Cissbury Ring butterfly walk
Explore one of the best butterfly sites in Sussex with this circular walk along the Cissbury Ring to see numerous Adonis and chalkhill blues, dark-green fritillaries and marbled whites.
Explore the most historic hill on the South Downs
The walk is also very rich in flora, including bee orchids, field fleawort and round-headed rampion, and has impressive areas of chalk lichen lawns.
Total steps: 8
Total steps: 8
Start point
Storrington Rise car park in Findon Valley, grid ref: TQ129076
Step 1
Take the path out of the Storrington Rise car park, heading across a neglected field towards the corner of a copse. Go through the kissing gate, and follow the path along the copse edge, under old sycamore trees. Cross the stile and follow the path across a grass field, through a kissing gate onto Cissbury Ring, by the National Trust omega sign and a bench.
Step 2
Turn left onto the outer ramparts. The fence on your left gradually drops away. Go down the steps to the small car park in the northern corner (before the car park is an old sunken dew pond).
Step 3
Turn right in the minor car park, before the gate into the field, and follow the vehicle track that leads through scrub and open flowery glades, with a steep slope on your left. It becomes more open, with a big grassy area appearing on your left. Go straight over the minor crossroads, staying on the upper of the two paths. Go through a bridlegate (not National Trust, but open access land) into a large area of open grassland with developing scrub. Explore this area for a while, then retrace your steps back to the bridlegate.
Step 4
Follow the inner rampart ditch, past where you entered, round to the south-west entrance. Near the old beech plantation, turn right out of the hillfort entrance, go through the kissing gate and meander around the flint mines, before heading towards the bridlegate by the wood corner.
Step 5
After the bridlegate, turn left at the crossroads. Go through another bridlegate, and aim for the main (eastern) entrance to the hillfort. (Before the entrance, you can do a detour to explore the steep south-facing slope at the head of Rifle Range Valley.)
Step 6
After the kissing gate leading into the hillfort, turn right to follow the path along the outer ramparts initially, before bearing left at the top of the steps to follow the inner rampart ditch. This leads past an area of flint mines.
Step 7
Follow the inner rampart ditch, past where you entered, round to the south-west entrance. Near the old beech plantation, turn right out of the hillfort entrance, go through the kissing gate and meander around the flint mines, before heading towards the bridlegate by the wood corner.
Step 8
From the wood edge bridlegate, follow the straight diagonal path back towards the old sycamore trees, and return to the Storrington Rise car park.
End point
Storrington Rise car park in Findon Valley, grid ref: TQ129076
Trail map
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