The Sussex Belle

The Sussex Belle

Our day out begins when our train leaves London Victoria station mid-morning, hauled by iconic No. 34028 Eddystone steam locomotive. We journey south along the main line towards Brighton passing through East Croydon, Redhill, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges and Haywards Heath. The route crosses the Weald, an ancient area of woodland scattered with farms and villages. We leave the Brighton line at Keymer Junction, just after Wivesfield, and head south-eastwards through Cooksbridge to Lewes. Here we join the East Coastway Line that runs from Brighton to Eastbourne, Hastings and Ashford, passing through the South Downs, an area of rolling chalk downland. We head to Eastbourne where our steam locomotive will be serviced and there will be time to visit this popular South Coast seaside town, with its Victorian hotels, pier and bandstand, situated immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain. We leave Eastbourne, diesel-hauled, and head along the Sussex Coast through Normans Bay, Cooden Beach, and Bexhill to Hastings, which can claim fame through its connection with the Norman Conquest of England and as the birthplace of television pioneer John Logie Baird. Our train reverses direction of travel at Hastings and leaves with the steam locomotive in charge. We continue north through Crowhurst and Battle, and then through Mountfield Tunnel. Robertsbridge station was formerly a junction station with the Colonel Stephens' famous old Kent and East Sussex Light Railway. We pass through Royal Tunbridge Wells, a spa town on the northern edge of the High Weald. At Sevenoaks, we take the line through Bat and Ball station, and join the line from Ashford at Otford, and the Chatham Main Line at Swanley. Our day trip ends when we arrive back at London Victoria in the early evening.