The Best Cycling Routes in Brighton and Hove

The best cycling routes in Brighton & Hove fall into three types: flat coastal paths on National Cycle Network Route 2, climbs onto the South Downs, and traffic-free railway trails inland. This guide rates nine rides by distance, gradient, surface and family suitability. Everyone starts within reach of the city without a car.

Quick Comparison of Routes

How This Guide Rates the Best Cycling Routes in Brighton & Hove

Four criteria decide the order: surface, gradient, traffic exposure and how easily you get home. Distances come from the authorities that manage each route, including Brighton & Hove City Council, West Sussex County Council, the South Downs National Park Authority and the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, the charity formerly called Sustrans that has looked after the National Cycle Network since 1977.

Two features of local geography shape every route on this list. The coast runs east to west and is almost entirely flat. Everything north of the seafront climbs, because the city sits on the chalk of the South Downs. Choosing a route here is mostly a decision about which of those two you want.

The Undercliff Walk: Brighton Marina to Saltdean

The Undercliff Walk is the flattest traffic-free ride in the city, running just over 5km from Brighton Marina east to Saltdean. The path starts behind the Asda at the Marina and ends at the city boundary, marked by the last rock groyne.

Brighton & Hove City Council manages the path as part of the city’s coastal defences, which explains its two quirks. Waves come over the sea wall during high tides and stormy weather, and chalk and flint fall from the cliffs above, so sections close when the cliffs become unstable. Check before you set out in winter.

Ramps drop onto the path at the east end of Madeira Drive, from the Asda car park, and down the cliff road opposite Roedean Café on Marine Drive. Cafés and toilets sit at Ovingdean Gap, Rottingdean and Saltdean. Signage gives pedestrians priority along the whole length, so this is a route for a steady pace rather than a training ride.

Key takeaway: Ride the Undercliff for a flat, car-free hour with children or a first outing on a new bike, and use the clifftop path above for anything faster.

Brighton Seafront to Shoreham and Worthing on National Cycle Network Route 2

The Worthing to Brighton section of National Cycle Network Route 2 covers 12.9 miles along the coast, most of it on promenade with short sections on quiet roads. The Walk Wheel Cycle Trust describes this section as one that suits families.

Riding west from Palace Pier you pass the remains of the West Pier, then Hove Lagoon, then the working port at Shoreham Harbour, then Widewater Lagoon at Lancing, where herons, swans and other wildfowl use the water behind the shingle bar. Worthing seafront closes the ride.

The practical advantage is the railway. Stations sit at both ends and follow the coast the whole way, so you can ride one direction and take the train back. That turns a 26 mile round trip into a 13 mile afternoon.

Key takeaway: This is the route to choose when you want distance without climbing, and the train makes a one-way ride straightforward.

Devil’s Dyke via the Hangleton Railway Path

The disused railway path from Hangleton, near Hove, up to Devil’s Dyke is the gentlest way onto the South Downs by bike. It runs about 4 miles on a paved surface up gentle slopes and forms part of National Cycle Network Route 20 between Brighton and Crawley.

Devil’s Dyke sits roughly 5 miles north west of the city and is the longest, deepest and widest dry valley in Britain. The National Trust manages the site, there is a pub and a car park at the top, and the view north across the Weald is the reason most people ride up.

From the top you can pick up bridleways in several directions or drop north to the villages of Poynings and Fulking. The paved climb means you can do this ride on a hybrid or a town bike rather than needing gears built for the Downs.

Key takeaway: Ride the railway path when you want the view from the Downs without a steep road climb, then descend the same way or continue on the South Downs Way.

Ditchling Beacon: The Local Climbing Benchmark

Ditchling Beacon is the highest point in East Sussex at 248 metres and sits about 7 miles north of Brighton. Riders use it as a fitness benchmark because the two approaches are so different.

From central Brighton, follow Ditchling Road north from St Peter’s Church. A 2.5km shared path runs alongside Ditchling Road out of the city and into the South Downs National Park, funded through the Department for Transport’s Cycle Ambition programme and opened in 2015. The gradient from this side is long and steady rather than severe.

The north face is the hard one. From Ditchling village, the climb covers roughly 1.4km at an average of 9%, touching 16% at its steepest, broken by short false flats that stop you settling into a rhythm. The road was a category 4 climb in the 1994 Tour de France and featured again in the 2014 Tour of Britain.

That asymmetry gives you two rides from one hill. Climb the gradual Brighton side and descend the north face into Ditchling, or ride out to the village first and save the 9% for the return. The road to the Beacon is also the natural approach to the wider network of lanes through the Weald.

Key takeaway: Approach from Brighton for a steady climb and from Ditchling village for the 9% test, and expect the summit road to be busy with cars and other cyclists at weekends.

Stanmer Park and the Woodland Trail

Stanmer Park holds the best off-road riding inside the city limits, on a mix of gravel, chalk and grass. The Woodland Trail loops around the park perimeter for 5 miles, and the Green Drive is a wide gravel path running from the playground at the main gate up to Stanmer House.

The park matters because of what it connects to. From the top you reach the South Downs Way and the routes over the Downs. The circular ride from Stanmer Park to Ditchling Beacon and back covers 9 miles and takes one to two hours on a bike, which makes it one of the most efficient ways to get a genuine Downs ride into the morning.

Surfaces here change with the weather. Chalk and grass sections that ride well in August turn slick after autumn rain, so wider tyres earn their place from October onwards.

Key takeaway: Use the Green Drive and the Woodland Trail for family off-road riding, and treat Stanmer as the gateway for longer loops onto the South Downs Way.

The Falmer to Woodingdean Path and Cycle Route 90 to Lewes

The Falmer to Woodingdean path is a 2.5km segregated route following the line of the B2123, and it is the most useful piece of infrastructure in the east of the city. The South Downs National Park Authority records it as a strategic cycle route linking Falmer Station, the University of Sussex, the University of Brighton, the Amex Stadium, National Cycle Network Routes 2 and 90, Stanmer Park and the South Downs Way.

For riders heading to Lewes, this path plus National Cycle Network Route 90 gives a workable alternative to the A27, though parts of the Lewes approach are on road rather than segregated. The path undulates up to the top of the Downs, with views east towards Lewes and south across the city to the sea, then drops through Woodingdean. Coming back along the Undercliff Walk from Rottingdean turns the whole thing into a loop of about 13 miles.

Key takeaway: this is the commuter and student route in the east of the city, and it doubles as the first leg of a Brighton to Lewes ride.

The Egrets Way: Lewes to Newhaven

The Egrets Way runs approximately 7 miles, or 11km, between Lewes and Newhaven, following the River Ouse and crossing the South Downs Way National Trail at Southease. The South Downs National Park Authority lists it as a priority scheme, started in 2011 by local residents who wanted a safe alternative to the C7 road.

The route is almost complete. As of 2026, the final section at Piddinghoe, known as Phase 7, remains in planning, with a concept options consultation that closed in March 2026. Short stretches still use the C7, which is narrow and busy, so check the current status before you commit to the full length.

Getting there from Brighton is a train ride to Lewes station, which puts a flat riverside route through the Ouse valley within easy reach of a weekend morning. Sections are farm track and can be muddy after rain, so this is a hybrid or gravel bike route rather than one for narrow tyres.

Key takeaway: Take the train to Lewes and ride the Ouse valley for flat, quiet riding in the National Park, and check the Piddinghoe section before planning the full run to Newhaven.

The Downs Link: Shoreham-by-Sea to the North Downs

The Downs Link is a 37 mile, or 59km, shared-use route from Shoreham-by-Sea to the North Downs Way in Surrey, following the course of two disused railway lines. West Sussex County Council manages the Sussex sections and confirms that the whole route is surfaced, though some parts are uneven and include slopes.

Because it follows railway alignments, the gradients are gentle for almost its entire length, which is what makes it usable by children and by anyone building distance for the first time. It crosses the Low Weald, passes beneath the South Downs at Bramber and Upper Beeding, and forms part of National Cycle Network Route 223, connecting to Routes 2 and 22.

The southern end is easy to reach from the city: Shoreham-by-Sea sits directly on the coastal stretch of Route 2, so you ride west along the seafront and pick up the trail where it meets the sea. Riding north to south gives you a gradual descent towards the coast.

Key takeaway:Ride out as far as Henfield or Southwater and return, or commit to the full 37 miles with a train home from Guildford, which is the most straightforward long day ride available from Brighton.

The South Downs Way from Brighton

The South Downs Way is a 100 mile National Trail between Winchester and Eastbourne, open to cyclists along its full length, and it crosses the ridge directly above the city. Access points within an easy ride of Brighton include Devil’s Dyke to the north west, Ditchling Beacon to the north, and Southease to the east.

The surface is chalk and flint bridleway, with repeated steep climbs and descents as the trail crosses each river valley. This is the most demanding route on this list. Chalk becomes slippery when wet and holds water in ruts through winter, so summer and early autumn are the sensible seasons for long sections.

Riders using the trail from the city usually treat it as a linear ride with a train home, since the railway serves Southease, Falmer and Amberley.

Key takeaway: The South Downs Way is the serious off-road option, best ridden in dry months on a mountain or gravel bike with a rail return planned.

Which Are the Best Cycling Routes in Brighton & Hove for Families?

Three routes suit family riding: the Undercliff Walk, the Green Drive in Stanmer Park, and the coastal section of National Cycle Network Route 2 west of Hove. All three are traffic-free for most of their length, and none involves a sustained climb.

The Undercliff Walk is the strongest choice for young children because it is flat, paved, and enclosed between cliff and sea with no road crossings for 5km. Stanmer Park adds space to stop and eat, with the playground at the main gate as a natural start and finish. The Downs Link is the next step up once children can manage longer distances, because it can be broken into sections of 7 to 10 miles between villages.

The Devil’s Dyke railway path is the exception worth knowing about. It climbs, but the gradient is gentle and the surface is paved, so it is often the first ride onto the Downs that works for a family group.

Can You Cycle Along Brighton Seafront?

Yes. The seafront carries National Cycle Network Route 2 and provides a continuous east to west cycling corridor through the city, from Portslade in the west to the Marina and the Undercliff Walk in the east.

The seafront is also the busiest shared space in the city on a summer weekend, with pedestrians, dog walkers and hire bikes using the same width of promenade. For commuting or any ride where pace matters, the parallel road corridors are usually faster than the promenade between April and September.

Is Brighton & Hove Good for Cycling?

Brighton & Hove works well for cycling on the flat and demands real fitness or electrical assistance everywhere else. The seafront corridor is one of the most useful flat commuting routes in any UK city, and the South Downs give direct access to open countryside within a few miles of the centre.

The honest limitation is terrain. Streets north of Lewes Road, the routes up to Hollingbury and Woodingdean, and every approach to the Downs involve sustained climbing. The city’s Beryl BTN Bikes scheme reflects this directly: roughly 60% of its fleet are e-bikes, chosen specifically to deal with the hills and the seafront wind.

Where Can You Hire a Bike for the Best Cycling Routes in Brighton & Hove?

Beryl BTN Bikes is the city’s cycle hire scheme, run by Beryl in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council. The fleet runs to 750 pedal bikes and e-bikes across more than 100 hubs, hired through the Beryl app, and passed one million journeys in March 2026.

Hire bikes suit the flat routes well. The Undercliff Walk and the seafront stretch of Route 2 are both within the hire zone. For the Downs Link, the South Downs Way or a full Egrets Way ride, a hire bike is the wrong tool, both because of the surfaces and because the routes leave the hub network.

Storing Your Bike Between Rides in a Brighton Terrace

Salt air and winter grit are the two conditions that shorten the life of a bike ridden in this city, and both argue for covered storage rather than a cover thrown over a frame in a front garden. Riding the seafront routes on this list means salt spray on your drivetrain most of the year, and the same applies to bikes stored in the open within sight of the sea.

Choosing a Shed for a Brighton Front Garden

Brighton’s housing stock makes this harder than it sounds. Victorian and Edwardian terraces dominate, with narrow frontages, no side access and no garage, which is why so many bikes end up in hallways. A front garden shed solves it where there is any outside space at all. Brighton Bike Sheds builds every unit to order in Sussex, sized to the space rather than to a standard catalogue footprint.

The choice comes down to how the household rides. The Classic Bike Shed stores bikes front to back within a 2000mm wide footprint, which fits against most front boundary walls without blocking the path to the door, and suits households where the bikes come out together. The Slot-In Bike Shed uses a galvanised steel floor rack at 400mm centres so each bike is reached without moving the others, which matters when different people ride on different days. For a cargo bike, the Cargo Bike Shed is built to depths of 2.5m or 3.0m with a sliding lid for maneuvering longer frames in and out.

One caveat on the Vertical Bike Shed: it hangs bikes on powder-coated hooks at 400mm centres, which is efficient in a narrow space but is not recommended for any bike over 25 kg 

Security and Weather Protection

On security, every shed in the range carries an internal SecureBar anchor point and a long-throw lock supplied with 4 keys, and we fit a ground anchor for £85 per anchor where there is a concrete base, with the anchor itself supplied by you. Our bike security and insurance guide covers lock choice and insurance requirements in full.

For salt and moisture specifically, our guide on stopping bikes rusting in a shed covers ventilation and drying, and the waterproof bike storage guide explains what actually keeps water out.

Frequently Asked Questions