Lewes: Locale, Landscape and Lido

Please note the later start time for this walk: 11.00 rather than 10.30.

What better way could there be to cool down after a walk tramping the hills than to go to a lido? Locale: Sited picturesquely on a ridge of hills, quaint and characterful Lewes boasts an impressive castle, hidden gardens, an abundance of timber-framing and the elegance of Georgian design. Landscape: Lewes is situated on the River Ouse (which we'll walk along) which cuts through the South Downs (which we'll walk across). Between the two are pretty villages, namely Rodmell and Kingston. Lido: Pells Pool is the oldest freshwater outdoor public swimming pool in the UK. It is sun-heated, so should be warm by mid-August. The lido visit is optional, and comes at the end of the walk at 16.30.

The sights:

Lewes: Small, but its status as the county town of East Sussex is clear from its fine public buildings. Fine County Hall, 1808-12 by John Johnson. Pretty, pedestrianised Keere Street gives good views of the town walls (1266-9 and 1314) and culminates in a C15 bookshop. Anne of Cleves's House is named rather misleadingly as it was only part of her marriage annulment settlement. It has an early C16 with the back part Elizabethan (dated 1599). C16 Bull House was the home from 1768 to 1774 of revolutionary Thomas Paine. There he formulated his ideas of rights and liberty that underpinned the American Revolution. The Greenwich Meridian runs through the town and we'll cross it on our walk. Lewes was the site of England's worst avalanche as on the 27 December 1836 an overhang of snow collapsed and wiped out a row of cottages killing eight people. The Snowdrop Inn is a reminder. The Harvey's Brewery has been operating since 1790. In 1880 the Georgian brewery was rebuilt in a rustic neo-Gothic design which is now Grade II*-listed. We'll walk through pretty Southover Grange Gardens.

Lewes Castle: Lewes is dominated by the remains of its great flint castle on a hill. It actually has two mounds (mottes) which are largely artificial. On the southwest one stands the keep which was built by William de Warenne in the late C11 and strengthened in the C13. The delightful gothick windows are from the C18 when it was used as a summer house. The early C14 barbican is the most impressive feature, and the views from the bailey are splendid.

Kingston near Lewes: The Street has a picturesque mixture of cottages and larger farmhouses that leads past small, aisleless St Pancras Church which has a distinctive tapsel gate, with a central pivot which was possibly designed to make it easy for funeral bearers to pass on both sides. West of the church is Kingston Manor, the garden of which contains fragments of Lewes Priory.

Rodmell: A small village of one street. St Peter's Church is small, Norman. The early Victorian rectory is very pretty.

Monk's House, Rodmell: A C16 weatherboarded cottage that was the home of Leonard and Virginia Woolf from 1919 until 1941, when Virginia died and until 1969 when Leonard did. The house passed to Leonard's lover Trekkie Ritchie until her death in 1972 when it passed to the University of Sussex and then the National Trust in 1980. The solitude of village life allowed Virginia to focus on writing, and it was in the wooden lodge in the garden that many of her novels were written. The house received many visitors connected to the Bloomsbury Group, including TS Eliot, EM Forster, Roger Fry, Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant, Clive Bell and Virginia's sister Vanessa Bell. Virginia committed suicide by drowning in the nearby River Ouse, her pockets filled with stones.

Pells Pool: The original structure was built in 1860 making it the oldest freshwater outdoor public swimming baths in the UK that is still operating. It is fed by spring water from a chalk aquifer and is 46m by 23m. Facilities include disabled access and toilets, changing rooms, a sun terrace, a large lawn alongside the pool, cold and warm outdoor showers, a small paddling pool and a kiosk selling refreshments. There will be one lane for serious swimming. We will need to book our swim sessions (see under 'What to bring'). The pool visit it at the end of the walk and is optional.

The route (please click the link in red to see it):

We'll meander around the town, including seeing its architectural and historical highlights and an ascending the castle mound. We'll then set off along the path beside to the B2193 through Southover to Kingston where we'll ascend the South Downs. We'll walk southeast along the South Downs Way as far as Mill Hill where we'll descend to go to Rodmell. The Sussex Ouse Valley Way will take us all the way back to Lewes along the river and near the end we'll go to Pells Pool for our swim (or you can go back to the station).

Dogs:

I love having dogs on my walks and this walk is suitable for them apart from during very hot weather. BUT they are not permitted at the pool, so people who bring dogs will have to leave the event after the walk. There will be some roads to walk along and country lanes to walk down, plus some fields with livestock necessitating the dog being leashed.

IMPORTANT! – Participation Statement:

You MUST complete a Participation Statement, in addition to booking your event space before attending an OutdoorLads event. You only need to complete this Participation Statement once, not for each event you attend.

(Picture credits: On the track down to Kingston near Lewes: Photo © Tim Heaton (cc-by-sa/2.0); Lewes Castle: Photo © Philip Halling (cc-by-sa/2.0); High Street, Lewes, East Sussex: Photo © Derek Voller (cc-by-sa/2.0); The Barbican Gate, Lewes Castle: Photo © Marathon (cc-by-sa/2.0); Crown Court , Lewes: Photo © Paul Gillett (cc-by-sa/2.0); Southover Grange flowers Aug 2019: Photo © Paul Gillett (cc-by-sa/2.0); Anne of Cleves House: Photo © Wayland Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); Kingston Cottage: Photo © N Chadwick (cc-by-sa/2.0); View from Kingston Hill: Photo © Simon Carey (cc-by-sa/2.0); Swanborough Hill: Photo © Simon Carey (cc-by-sa/2.0); Rodmell houses [16]: Photo © Michael Dibb (cc-by-sa/2.0); River Ouse: Photo © Simon Carey (cc-by-sa/2.0); Harvey's Brewery in Lewes: Photo © Andrew Diack (cc-by-sa/2.0); Pells Pool Lewes Summer: Photo © Pells Pool (cc-by/3.0). All images are copyrighted but are here credited to their copyright holders and are licensed for use under Creative Commons CC-SA-BY2.0 or CC-BY/3.0)