Ride to the sea
Why, at the end of a long day in half term, did we find ourselves cycling into a brutal headwind on the south coast?
There’s something magical about travelling seawards – reaching the very edge of the country, dipping your toes in the water and contemplating what lies beyond. Cycling is perfect for a journey like this. It enables you to travel far but absorb your surroundings, dawdle along or delight in more rapid progress. You’re in complete control of your destiny, of getting yourself to your destination.
At half term, we rode to the sea as a family. Making use of the Downs Link, our route took us from the outskirts of Guildford to the coast at Shoreham-by-Sea and then along the seafront to Worthing, where we rested up before returning the next day. Nearly all off road, the Downs Link follows the course of old railways – the Cranleigh Line and the Steyning Line – that were closed in the 1960s. Our little family train of cyclists pedalled along the trackbed for over 60km each way across the Surrey Hills, the Low Weald, the South Downs and the coastal plain.