The newly installed gate at the Southern Water site at Telscombe
Ramblers are celebrating after a successful 40-year battle to open a footpath in East Sussex.
Members of the campaigning walkers’ charity were joined by the South Downs Society in their fight to allow access to the route at Telscombe Cliffs near Peacehaven.
Southern Water has installed gates at its site so walkers can cross the area as part of a coastal walk. Chris Smith of the Sussex area of the Ramblers said it is now possible to walk along the coast from Brighton to Peacehaven.
He said the victory was the culmination of perhaps the group’s longest campaign.
Mr Smith said: “In the 1970s the water company obstructed this path through their works and for many years they denied that there was a right of way.
“Everyone thought it was a done deal and that they had gone through the formalities, but in the early part of this century and eagle-eyed member of the South Downs Society spotted that the footpath still legally existed.
“The Ramblers, with Peter Seed in the forefront, and the SDS, together with local people, began a long campaign to get the path re-opened. It was more or less the only bit of coastal path between Brighton and Newhaven that was not open to the public.
Dave Brookshaw of the South Downs Society at the site before the installation of the gate
“In 2017 their campaign was successful.”
He added: “If you are a Ramblers member this is what you pay your subscription for. If you are not a member, this is why you should join.”
The Sussex area of the Ramblers carries out its work in East and West Sussex. With more than 4,000 individual members and over 20 affiliated clubs in Sussex the Ramblers is the biggest outdoor organisation in the two counties.
hughwestacott
07 August 2017This is yet another example of just how much ALL walkers, whether they acknowledge it or not, owe to the Ramblers. I never walk with the Ramblers but am a Life Member because of what the organization has achieved including:
A legally defined system of public rights of way in England and Wales.
Access to open country.
Persuading the Ordnance Survey to keep the 1:25,000 scale.
Persuading the OS to show public rights of way on its 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 maps.
National trails.
It is urrently campaigning to get Scottish Core Paths depicted on OS maps.
Hugh Westacott
Shelley Bernard
07 August 2017I enjoy walking along the cliffs from Peacehaven perhaps l have not been that way for a little while , but l cannot place the gate is it new?
Stacy
07 August 2017I feel very let down........
You may all be jumping with joy you have your gate.
NOW explain to me
How is my sister in her wheel chair ment to enjoy this???
No one has followed the law for disabled access!
So now what's going to happen
Sick and tired
07 August 2017This cliff is crumbling and falling into the sea on a regular basis. Why oh why must everything be 100% accessible? Surely our coastline is more important than walking this close to the edge for 200m?
And this is yet another bit of clifftop that will undoubtedly be populated by stupid tourists getting too close to the edge to take selfies. So once again residents, who are already manning a neighbourhood watch to warn people - and to keep an eye out for potential suicides - will have to do more. Just because you want to walk on a bit of grass.
hughwestacott
07 August 2017I'm not familiar with the area around Peacehaven, Stacy, so am unable to comment on this particular case. However, for some time the Ramblers have been campaigning for stiles to be replaced by pedestrian gates, and for better access on rights of way for wheelchair users.
But the very nature of countryside paths, particularly on steep hills, means that, even with the best will in the world, they cannot be made accessible for everyone.
I'm now in my mid-eighties and have reluctantly had to accept that my mountain days are over. A few weeks ago I went walking with my sons on a section of the south Devon coast near Sidmouth and discovered, to my dismay, that I was too frightened of falling to descend a steep path, even though it had well-maintained steps.
Suggest that you contact the Ramblers to express your concern.
Hugh