William Morris famously wrote, ‘You can see Lewes lying like a box of toys under a great ampitheatre of chalky hills’. The ancient town of Lewes sits on the river Ouse, its skyline dominated by the remains of a Norman castle. The steep streets and narrow twittens are lined by pretty buildings representing every period of architecture, from the 11th century onwards. Although a small market town, Lewes is the county town of East Sussex boasting a crown court on its High Street, alongside several old coaching inns, antiques and secondhand bookshops, and many small independent retailers. In addition to hotels, restaurants and supermarkets, Lewes is home to Harvey’s brewery, dating from the 18th century, Gorringes auction house, and an award winning independent cinema complex, the Depot. Lewes is famous, both nationally and internationally, for its Bonfire Societies and annual spectacular Bonfire event on 5th November, which commemorates the burning of 17 Protestant martyrs at the stake in Lewes between 1555 and 1557.

Kingston is a small downland village, a couple of miles south of Lewes. The village is located at the foot of a steep scarp of the South Downs, known as the Kingston Ridge, which provides panoramic views across the River Ouse Valley in one direction, and towards the sea in the other. The core of the village is The Street, with the 14th Century church of St Pancras at one end, against the backdrop of the Downs, and the picturesque pub, The Juggs, at the other. The Juggs is a popular stopping off place for walkers and cyclists using the South Downs Way, as well as locals. Scattered along The Street are listed former manor houses, farm houses, barns and cottages, mainly built from local flint. During the 1960s and 70s, there was some significant housing development, extending the village, but this has not intruded on the historic core. Iford and Kingston Primary School is located in Kingston. There are two significant public spaces, The Village Green and St Pancras Green, both within the Kingston Conservation Area.

The small village of Iford and the nearby hamlet of Swanborough are located on either side of the C7, but share the Grade 1 listed 12th century church, St Nicholas. At the time of the Doomsday book and into the middle ages, Iford was a large and prosperous village, with rich agricultural land on the flood plain of the River Ouse.
Although Iford is very much a working village, with the south side dominated by Iford Estate Farm, there are eighteen listed buildings in Iford, including several cottages, as well as grander houses, including Iford Manor, and Sutton House. Iford can be accessed by walkers from the GMT footpath, which links with the Egrets Way cycling path. There is holiday accommodation at Swanborough Fishing Lakes, and a small private airstrip near Iford.
Across the C7 in Swanborough, walkers can pass by the Grade 1 listed Swanborough Manor house, which originated in the 12th century, and follow old droving routes up on to the Downs.

Rodmell is a small, quiet and charming village nestling in some of the finest scenery of the South Downs, close to the River Ouse. It is four miles south of Lewes and a similar distance north of the port of Newhaven, home of the Dieppe ferry. The village is dissected by the C7. There has been a village here since at least the time of William the Conqueror. Rodmell was home to Virginia and Leonard Wolf, so Monks House, now owned by the National Trust, is popular with fans of the Bloomsbury set. The Abergavenny Arms, is a convenient place to stop off for some rest and refreshment whilst cycling along the Egrets Way or walking along the South Downs Way.
Northease is a small hamlet located between Rodmell and Iford. Northease Manor (now an independent special school) and Northease farm have been in existence since Medieval times. Whiteway Lane provides a non-vehicular route from the C7 up to the South Downs Way, and beyond, towards Breaky Bottom Vineyard, which has been producing fine sparkling wines since the 1970s.

A narrow road with dramatic views runs along the edge of a ridge, westwards from the C7, near Southease, for 1.5 miles. It ends in Telscombe Village, which lies in the narrow cleft at the head of the coombe.
Telscombe village is a small village clustered around the ancient church of St Laurence, and the flint buildings of a large stud farm. The road dips down into the village, then climbs up, past the stud farm and church, to the open common known as Teslcombe Tye, where the road ends, more than 300 feet above the sea at Telscombe Cliffs. The outline of medieval lynchets, used for growing crops, can still be seen on the surrounding Downland, which today is mainly used for grazing sheep and the training of racehorses. The manor of Telscombe was established in the 10th century. Items dropped by passing Romans have been found in the surrounding fields.
The road leading from the C7 to Telscombe village is known as Gorhams Lane. Ambrose Gorham was a successful bookmaker, racehorse owner and resident of Telscombe in the 1920s. Using the money he won, he turned Telscombe into a thriving village, providing a social club for his apprentices (now the village hall), refurbishing the church and other buildings and providing utilities. On his death in 1933 he bequeathed his estate to Brighton Corporation on condition that it established a charitable trust to preserve the area for the people who live and work there.

The pretty village of Southease boasts a population of around 50, and a church whose history can be traced back over 1000 years. The village first appears in the historical record in 966 and is Saxon in origin. The tiny church of St Peter possesses one of only three round towers in Sussex, all of which are located in the Ouse Valley and built in the first half of the 12th century. Wall paintings dating from the 13th century are visible on the church walls.
A sunken lane drops from the C7, past the church, to the village green. The South Downs Way continues through the village towards the nearby River Ouse and Southease railway station, which has trains to Lewes and Newhaven. Past the station and towards the A26 is the YHA South Downs Hostel and café, which is open to the public.

Famous visitors to Southease reportedly include Haile Sellassi and Kofi Anan, both interested in the church here.

The small village of Piddinghoe lies next to the River Ouse, 5 miles south of Lewes and 1.4 miles from Newhaven. The river was used for the transportation of goods up and down the river from Newhaven, and Piddinghoe was once an active hub for smuggling. In the present day, Piddinghoe lake and the adjacent river, provide opportunities for sailing, kayaking, paddleboarding and other water sports.
There has been a settlement at Piddinghoe since at least the 13th century. St John’s Church in Piddinghoe sits above the riverbank and has a round Norman tower, one of the three in Sussex. Piddinghoe is also notable for having the only remaining bottle-shaped brick kiln in the country. The Piddinghoe ‘bypass’ was built in the years after the first world war, by German Prisoners of War, as part of a general improvement of the road – now the C7 - from Newhaven to Lewes.
Rudyard Kipling refers to the weather vane on Piddinghoe church in his poem, Sussex, although the fish depicted is actually a salmon, not a dolphin.

I will go north about the shaws
And the deep ghylls that breed
Huge oaks and old, the which we hold
No more than Sussex weed;
Or south where windy Piddinghoe’s
Begilded dolphin veers
And red beside wide-bankèd Ouse
Lie down our Sussex steers.

Newhaven is a small town, lying at the mouth of the river Ouse, and at the southern end of the C7 road from Lewes. Over the centuries, the mouth of the river migrated from Seaford, one of the 5 Cinque Ports, to Meeching, where a ‘New Haven’ was formed in the mid 16th century. This was achieved by breaching a shingle spit in order to connect the river to the sea.
With its ferry port, fishing berths and industrial estates Newhaven is very different from Lewes in terms of character, culture and heritage.
The port of Newhaven is the base for a regular cross channel ferry service to Dieppe, a busy marina, and home to around 30 fishing vessels, as well as the Newhaven lifeboat. The open countryside that surrounds Newhaven is part of the South Downs National Park.
In the first world war, Newhaven Port was designated as the principal port for the movement of men and materials to Europe. It also played an important role in WW2, as depicted in some well known paintings by the (then) war artist, Eric Ravillious.
With its port and industrial estates, Newhaven is the location for more than 350 varied businesses. The establishment of the Newhaven Enterprise Zone, has led to significant government grants for the regeneration of the town and its further economic development.