I know quite a few roads, trails, and bridleways near Horsham, West Sussex so I thought I’d publish a few of my favourite cycle rides. This is the first. It starts on Hampers Lane, east side of Horsham, and makes a circular loop via St Leonards Forest, Colgate and back to the start via Wimlands, north of the A264.
Hampers Lane – Colgate – Wimlands – Littlehaven
- Distance: 12.6 miles or 19 km
- Type of route: Road and off-road. Mountain bike required
- Grade: Intermediate or plucky beginner
- Start and Finish: Junction of Depot Road and Comptons Lane
- Pubs on the route: The Dragon at Colgate
- Map below and on Google Maps
- You can easily find the route on this Ordnance Survey Map.
This is a great cycle ride for those summer evenings when you just want to get out for a short-ish ride after work. It’s a nice mixture of road and off-road that is technically not too difficult (although bridleways can change condition quickly after rain or in the winter). There are a couple of climbs and descents but nothing too serious.
The cycle route (purple line) crosses the A264 in two places and the Horsham-Crawley railway line. Be careful at these crossing points. I’ve indicated on the map where the pub is (yellow marker) and given directions at certain points (green cycle markers). Bridleways are viewable using the satellite view (top right). The route goes in an anti-clockwise direction (starting at Hampers Lane travelling east) but there’s no reason why you cannot do it the other way round. The map is here on Google Maps.
For step-by-step directions, see below.
Have a great ride!
Horsham Cycle Ride Map
View Hampers Lane - Colgate - Wimlands - Littlehaven in a larger map
Directions
- With your back to Depot Road, cycle along Hampers Lane, and straight over the crossroads with Smithbarn. The road narrows and goes downhill then slightly uphill.
- After the uphill section, Hampers Lane bends left but you want the bridleway on the right. After a few meters, go through a gate, and continue on the bridleway until you get to Hammerpond Rd. Turn left.
- After a downhill section, go uphill and turn left into Roosthole car park. Take the track on the right, through a narrow gate, before the car parking area.
- Follow the main bridleway/track. It goes uphill and bends sharply left after a short-ish distance. Keep on this bridleway for about a mile (1.6 km) until you get to Forest Rd. Turm right into Colgate.
- Halfway through Colgate village, just after Blackhouse Rd, turn left on the bridleway. It’s easy to miss! Take this track downhill, keep right when the trail branches left, until the A264.
- Walk across the main road, over the central reservation [care!], through a gate and take the grassy bridleway between houses until it reaches a newly built cycle path. Turn left and cross the railway line [care!].
- Continue left on this cycle path, which becomes a narrow road, until you reach the junction with Faygate Lane. Straight ahead on to Wimlands Lane. At the end (less than a mile), turn left down Wimlands Rd. The Frog and Nightgown is after the downhill section on the right. Have a pint.
- After the pub, turn right on the bridleway before the railway line. Continue until you reach Rusper Road. Turn left
- Go straight across the A264 roundabout, then across the next roundabout, past Littlehaven Satation, and back to the start via Redkiln Way.
Hi Clive
Two of us cycled this route yesterday afternoon (first ride of the year) and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the downhill section leading to the pub, with 31mph showing on the speedo 🙂 Alas, the pub was shut so we needn’t have hurried but we’ll add it to the “after work” list for further investigation. Do you have any other routes in that area mapped out?
Hi Steve, I know a few routes around Horsham but not yet mapped them. The Horsham District Council website has quite a few cycle routes in their cycling section though.
Yes, that’s a great downhill section!
Hi Clive,
Thanks for this suggested route. It is basically an extension of a route I’ve been doing for a few years anyway but hadn’t tried the part through Buchan Country Park and into Ifield before.
I am always on the lookout for nice local routes that are mainly off road around Horsham.
Thanks again.
Alex
Hi Alex, it’s a really enjoyable route and one of my favourites. Hope you can try the bit you don’t know sometime.
Hi Clive. Thanks for this route. I tried it the other day but couldn’t find the bridleway on the other side of the A264 (coming from the Colgate side)! Have you done this ride recently, has something changed? There is a building site there so is that now in the way?
Thanks, Matt.
Hi Matt. I’ve not cycled it in recent months. There was a house that looks like a castle (!) on the left of the bridleway. The bridleway was narrow and overgrown when I last cycled it and it’s easy to miss. If they are having building work done, they shouldn’t block the path though.
Ah, ok. Yes, the ‘castle’ is the building site I had in mind. I spotted the gate to the right of it and started down there but it was very overgrown and didn’t look like it was leading anywhere so I gave up! I’ll try again… Many thanks.
That part of the bridleway is the worst bit. May need to push bike for a short section. But, it does widen out before the railway line crossing … or, at least it used to!
Hi. I did this route with 3 boys from 8 to 14 in December. Started at the strawberry picking farm and onwards. Had no problems but needed a drink in the dragon! Very good route thank you. All muddy and tired.
Great! I really like the route but it does get muddy at this time of year. All adds to the fun though!
Thanks for this route Clive – I did it yesterday evening and all the paths were up and running – a lovely route including some muddy stuff, nice trails and lovely Sussex quiet small roads – the Frog and Nigthgown watering hole at the bottom of Wimlands Hill was very tempting, but I pressed on!
Thanks again for posting the ride.
Nigel
Hi I am getting a mountain bike later so does anyone know and smaller bike routes say 2 – 4 miles long please i live in rh12 5gz Thanks
Hi Jill, if you can get to Southwater Country Park by car, transporting your bike, the Downs Link trail in either direction is a good place to start. Closer to home, some of the Horsham Riverside Walk can be cycled. Or St Leonards Forest from Roosthole car park perhaps.
Thank you