The best walks and hikes around Horsham

Dipping its toes into the South Downs National Park and with an arm in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the potential for hiking around Horsham District is huge. Let your imagination run wild from hillfort summits, explore Norman castle ruins and enjoy epic vistas from high escarpments.

The South Downs Way long-distance trail runs along the spine of the chalk escarpment in the south of the district. Some of the finest walks around Horsham can be found here, as well-trodden paths take you across historic hillforts and panoramic summits featuring massive views across the Sussex Weald and south to the English Channel. Keep your eyes out for the iconic Adonis blue butterfly that inhabits the grassland.

Towards the centre of the district you find pretty villages, patchwork farmland and the medieval Knepp Castle Estate, which is home to an impressive rewilding project right in the heart of the Sussex Weald. To the east of Horsham itself is the far western end of the High Weald AONB, where you can discover St Leonard’s Forest’s burbling gills and atmospheric trails.