Inland West Sussex Gatwick Crawley Horsham East Grinstead Arundel South Downs Sussex UK

Gatwick Airport & Around Gatwick

Gatwick Airport is one of Europe's busiest airports predicted to be serving around 40 million passengers by 2010. As you would expect with Britain's second largest airport, London Gatwick is served by an excellent transport network both into central London and beyond. Easily accessed by road via the M23 motorway link and a mere 10 minute drive from London's orbital motorway the M25, Gatwick Airport boasts extensive on-site facilities including its own railway station. Car parking at Gatwick Airport is made easy by an extensive range of Long Stay and Short Stay car parking options and a choice of car rental firms operate from both North and South Terminals. A superb choice of Gatwick Airport Hotels are available in and around the airport complex including an extensive choice of Gatwick B&Bs and guesthouses in nearby locations such as Horley, Crawley, Charlwood, Tinsley Green and Norwood Hill.

Around Gatwick Airport discover a charming selection of historic villages, stunning landscapes and some rather good angling around the Ouse tributaries, golf at Copthorne and over the Surrey border horseracing at Lingfield Park. The tributaries of the River Ouse and the River Mole mark the area around Gatwick and Crawley which sits on the border of the High Weald to the east. To the north and west of Gatwick and Crawley the Mole Valley pushes up towards Dorking and another designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - The Surrey Hills. A sobering thought that these stunning landscapes are just a stones throw from one of Europe's busiest airports! Outside of main town Crawley and the Gatwick Airport complex this area is distinctly rural, with a number of family farm parks in the area including Ladyland Farm Park at Horley.

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Crawley

Crawley is inland West Sussex's largest town, a thriving centre for leisure, entertainment and as the perfect stopover for visitors travelling on via Gatwick Airport which sits just north of Crawley. Cutting edge leisure facilities are at Crawley's K2 Leisure Centre and Crawley Leisure Park offers an entertainment village inclusive of Hollywood Bowl, Cineworld 15 screen cinema and a choice of restaurants. Crawley Town Centre is one of the south's most popular for shopping, incorporating all your favourite high street names around the central Queens Square area as well as the mighty central County Mall which offers over 90 further stores. Crawley is also home to the Hawth Theatre, an acclaimed arts centre in the south.

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Horsham

Historic market town Horsham is a Britain in Bloom award winner and is one of the most attractive towns in West Sussex. With its regular open air Saturday market and a huge choice of select independent shops, alfresco cafes and central market square with bandstand, Horsham town centre is a delight. The town holds a wide selection of events, including music on the bandstand through the year and has both an acclaimed museum and arts centre, The Capitol in the town centre.

Nestled on the edge of the High Weald AONB and within easy reach of the South Downs and the Downs Link footpath and bridleway, Horsham is a hotspot for walkers and cyclists. Both the High Weald Landscape Trail and the Worth Way cycling trail start from Horsham. A huge number of parks and nature reserves are in and around Horsham offering plenty of opportunities for birdwatching, walking, cycling and outdoor activities. Famous Sussex gardens like Leondardslee Lakes and Gardens is nearby as well as two popular family farm parks.

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East Grinstead

East Grinstead is ideally situated on the western edge of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is also located at a central meeting point of four English Counties. This prime location makes ancient market town East Grinstead a perfect base for exploring a number of stunning attractions in the area such as nearby Ashdown Forest. The town centre's historic High Street contains a wealth of heritage buildings, many of them medieval timber structures. Fine independent shops, character historic pubs and restaurants are also here aplenty alongside a central museum, theatre, and entertainment centre with cinema and restaurants. On the first and third Thursdays of each month the East Grinstead Farmers Market comes to the High Street offering a fine range of local produce.

A choice of historic Wealden stately homes are in the East Grinstead area including the National Trust run Standen, a showpiece of the Arts and Crafts Movement and essential viewing for fans of William Morris designs. A choice of walking and cycling trails are also easily accessed from East Grinstead including the High Weald Landscape trail and the Worth and Forest Way.

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Haywards Heath & the Mid-Sussex Gardens

Haywards Heath is one of the major towns in the Mid-Sussex area. Ideally placed for exploring the countryside of the High Weald and the South Downs, Haywards Heath has excellent transport links with fast trains running regularly from the town's station to both Brighton and Central London. The railways, with the London link, first introduced here in the 1840s, are integral to the history of the town. Idyllic quintessentially English villages surround Haywards Heath, many situated in the heart of the High Weald AONB including Balcombe and Ardingly home to the South of England Showground which hosts the annual agricultural mecca - the South of England Show.

Top Sussex attractions are within easy reach of Haywards Heath including the stunning Bluebell Railway running through the heart of the High Weald Countryside and nearby Sheffield Park Gardens designed by master English landscape gardener 'Capability' Brown.

On the Western edge of the High Weald AONB in Mid-Sussex around Haywards Heath sit the glorious Sussex Weald Gardens (Nymans, High Beeches, Leonardslee, Kew's Wakehurst Place and Borde Hill), many of which were created by acclaimed Victorian planters. Armed with exotic plants collected from far off locations such as China, Burma, The Andes and Tasmania, planters set about covering acres of the High Weald with this fascinating new flora. Today we can reap the rewards of these efforts as the Mid-Sussex Wealden gardens are soul stiring experiences. The perfumes and colours of the rhododendrons, azalea, magnolia and bluebells in Spring and the roses and wildflower meadows in Summer stay with you. Many of the gardens afford panoramic views of the stunning Sussex High Weald countryside.

As well as a choice of outstanding gardens two award winning wine estates are in the Mid-Sussex area - Bookers Vineyard at Bolney and Ridgeview Wine Estate at Ditchling Common.

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Burgess Hill Area, Plumpton Racecourse & Hickstead

The Burgess Hill area including the attractive villages of Hassocks and Hurspierpoint are perfect bases from which to explore both the South Downs and High Weald. Mainline railway stations are at Burgess Hill and Hassocks affording easy swift access to both Brighton and central London and a choice of rural attractions are within easy reach including famous Sussex Windmills and family farm parks as well as first class show jumping at Hickstead and racing at nearby Plumpton Racecourse.

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Arundel, Amberley & Fontwell Park Racecourse

Arundel is a West Sussex historic centre with a real edge. With its spectacular Arundel Castle and Cathedral, the two centrepieces of the town, Arundel offers a choice of attractions both in and around it including the Arundel Wetlands Centre, Boat Trips from Arundel Boatyard along the River Arun, the Arundel Ghost Experience, a town museum and an outstanding choice of specialist craft shops, fine restaurants, tearooms and country inns. Around Arundel the gentle rolling downland of the South Downs offers more top Sussex attractions including the Amberley Working Museum (which you can reach by boat trip from Arundel!) and the famous Fontwell Park Racecourse. Arundel's acclaimed annual festival centred around Arundel Castle takes place at the end of August.

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West South Downs Steyning, Pulborough, Midhurst & Petworth

Within Sussex the South Downs AONB sweeps through the centre of West Sussex from Steyning and the ancient Iron Age Hill forts at Cissbury and Chanctonbury on north of Arundel and Chichester towards East Hampshire. The West Sussex South Downs contains a wealth of outdoor activities, stunning chalk grassland and escarpment, nature reserves and RSPB reserves, stately homes and gardens, heritage museums exploring the industrial and social history of the Downs and the two Sussex Rivers - the Adur and Arun as they wind through the South Downs en-route to the sea.

The West Sussex Downs is home to a choice of outstanding attractions including Petworth House & Park, Parham House & Gardens, the Cowdray Tudor Ruins at Midhurst and Bignor Roman Villa, RSPB Pulborough Brooks, Nutbourne Vineyard and the Shipley Windmill near Pulborough. The wide range of outdoor leisure pursuits in the West Sussex South Downs includes fishing on the Arun, walking along the South Downs Way National Trail and a good choice of golf courses at Slinfold, Cowdray and Petworth.

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