Home base for Seven Sisters and South Downs National Park

Alfriston was my first thought. Lovely historic town but quite small. For six days you might look at Rottingdean, it’s closer to Brighton to give you easy access to more restaurants etc. Seaford is the closest town to the seven sisters and Beachy Head but is less interesting than Alfriston or Rottingdean. Arundel and Rye are further away from the area you are interested in but are certainly attractive and historic.

Very much my thought. Alfriston is the obvious base for the Seven Sisters, but is quite a small place, I wonder whether Lewes would be a better base.

Arundel and Rye (Rye especially) are both out of the area.

Are you getting from Gatwick to wherever by train or by rental car?

The South Downs is more problematic. My definition, and others will validly differ, of the South Downs National Park is that of the South Downs Way (SDW)- a long distance walk which stretches all the way from Winchester to Eastbourne, the Seven Sisters CP is effectively a part of that.

Arundel (and Chichester) are rather off route for that, but Arundel would not be an unreasonable base for the central and eastern parts of the SDW. Maybe somewhere like Petersfield or Winchester would be a better base for the western end.

Great suggestions!

I’d add Ditchling to your list of places to research. It’s an easy cab ride from Burgess Hill and more convenient to Gatwick than someplace further south. And it is actually inside the South Downs National Park. Dame Vera Lynn lived out her last days there! And it’s very quiet and quaint.

Here’s their blurb: “Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling. There are two public houses, The Bull and The White Horse; two cafes, The Nutmeg Tree and The Green Welly; a post office, florist, delicatessen and other shops.”

There are a surprising number of restaurants to choose from, including the incredible Ridgeview Wine Estate where they make sparkling English wine (no - it’s actually wonderful!) and serve sophisticated cuisine. https://www.ridgeview.co.uk/

For breakfast, we like the Nutmeg Tree, which is wildly quaint and totally adorable, with a Vera Lynn/WWII theme. (They don’t have a website.)

Anyway, the SDNP is glorious. Enjoy! :-)

Thanks for all the suggestions! This forum is always great! Several folks have mentioned Lewes. Does it have the feel of a quaint English town with a historic downtown? I've googled it and it's hard to get a feel from the pictures. This research is a bit more challenging. It's not the same as choosing to go to a big city in Europe. You basically know what you're going to experience there.
Your feedback is so helpful!
Thanks again!!

Lewes has a ruined Norman Castle and extensive ruins of a Priory “dissolved “ by Henry VIII You can also see the house where Anne of Cleeves (wife 4). Lived out her life. The Main Street is quite attractive but the shops are a mix of modern and quaint

The only downside to my mind is that it is a few miles inland

One point from your original question - Lewes, Arundel and Rye are small towns rather than villages

I would take the idea of Ditchling with some seriousness. When she first joined the forum about a year ago @Volva was living in Burgess Hill (if memory serves me right) so hers is good quality, recent information.

Volva--thanks for your reply! Why do you feel Ditchling is a better choice than Lewes? We are going to have a car so we have a lot flexibiilty. Initially, we didn't want to rent a car since we're coming from the US (opposite side, as you know) but public transport takes much much longer than driving!

Several folks have mentioned Lewes. Does it have the feel of a quaint
English town with a historic downtown?

We stayed there for a couple of nights in September 22 and it was an unexpected treat. I'm not sure if I'd call it quaint, but it is historic right from the days of King Alfred who built defenses around it in fear of a Viking attack. There are a few good restaurants as well. It's about 30-45 minute train directly from Gatwick. We then rented a car after our visit. There is only an independent rental place in Lewes which we used, but it's a very quick train to Bath to rent a car from one of the established companies or 30-45 minutes back to Gatwick for a rental. We chose not to rent right away because I didn't want to be driving right after an overnight flight.

If you're interested, here's a link to my Trip Report. Days 1 and 2 were of Lewes. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-the-south-of-england

Hi sheilaehrens!

You said “quaint village with historic interest…” Lewes is a town of about 100,000 people, not a village. Ditchling is a village of about 2000 people, which more closely fits your brief, I think. So - not “better choice.” But I thought it “better fit” what you said you are looking for. :-)

That’s why I recommended it, as well as because it’s more convenient to Gatwick than someplace further south. It’s less than a 30 minute drive to the airport, yet feels totally in the countryside.

Here’s the Wikipedia entry for Ditchling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditchling You’ll see that the residents are fighting to keep Ditchling’s historic integrity intact, and its historic buildings from being razed.

If you are thinking it might be too small to serve as a home base, and that Lewes (or another choice) will have more of the services you’re looking for, that is totally valid! :-)

That said, Ditchlng is close enough to larger towns that if you want a large Aldi or Lidl, there are a couple close by.

The question is....do you want a town or a village? You've asked for a quaint village with an historic downtown. Villages don't have "downtown's" (it's not really a word that we use much in the UK). A village is a small group of houses, pubs, shops a church or two and a few other establishments. The hub of a village will usually be the village hall or the village green. There are lots of lovely, quaint villages throughout the South Downs that will likely hit your brief however lodging will be more difficult to find. You won't encounter hotels in a small village, there might be a B&B or a pub with rooms or sometimes nothing at all.

A town is larger with a greater population size than a village. A town will have a "high street" which is what you'd be looking for in terms of a "downtown". The high street is the hub of a town, it's populated primarily with shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants. Places like Arundel, Petersfield, Petworth, Midhurst etc are considered towns whereas the likes of Woodmancote, East Meon or Selborne are classed as villages.

I like Petworth, a small pleasant town with the magnificent Petworth House (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/sussex/petworth) and plenty of lovely, historic towns and villages in the vicinity. A car is a must though if you want to get the best out of the area.

So happy for you to be visiting this beautiful area! Hands down, seeing it and walking within ranks as the most wonderful time we have ever spent outdoors. I will leave the comprehensive suggestions up to the folks on here who know the area better than myself, but I will say we happened - by chance and by getting a bit turned around, best getting lost situation ever, though:) - upon a little village called East Dean. It is within walking distance of the SDW and google maps has it an hour from Gatwick. We used a bus - caught it in East Dean- to get back to Eastbourne when we were done with our hike. The village was lovely. Not much to it, but we saw quaint cottages for rent, a pub, The Tiger Inn I believe it was called, and as I said it was within walking distance of getting to the Seven Sisters and SDW. We said when we go back we are going to look into staying in a cottage there if we can. Again, just throwing this sweet little place out there. I’m sure the other more knowledgeable forum members can say if it has more of what you are looking for. It might not be as good of a fit for you, but we were smitten.

East Dean is indeed a lovely village, there's a nice short historical summary of the village on this site https://sussexvillages.co.uk/east-dean/.

Another similar village is West Dean which houses the very popular West Dean Gardens www.historichouses.org/house/west-dean-gardens/visit/. The gardens also host an annual Chilli festival, the UK's largest, and has taken place for over two decades.

And East Dean has a lovely weekly market, on Wednesdays. We were staying at the Belle Tout B&B at Beachy Head last year and took the bus to East Dean. We bought some delicious artisanal chocolate from Paul and Roni (Gatos chocolate company), rye bread, local cheese, and some lovely notecards!

http://www.eastdeanvillage.org.uk/village-market.html

Thank you all! Your posts have been so very helpful! I have never been to England so this is a learning curve. And you've done a great job in educating me! Personal experience far surpasses images and info on line or in a book. I didn't really understand the difference between village, town etc. but had this romantic image of the perfect place to stay. So the question still remains open: where do we stay for our home base? We will have a car so we can visit many of the villages and towns you've mentioned.
We love food, history and architecture and we're also a bit fussy about our rental accommodations. We prefer an apartment over a hotel. I'm leaning toward staying in Lewes because we may have more options, but quite honestly I have no idea since this is our first time in this area. We could stay some place smaller and drive to another town for dinner, but driving can be a hassle since we're coming from the US and we'll be driving during the day.
Volvo mentioned Ditchling. What do you folks think? I know this thread has been going on and on--so very sorry for my indecisivness! I look forward to hearing your thoughts , so I can finally make a decision this week!
Thank you all again for your time and for all the great info!!!! There's many places that you've mentioned that we'll visit even if we don't stay there.

Ditchlng is a village, and certainly not a town, a few miles inland from Brighton. It’s slightly further from the Seven Sisters etc than Lewes but there’s not a huge amount in it.

I think it comes down to town versus village. I’ve driven through East Dean which is very pretty and not far from Beachy Head (high unguarded cliffs) but don’t know much about its facilities. Just about an hour by taxi from Gatwick, I’d guess. It’s also on the road between Eastbourne and Brighton and the buses are fairly frequent.

I want to thank everyone for all of your great suggestions and for your patience with my many questions! It has been so helpful! After looking at available rentals we've rented a lovely guesthouse in the "country" 15 min. from Lewes in Ripe. It's close to many of the spots you've suggested and close to Seven Sisters. We will be renting a car and will visit several of the villages and towns you've mentioned. And we're close to many restaurants and grocery stores etc.
This is such a wonderful forum! Thanks again for your guidance! We can't wait for our trip!
Sheila

Glad you found a place. After you get back and settled, be sure to share what your experiences if you can. It’s always great to read about what other people thought about a place you’ve visited. Hope you have a magical trip!

My husband and I were recently based in Brighton for 3 months for a work opportunity and we had the good fortune to visit Seven Sisters. It is beautiful! You will love it.

We enjoyed going to Middle Farm which is nearby. It's a working family farm with a delicious cafe -- we got the cream tea and Victoria sponge, and it was the best tea and cake we had while in the area. There's also a cute shop there with local spirits and other things.

If you like Gin do try the Generation 11 Sussex Gin. The English aren't known for their wines, but the Ridgeview wines are fantastic. I particularly liked the Bloomsbury Brut, which I am now trying to find in the States! Our our guide informed us that because of climate change that region of England is now what the champagne region in France used to be. It makes sense that they'd make good wines there when you consider all the chalky cliffs nearby!

The town of Lewes is also very beautiful. They have a small castle, the ruins of an old Priory, and don't miss the house where Thomas Paine once lived. We enjoyed the Ann of Cleves house, which is now a working museum that goes into really wonderful detail about how people lived in the time of Tudor England.