The Best Day Trips From Brighton

The best day trips from Brighton are close, cheap and mostly doable by bus: Lewes for its Norman castle and High Street, the Seven Sisters and Cuckmere Haven for the white cliffs, Arundel for its castle (season ends 1 November 2026), Rottingdean along the Undercliff Walk, Ditchling Beacon and the village below it, and Steyning via Devil's Dyke and the South Downs Way. Brighton & Hove Buses' Discovery ticket covers a lot of this for £9 an adult or £17.50 for a family. Details were checked in October 2026, and the main thing to know is that a couple of favourites are closed or about to close for the winter.

Lewes

The county town is the easiest day out from Brighton, reached by the 28 and 29 buses as well as the train. Climb the keep at Lewes Castle, 169 High Street, a Norman castle built after the Battle of Hastings by supporters of William the Conqueror, for views right across Sussex, then take in the adjoining museum. Adults pay £12, children (5 to 17) £6.50 and a family of two adults and up to four children £34; under 5s are free. Then just wander: the High Street and the steep lanes off it are the point of Lewes, along with its pubs.

Seven Sisters and Cuckmere Haven

The chalk cliffs you have seen on every Sussex postcard. Seven Sisters Country Park is on the 12, 12A and 12X routes towards Eastbourne, and on Sundays and public holidays the 13X runs every 30 minutes to Birling Gap and Beachy Head. From Saturday 24 October the visitor centre and Grab and Go cafe move to winter hours, 10am to 4pm, with toilets and car parks open 7am to 6pm. Walk down the valley to Cuckmere Haven, where the river meanders out to the sea, and look back at the cliffs. A ranger walk and talk runs there on 31 October.

Arundel

A fairytale castle above a little riverside town in West Sussex. Arundel Castle runs its 2026 season from Wednesday 1 April to Sunday 1 November, so if you want to go this year it is now or next spring. On open days the gardens and Fitzalan Chapel run 10am to 5pm (the chapel closes at 4pm from 20 October), the keep 10am to 4.30pm and the castle rooms from noon to 5pm, with last admission at 4pm. It is closed on Mondays, except bank holidays and in August. The town is worth an afternoon even when the castle is shut.

Rottingdean along the Undercliff

A day trip you can walk to. The Undercliff Walk runs from behind Asda at Brighton Marina under the chalk cliffs to Saltdean, just over 5km, with a ramp up at the south end of Rottingdean High Street. Have lunch in the village, carry on to Saltdean Lido if you are feeling energetic, and get the bus back along the coast road. Avoid it in a storm: the council warns that waves come over the wall.

Ditchling Beacon and Ditchling village

The weekend 79 bus runs from Brighton to Ditchling Beacon, one of the high points of the Downs, on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. From the top the council suggests walking about 2 miles down into Ditchling village and another 2 miles on to Hassocks station for a train home. One warning: Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft is closed to the public for the rest of 2026, so this is a walk and a pub lunch rather than a culture trip for now.

Devil's Dyke to Steyning

For a proper Downs day, get the 77 to Devil's Dyke (weekends and bank holidays), then walk about 4 miles west along the South Downs Way to Beeding Hill and drop down to Upper Beeding. The number 2 bus runs back daily from Steyning to Brighton and on to Rottingdean. Pack water and proper shoes; the Downs are gentle until they are not.

Wakehurst and the Weald

If you want trees rather than sea, the 272 Metrobus runs from Brighton to Crawley via Wakehurst every two hours, Monday to Saturday. It is a longer ride than the others, so make a day of it.

Day trip tips

• Bus fares: a Breeze Return to the Downs is £5, and up to four under 19s travel free with a paying adult on Brighton & Hove Buses.
• Metrobus fares are separate: £7.25 single, £10 duo or £12 family through the app.
• Seven Sisters, the Dyke and the Beacon are all exposed: wind, not rain, is usually what ruins the day.