Best Places to Visit in East Sussex
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in East Sussex are Old Roar Gill, Camber Castle, Rottingdean Beach, Friston Forest, Garden Of Eden Waterfall, Glyne Gap Beach, Litlington White Horse and Fairlight Glen Beach.
East Sussex runs from the chalk downs of the Cuckmere valley to the sandstone cliffs and glens around Hastings, and its best places take in both. Two landmarks stand over the Cuckmere: the prancing Litlington White Horse cut into the turf of Hindover Hill, and the beech woodland of Friston Forest spreading over the downs above the valley.
Marsh-stranded Camber Castle, one of Henry the Eighth's forts, now sits more than a mile inland near Rye where the sea has retreated. Water hides in the wooded gills and dells, at Old Roar Gill in Hastings and the Garden of Eden cascade in Ashdown Forest.
The coast offers the shingle and rock pools of Rottingdean below its chalk cliffs, the quiet Glyne Gap between Bexhill and Hastings, and the secluded, cliff-backed Fairlight Glen. Some are open downland, others hidden glens.
Here are eight places to visit across East Sussex.
Old Roar Gill
Photo: Oast House Archive via Geograph.org.uk
Old Roar Gill is a narrow, steep-sided wooded valley at the northern edge of Alexandra Park in Hastings, kept as a local nature reserve. A stream runs through it over sandstone, dropping in a seasonal waterfall known as Old Roar that thunders after heavy rain and shrinks to a trickle in dry spells, with a smaller fall called Little Roar nearby.
Shaded paths lead through damp ancient woodland rich in ferns and mosses. It is a quiet green retreat close to the town, with the wider park and its facilities alongside.
Camber Castle
Photo: Michael Dibb via Geograph.org.uk
Camber Castle is a ruined artillery fort near Rye, one of the string of coastal forts built by Henry the Eighth to guard England against invasion. It has an unusual round, layered plan, a central tower ringed by curved towers and squat bastions, all of pale stone, low and thick-walled to mount cannon.
Built between the fifteen-tens and forties, it once stood at the water's edge, but the sea and the harbour have since silted up and retreated, so it now sits stranded on marshland more than a mile inland. It was given up in the sixteen-hundreds and left to decay.
Today it is a substantial, roofless ruin reached on foot across a nature reserve.
Rottingdean Beach
Photo: David Gearing via Geograph.org.uk
Rottingdean Beach is a shingle beach below white chalk cliffs in the village of Rottingdean, a few miles east of Brighton in East Sussex. Rock pools open up at low tide, good for exploring, and a paved undercliff walk runs along the base of the cliffs back toward Brighton Marina, popular with walkers and cyclists.
Above the beach the village has an old windmill and a cluster of historic houses. A seawater bathing pool once stood on the shore here but was lost to storms and filled in, so it is the natural rock pools and the cliff walk that draw people now.
Friston Forest
Photo: Simon Carey via Geograph.org.uk
Friston Forest is a large beech woodland on the chalk downs above the Cuckmere valley, between Seaford and Eastbourne, planted from the 1930s and now run by Forestry England. Waymarked trails for walkers and marked routes for cyclists and mountain bikers run through it, with car parks at Litlington Road and Butchershole and views out over the valley.
The flint-built village of West Dean sits within the forest. It lies between Lullington Heath and the Seven Sisters.
Garden Of Eden Waterfall
Photo: Simon Carey via Geograph.org.uk
The Garden of Eden waterfall is a small cascade in a wooded dell in Ashdown Forest, known locally by that name. A stream tumbles over rocks in a shallow, shady hollow just off one of the forest's main tracks, gentle enough to paddle in.
It is reached on a circular walk of a couple of miles through the heath and woodland. It is a modest, out-of-the-way spot rather than a great fall.
Glyne Gap Beach
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Glyne Gap is a quiet beach on the East Sussex coast, between Bexhill and Hastings, mostly shingle with rock and sand showing at lower tides. A retail park sits directly behind it, with free parking, and a traffic-free walking and cycling path runs along the back linking the two towns.
A stream flows out to the sea at the gap. It is a low-key beach rather than a resort front, handy for a walk along the coast.
Litlington White Horse
Photo: Helmut Zozmann via Geograph.org.uk
The Litlington White Horse is a chalk figure of a prancing horse cut into the steep turf of Hindover Hill, on the west side of the Cuckmere valley between Litlington and Alfriston. Around twenty-eight metres long, it faces out over the valley and is best seen from the floodplain and the High and Over viewpoint.
The present horse was cut in a single night in February 1924 by a local farmer and two companions, on the slope where an earlier nineteenth-century figure had faded. The National Trust owns it and keeps it scoured white.
Fairlight Glen Beach
Photo: Oast House Archive via Geograph.org.uk
Fairlight Glen Beach is a secluded shingle beach tucked below the cliffs of Hastings Country Park, reached by a steep walk down a wooded glen. A small waterfall known as the Dripping Well runs in the glen on the way down.
Sand shows at low tide, and the beach has long been used, unofficially, by naturists. There is only one way down, so the incoming tide can cut the beach off.
FAQs
Why does Camber Castle sit inland?
Camber Castle, one of Henry the Eighth's coastal forts near Rye, once stood at the water's edge, but the sea and the harbour have since silted up and retreated, leaving the fort stranded on flat marshland more than a mile inland. It was given up as useless in the sixteen-hundreds and is now a roofless ruin reached across a nature reserve.
When was the Litlington White Horse cut?
The present horse was cut in a single night in February 1924 by a local farmer and two companions, on the slope of Hindover Hill where an earlier nineteenth-century figure had faded. Around twenty-eight metres long, it faces out over the Cuckmere valley and is best seen from the floodplain and the High and Over viewpoint.
Which beaches in East Sussex are quiet and secluded?
Fairlight Glen, below the cliffs of Hastings Country Park, is reached by a steep walk down a wooded glen past a small waterfall, and can be cut off by the incoming tide. Glyne Gap, between Bexhill and Hastings, is a low-key shingle beach handy for a coastal walk rather than a resort front.
Conclusion
East Sussex runs from chalk downs to sandstone cliffs, and its best places span the two. Over the Cuckmere valley stand the prancing Litlington White Horse and the beech woods of Friston Forest, while marsh-stranded Camber Castle sits more than a mile inland near Rye where the sea has retreated.
Water hides in the gills and dells at Old Roar Gill in Hastings and the Garden of Eden cascade in Ashdown Forest. The coast offers the rock pools of Rottingdean below its chalk cliffs, the quiet Glyne Gap between the towns, and the secluded, cliff-backed Fairlight Glen.
From open downland to hidden glen, these are the places to seek out across East Sussex.
