern trailhead)) |
| Use | Hiking,running,cycling,horse riding |
TheDowns Link is a 36.7-mile (59.1 km) path andbridleway inSouth East England. It connects theNorth Downs Way atSt Martha's Hill inSurrey with theSouth Downs Way nearSteyning inWest Sussex, from where it continues as the Coastal Link toShoreham-by-Sea. The majority of the route follows thetrack beds of two former railway lines, theCranleigh Line and theSteyning Line, both of which closed in the mid-1960s.
The path was opened from St Martha's Hill to the South Downs Way on 9 July 1984, with ceremonies at the formerBaynards station, in Surrey, and at St Botolph's, in West Sussex. The extension to Shoreham-by-Sea opened on 4 October 1993. The path is managed as a collaboration betweenSurrey County Council,West Sussex County Council andWaverley Borough Council. The Downs Link forms part of National Route 223 of theNational Cycle Network, and intersects several other long-distance paths, including theGreensand Way,Wey South Path andSussex Border Path.
Since much of the Downs Link runs along closed railway lines, the path is mostly gently graded. Evidence of the route's past includes the double bridge over theRiver Arun atRudgwick, and station platforms atBramley & Wonersh, Baynards,Christ's Hospital andWest Grinstead. The off-road surface varies betweencompacted earth,gravel andasphalt, and there are short on-road sections at Christ's Hospital,Partridge Green andHenfield. A fatal collision occurred between a cyclist and a motor vehicle in 2020 at Rudgwick, where local campaigners have called for a bridge to carry the Downs Link over the A281 road.
The Downs Link is a 36.7-mile (59.1 km) path andbridleway inSouth East England. It runs from theNorth Downs Way atSt Martha's Hill inSurrey toShoreham-by-Sea on theEnglish Channel inWest Sussex.[1] It is accessible for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Much of the routeruns along the track beds of two former railway lines, which were closed in the mid-1960s.[2] The official emblem of the Downs Link, which appears on direction signs and publicity material, is a stylised version of the Rudgwick double bridge, completed in 1865.[3][4][a]
Unlike theNational Trails, which are supported by the UK government throughNatural England,[8] the Downs Link is a collaborative project betweenSurrey County Council (SCC),West Sussex County Council (WSCC) andWaverley Borough Council.[9][10] The path was originally opened in 1984 as a link between the North Downs Way at St Martha's Hill and theSouth Downs Way at St Botolph's nearSteyning,[9][10] but was extended southwards to Shoreham-by-Sea in 1993.[11] It intersects other long-distance routes, including theGreensand Way,Wey South Path andSussex Border Path.[2][12] It also forms part of National Route 223 of theNational Cycle Network, which runs from theRiver Thames atChertsey to the English Channel.[13]
The northern trailhead, St Martha's Hill, is on theGreensand Ridge, a prominent sandstoneescarpment that runs parallel to and south of theNorth Downs.[14][15][16] The well-drained, sandy soils supportoak woodland, with an abundance ofhazel,holly andhawthorn. South of theRiver Tillingbourne, the land is marshier and plant species such asalder,poplar andwillow can be found.[15][17] The acidic, sandy soils in theBlackheath andChinthurst Hill areas supportbirch,broom andpine, as well asgorse andheather.[17][18][19] BetweenBramley andBramber, the Downs Link runs acrossWeald Clay and the landscape is dominated by open farmland and mature woodland.[17][20][21] The southernmost part of the route runs along the broad valley cut through theSouth Downs by the tidalRiver Adur.[17][22] Part of theAdur Estuary is aSite of Special Scientific Interest and provides a habitat for bird species such aslapwing,ringed plover,dunlin andredshank.[23]
Since so much of the Downs Link runs along closed railway lines, the path is mostly gently graded.[15] The steepest sections of the route, north ofChinthurst Hill and south ofBaynards, were not part of the original track bed.[18][24] There are short on-road sections atChrist's Hospital,[25]Partridge Green andHenfield,[26][27] and the path crosses the busy A281 atRudgwick.[24][25] The off-road surface varies betweencompacted earth,gravel andasphalt, and several guidebooks report that the unpaved sections can be muddy after wet weather.[28][29][30]
From the northern trailhead on St Martha's Hill, 175 m (574 ft) aboveordnance datum, the Downs Link descends into the valley of the River Tillingbourne, before swinging west towards Chinthurst Hill.[31][32] At Tannery Lane Bridge it is joined by the link from Guildford town centre, opened in 2006.[32][33] From there, it runs along the alignment of the former Cranleigh Line, passing through the former Bramley & Wonersh station, where the platforms were restored between 2003 and 2005.[34][35] Between Tannery Lane and the hamlet of Rowly, the disusedWey and Arun Canal is visible in several places, and the path runs parallel to theCranleigh Waters, a tributary stream of theRiver Wey.[34]
At Cranleigh, a shopping centre development forces the Downs Link to the south of the original railway alignment, but the route returns to the original track bed at the south end of Snoxhall Fields.[34][36][37] Although much ofBaynards station survives, it is a private residence and is not accessible to public.[36][38] From Baynards station, the Downs Link deviates from the course of the Cranleigh Line to climb over the hill above the inaccessible Baynards Tunnel.[39] No trace remains ofRudgwick station,[40] and the bridge over the A281 has also been dismantled.[41][42] The path crosses theRiver Arun on the top deck of the double bridge, completed in 1865.[3] AlthoughSlinfold station was completely demolished after the closure of the railway,[40] the Cranleigh Line platforms at Christ's Hospital were restored in 2000.[43][44]
Between Christ's Hospital and Shoreham-by-Sea, the Downs Link mostly follows the route of the formerSteyning Line. The path runs through the site ofSouthwater station, where only short sections of the platforms survive.[51] After passing Southwater Country Park, opened in 1985 on the site of a formerbrickworks,[26][52][b] it continues under theA24, before reachingWest Grinstead station.[54] The platforms at this station are mostly intact, and arailway signal and a replica station sign have been installed by the localparish council.[51] AMark 1 railway carriage acts as an information point for walkers,[26][55][56] and the old stationmaster's house is now a base for the WSCC Low Weald Countryside Rangers.[57] At the south end of West Grinstead station, the path runs beneath theA272 in anunderpass tunnel, built in 1987 as part of a road improvement scheme.[58][59]
There are no traces of the stations atPartridge Green andHenfield, and the Downs Link briefly leaves the railway alignment at both locations to avoid subsequent development.[60] The path crosses the River Adur atBetley Bridge and Stretham Bridge, to the north and south of Henfield respectively.[61][62] Between Stretham Bridge andBramber Castle, it diverges from the route of the Steyning Line to avoid sections of the former track bed in private ownership.[61][63][c] The original railway bridge atBeeding was dismantled after the Steyning Line closed,[65] and so the Downs Link crosses the River Adur for the third time via Bramber Bridge, which it shares with the South Downs Way.[66] The path then follows the east bank of the river for the remaining 2.7 mi (4.3 km) to Shoreham-by-Sea, passing to the west of Shoreham cement works, where it rejoins the former track bed. The Downs Link remains on the former railway alignment to its southern terminus, close toShoreham-by-Sea station.[11][67]
For much of its route, the Downs Link follows the course of two dismantled railways: theCranleigh Line, which ran from Peasmarsh Junction nearGuildford toChrist's Hospital station, and theSteyning Line, which ran from Christ's Hospital toShoreham-by-Sea. Both were listed for closure in the 1963Beeching report,[77][78] and passenger services were withdrawn from14 June 1965 (Cranleigh Line)[79] and 7 March 1966 (Steyning Line).[80][81] Freight services continued to operate on the southernmost section of the Steyning Line, between thecement works at Beeding and Shoreham-by-Sea, until 1981.[75][82]
Following a failed proposal to run a private train service over the Cranleigh Line, the track was lifted in April 1966,[83] and dismantling work on the Steyning Line began that October.[84][85] In December 1966, West Sussex County Council (WSCC) agreed to buy thetrack beds of the lines south of the border with Surrey, for £165,000 (equivalent to £3.88 million in 2023), with the intention of converting parts of the routes into roads.[86] In April 1970, much of the route north of Baynards Tunnel was bought by Surrey County Council (SCC) andHambledon Rural District Council.[87][88]
A year after the Cranleigh Line closed, Hambledon Rural District Council suggested that the track bed should be turned into a "walking freeway".[89] In 1973, it signed a seven-year lease on the part of the railway that had been purchased by SCC with the intention of creating a "greenway" between Gosden, north ofBramley, and the border with West Sussex.[90][d] The works included sealing the entrances to Baynards Tunnel withconcrete blocks and filling thecutting on the northern approach with inert waste to create a ramped access to Cox Green Road.[94] A strip of land was purchased to enable the path to reach the county boundary, and drainage, fencing and landscaping works were also undertaken. The total cost of £15,000 (equivalent to £229,000 in 2023) was funded from the sale of Baynards station.[95]
In West Sussex, WSCC began to sell off and infill sections of the railway lines. In 1968, it authorised the filling of cuttings with domestic waste at Southwater and north of Steyning.[96] Rudgwick and Slinfold stations were demolished and their sites were used for ahealth centre andcaravan park respectively.[48][97][98] Similarly, the station sites at Partridge Green and Henfield were sold for development.[61] Construction of the Steyning bypass, which runs along part of the former railway line, began in summer 1978[99] and was completed in July 1981.[100]
Plans for a unified long-distance pathway along the courses of the old railways began to emerge in the early 1970s. A report for Hambledon Rural District Council, published in 1971, recommended the development of a route from Bramley to Shoreham-by-Sea, and assessed the cost of infrastructure works to be around £500 per mile (equivalent to £9,000 in 2023) with an estimated annual maintenance cost of £100 per mile.[101][102] Work to create the new path began at the end of that decade. In 1978, new bridleways were designated north of Steyning, bypassing a section of the railway that had been bought by the Wappingthorne estate.[61][103][104][e] At Cranleigh, a diversion from the railway route was required to bypass the Stocklund Square development, but the Bonham Trust initially refused permission to create a new bridleway through Snoxhall Fields, which it owned.[37]
The Downs Link, connecting theNorth Downs Way atSt Martha's Hill to theSouth Downs Way at St Botolph's near Steyning, was formally opened on 9 July 1984 with ceremonies at Baynards station and at the southern terminus of the new route. The path was a joint project between SCC, WSCC and Waverley Borough Council.[9][10] The Downs Link received a commendation in the 1985 National Conservation Award Scheme jointly organised byThe Times newspaper and theRoyal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.[106] That December, Waverley Borough Council and the Bonham Trust concluded a Path Creation Order Agreement, allowing the route through Cranleigh to be finalised.[88] The underpass tunnel beneath the A272, at the south end of the former West Grinstead station, was built in 1987, when the originalhumpback road bridge was replaced by the current structure.[58][59] The Downs Link extension from the South Downs Way at St Botolph's to Shoreham-by-Sea, also known as the Coastal Link, opened on 4 October 1993.[11]
In the early 21st century, two separate projects allowed the path to be extended over additional sections of the former Cranleigh Line. Firstly, the demolished railway bridge over the River Wey was rebuilt in July 2006, allowing easier access to the Downs Link from Guildford town centre.[33] Secondly, the 0.87 mi (1.4 km) section of the track bed east of Slinfold became part of the route in September 2020. The project, which was funded as a collaboration between Christ's Hospital school and WSCC, included the restoration of the Cranleigh Line platforms at Christ's Hospital station.[43][44] It was made possible through the creation of a new right-of-way between Baystone Bridge and the station in December 2004.[107][f]
In July 2020, a fatal accident occurred nearRudgwick, in which a cyclist was killed at the intersection between the Downs Link and the A281.[109][g] At theinquest into the death the following year, thecoroner criticised the signage on the approach to the junction from the Downs Link as "inadequate".[110] A campaign by local residents and the family of the victim called for the replacement of the crossing with a bridge. However, a study by WSCC estimated that the cost would be around £2 million and instead proposed the installation of apegasus crossing, withtraffic lights, which would be significantly cheaper.[111][112] A horse was hit by a car at the same crossing in May 2023.[113]
