One of the things I love most about moving to a new town is getting to explore new places. This time, I don’t just have a new town to explore, but a whole new county.

It was time to pack up my camera and head out to do some adventuring.

Despite not having the best summer here in the UK, the British coast is always busier during the summer months. I wasn’t looking for hustle and bustle this weekend. And I wasn’t particularly searching for a beach. But I did want to be by the sea.

So after doing some research, I decided on the small port town of Newhaven on the East Sussex coast.

Newhaven is a town full of history and played a key part in both the First and Second World Wars. It’s also home to the mouth of the River Ouse which starts its life near Lower Beeding in West Sussex. It’s also just a short 9-minute train ride from Lewes or a 20-minute drive.

I jumped onto a packed train, and spent the 9-minutes praying that not everyone on board was heading for Newhaven! Thankfully, only a handful of us disembarked at Newhaven Town.

Navigating Newhaven

It’s worth noting that there are two train stations in Newhaven. Newhaven Town and Newhaven Harbour. Newhaven Harbour is predominantly used for passengers catching the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe.

I had no real plan before I arrived in Newhaven. But I was interested in checking out the views from Castle Hill.

After getting off the train, I took a left out of the station. I walked past the Ferry Port entrance, and took a turning which followed the River Ouse towards the Marina. I wandered along the walkway which sits high above the river. There were remnants of fishing gear to my left and housing to my right. I also walked past a warehouse selling fresh fish, and a meat wholesalers too. I continued along the river, walking by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution Shop and onwards to the Marina.

Encounter with a Distressed Seagull

I made my way towards the end of the marina and the Ho Chi Minh Memorial. As I did so, I spotted a distressed seagull. It had caught its foot in some fishing wire. I was tempted to rescue the bird myself, but I didn’t have anything to cut through the fishing wire. So I rang the RSPB. Unfortunately their local team were all out rescuing other animals, so they passed me on to a local wildlife charity. Unfortauntely their lines were busy, but I left a voicemail explaining where the seagull was. Still not happy with leaving the poor gull, I headed back to the RNLI shop and left a message with a lovely old boy who was manning the shop. I let him know what action I had taken and where the bird could be found if anyone came looking for the injured gull.

At this point, having exhausted all my possible options, I continued on my walk, hoping that someone would be along to see to the injured bird.

Exploring the Marina and Beach

From the Ho Chi Minh Memorial, I continued my walk along the West Quay, passing the small but bustling Marina. Continuing along Fort Road, I was getting closer to the mouth of the Ouse and continued along the path until I reached Newhaven West Beach. To my surprise, Newhaven West Beach was full of beautiful sand, but unfortunately there is no way of reaching the beach…possibly why it looked so clean! To the right of the beach is the harbour wall and Newhaven Breakwater Lighthouse. The harbour wall which leads to the lighthouse is not walkable. But it looks like a great spot to come back to on a stormy day for some photography!

It was lunchtime by this point and my belly reminded me it was time to stop for a snack. But having decided I would like lunch with a view, I walked back on myself and headed towards the Fort and Castle Hill. I had spotted a few roadside cafes on my walk to the beach, and a good few pubs, but nothing that tickled my fancy. So feeling grateful that I had packed a bag full of snacks, I made my way towards Castle Hill.

Climbing Castle Hill

Whilst most of the walk up until this point had been flat, the walk up Castle Hill definitely isn’t that! Once off the main road, the footpath isn’t very well signposted. I found myself walking up a road for most of it. Halfway up the hill, I found the Fort. Unfortunately it’s closed until 2025 for restoration work. It looks like I’ll have to save that one for next year. So, I continued my walk up the hill. Spotting the National Coastwatch lookout, I also found a path which led onto the Nature Reserve itself.

Enjoying the Views

The views from Castle Hill are beautiful. It was so peaceful up there. I found a lovely spot looking out across the English Channel to enjoy my snacks and other than the coastguards, I only saw one or two other people the whole time I was there. With many tourists preferring to head to nearby Eastbourne or Brighton on a sunny July day instead, I was grateful to have chosen somewhere a bit less touristy and off the beaten track.

As I headed back towards the train station, I started to think of the trapped seagull again, desperately hoping it had been rescued or had somehow managed to untangle itself. Unfortauntely there was not to be a happy ending for the seagull.

Final Thoughts on Newhaven

Before heading home, I wandered into the town centre to see what I could find, but other than more pubs and a Boots, there’s not much there. There are a few larger stores by the train station with a Range, Iceland, McDonalds and KFC.

With two trains an hour back to Lewes, I didn’t have long to wait for my train home.

Overall, I would say Newhaven is a town for visiting rather than staying, and one for the hiker, rather than the shopper. But if you’re not into super commercial coastal towns, enjoy walking, history and visiting somewhere that’s a little bit different, Newhaven could be the perfect day trip for you. I for one will definitely be back.