Downs Link

The Downs Link is a path and bridleway in South East England. It connects the North Downs Way at St Martha's Hill in Surrey with the South Downs Way near Steyning in West Sussex, from where it continues as the Coastal Link to Shoreham-by-Sea. The majority of the route follows the track beds of two former railway lines, the Cranleigh Line and the Steyning 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 former Baynards 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 between Surrey County Council, West Sussex County Council and Waverley Borough Council. The Downs Link forms part of National Route 223 of the National Cycle Network, and intersects several other long-distance paths, including the Greensand Way, Wey South Path and Sussex 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 the River Arun at Rudgwick, and station platforms at , Baynards, and . The off-road surface varies between compacted earth, gravel and asphalt, and there are short on-road sections at Christ's Hospital, Partridge Green and Henfield. 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.

Route

Overview

The Downs Link is a path and bridleway in South East England. It runs from the North Downs Way at St Martha's Hill in Surrey to Shoreham-by-Sea on the English Channel in West Sussex. It is accessible for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Much of the route runs along the track beds of two former railway lines, which were closed in the mid-1960s. 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.

Unlike the National Trails, which are supported by the UK government through Natural England, the Downs Link is a collaborative project between Surrey County Council (SCC), West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and Waverley Borough Council. The path was originally opened in 1984 as a link between the North Downs Way at St Martha's Hill and the South Downs Way at St Botolph's near Steyning, but was extended southwards to Shoreham-by-Sea in 1993. It intersects other long-distance routes, including the Greensand Way, Wey South Path and Sussex Border Path. It also forms part of National Route 223 of the National Cycle Network, which runs from the River Thames at Chertsey to the English Channel.

The northern trailhead, St Martha's Hill, is on the Greensand Ridge, a prominent sandstone escarpment that runs parallel to and south of the North Downs. The well-drained, sandy soils support oak woodland, with an abundance of hazel, holly and hawthorn. South of the River Tillingbourne, the land is marshier and plant species such as alder, poplar and willow can be found. The acidic, sandy soils in the Blackheath and Chinthurst Hill areas support birch, broom and pine, as well as gorse and heather. Between Bramley and Bramber, the Downs Link runs across Weald Clay and the landscape is dominated by open farmland and mature woodland. The southernmost part of the route runs along the broad valley cut through the South Downs by the tidal River Adur. Part of the Adur Estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and provides a habitat for bird species such as lapwing, ringed plover, dunlin and redshank.

Since so much of the Downs Link runs along closed railway lines, the path is mostly gently graded. The steepest sections of the route, north of Chinthurst Hill and south of , were not part of the original track bed. There are short on-road sections at , Partridge Green and Henfield, and the path crosses the busy A281 at Rudgwick. The off-road surface varies between compacted earth, gravel and asphalt, and several guidebooks report that the unpaved sections can be muddy after wet weather.

St Martha's Hill to Christ's Hospital

From the northern trailhead on St Martha's Hill, above ordnance datum, the Downs Link descends into the valley of the River Tillingbourne, before swinging west towards Chinthurst Hill. At Tannery Lane Bridge it is joined by the link from Guildford town centre, opened in 2006. 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. Between Tannery Lane and the hamlet of Rowly, the disused Wey and Arun Canal is visible in several places, and the path runs parallel to the Cranleigh Waters, a tributary stream of the River Wey.

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. Although much of Baynards station survives, it is a private residence and is not accessible to public. From Baynards station, the Downs Link deviates from the course of the Cranleigh Line to climb over the hill above the inaccessible Baynards Tunnel. No trace remains of Rudgwick station, and the bridge over the A281 has also been dismantled. The path crosses the River Arun on the top deck of the double bridge, completed in 1865. Although Slinfold station was completely demolished after the closure of the railway, the Cranleigh Line platforms at Christ's Hospital were restored in 2000.

Christ's Hospital to Shoreham-by-Sea

Between Christ's Hospital and Shoreham-by-Sea, the Downs Link mostly follows the route of the former Steyning Line. The path runs through the site of Southwater station, where only short sections of the platforms survive. After passing Southwater Country Park, opened in 1985 on the site of a former brickworks, it continues under the A24, before reaching West Grinstead station. The platforms at this station are mostly intact, and a railway signal and a replica station sign have been installed by the local parish council. A Mark 1 railway carriage acts as an information point for walkers, and the old stationmaster's house is now a base for the WSCC Low Weald Countryside Rangers. At the south end of West Grinstead station, the path runs beneath the A272 in an underpass tunnel, built in 1987 as part of a road improvement scheme.

There are no traces of the stations at and , and the Downs Link briefly leaves the railway alignment at both locations to avoid subsequent development. The path crosses the River Adur at Betley Bridge and Stretham Bridge, to the north and south of Henfield respectively. Between Stretham Bridge and Bramber Castle, it diverges from the route of the Steyning Line to avoid sections of the former track bed in private ownership. The original railway bridge at Beeding was dismantled after the Steyning Line closed, and so the Downs Link crosses the River Adur for the third time via Bramber Bridge, which it shares with the South Downs Way. The path then follows the east bank of the river for the remaining 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 to Shoreham-by-Sea station.

History

For much of its route, the Downs Link follows the course of two dismantled railways: the Cranleigh Line, which ran from Peasmarsh Junction near Guildford to Christ's Hospital station, and the Steyning Line, which ran from Christ's Hospital to . Both were listed for closure in the 1963 Beeching report, and passenger services were withdrawn from
14 June 1965 (Cranleigh Line) and 7 March 1966 (Steyning Line). Freight services continued to operate on the southernmost section of the Steyning Line, between the cement works at Beeding and Shoreham-by-Sea, until 1981.

Following a failed proposal to run a private train service over the Cranleigh Line, the track was lifted in April 1966, and dismantling work on the Steyning Line began that October. In December 1966, West Sussex County Council (WSCC) agreed to buy the track beds of the lines south of the border with Surrey, for £165,000 (equivalent to £ million in ), with the intention of converting parts of the routes into roads. In April 1970, much of the route north of Baynards Tunnel was bought by Surrey County Council (SCC) and Hambledon Rural District Council.

A year after the Cranleigh Line closed, Hambledon Rural District Council suggested that the track bed should be turned into a "walking freeway". 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 of Bramley, and the border with West Sussex. The works included sealing the entrances to Baynards Tunnel with concrete blocks and filling the cutting on the northern approach with inert waste to create a ramped access to Cox Green Road. 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 £ in ) was funded from the sale of Baynards station.

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. Rudgwick and Slinfold stations were demolished and their sites were used for a health centre and caravan park respectively. Similarly, the station sites at Partridge Green and Henfield were sold for development. Construction of the Steyning bypass, which runs along part of the former railway line, began in summer 1978 and was completed in July 1981.

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 £ in ) with an estimated annual maintenance cost of £100 per mile. 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. 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.

The Downs Link, connecting the North Downs Way at St Martha's Hill to the South 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. The Downs Link received a commendation in the 1985 National Conservation Award Scheme jointly organised by ''The Times'' newspaper and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. That December, Waverley Borough Council and the Bonham Trust concluded a Path Creation Order Agreement, allowing the route through Cranleigh to be finalised. The underpass tunnel beneath the A272, at the south end of the former West Grinstead station, was built in 1987, when the original humpback road bridge was replaced by the current structure. 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.

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. Secondly, the 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. It was made possible through the creation of a new right-of-way between Baystone Bridge and the station in December 2004.

Incidents

In July 2020, a fatal accident occurred near Rudgwick, in which a cyclist was killed at the intersection between the Downs Link and the A281. At the inquest into the death the following year, the coroner criticised the signage on the approach to the junction from the Downs Link as "inadequate". 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 a pegasus crossing, with traffic lights, which would be significantly cheaper. A horse was hit by a car at the same crossing in May 2023.

See also

* Cuckoo Trail
* Forest Way
* Worth Way
* List of rail trails

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

West Sussex County Council page

Surrey County Council page

{{Transport in Surrey

Rail trails in England
Long-distance footpaths in England
Footpaths in Surrey
Footpaths in West Sussex