Dial Post

Dial Post is easy to miss on the map, which is rather the point. This is a hamlet of perhaps a hundred souls, strung along the A24 about eight miles south of Horsham in the heart of the Sussex Weald, where hedgerows, oak woodland and small pasture fields roll gently towards the South Downs. There is no church, no school and, for most of its history, barely a shop, but there has always been a pub, and that pub has always mattered.

What has changed Dial Post's fortunes in recent years is what lies just beyond its edges rather than within them. The village sits at the gates of the Knepp Estate, the 3,500-acre former arable and dairy farm that has become Britain's best-known rewilding project, drawing visitors from across the world to see free-roaming longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies, Tamworth pigs and red and fallow deer moving through scrub and wood-pasture that was intensively farmed as recently as the year 2000. It is an unlikely pairing, sleepy hamlet and internationally studied conservation experiment, but it sums up this quiet corner of West Sussex rather well: understated on the surface, remarkable if you look closer.

Top things to do in Dial Post

Dial Post is a base for exploring rather than a destination stuffed with attractions in its own right, but what surrounds it more than makes up for the village's modest size.

• Knepp Estate rewilding safaris — Guided walking safaris and vehicle safaris take visitors deep into the Knepp Wildland to spot free-roaming cattle, ponies, deer, pigs and increasingly rare birds such as turtle doves and nightingales, on a landscape that has been left to find its own way since 2001.
• Knepp Wilding Kitchen — The estate's café and barbecue at Knepp, serving food sourced largely from the wild-grazed herds and the surrounding land, makes a good stop before or after a walk.
• The Repton Park and gardens at Knepp Castle — Landscaped in part by Humphry Repton around the castellated mansion designed by John Nash, with restored walled gardens open on selected days.
• Local walking routes — Public footpaths and bridleways link Dial Post to neighbouring villages such as West Grinstead, Shipley and Ashington, crossing the flat, hedged farmland of the Weald.
• Old Barn Garden Centre — A well-stocked garden centre on the A24 at Dial Post with a plant nursery and café, popular with locals well beyond the village itself.
• Shipley Windmill — A short drive away, the King's Mill at Shipley is a restored smock mill once owned by the writer Hilaire Belloc, open to the public on selected Sundays in summer.
• South Downs National Park — Cissbury Ring and the open chalk downland above Findon and Washington are around a twenty-minute drive south, giving Dial Post easy access to some of Sussex's best long-distance views.

Getting to Dial Post

Dial Post sits directly on the A24 between Horsham and Worthing, so arriving by car is straightforward, with the A23/M23 reachable via the A264 for connections to London and Gatwick. The nearest mainline railway stations are Horsham, around eight miles north, and Christ's Hospital, both with regular services to London Victoria and the south coast; from either, a taxi or pre-arranged transfer covers the final leg, as bus services through the village itself are limited. Gatwick Airport is roughly 40 minutes away by road, making Dial Post a realistic option for a short countryside break either side of a flight.

Best time to visit Dial Post

Late spring through early autumn is the classic window, when Knepp's rewilded landscape is at its most alive: nightingales and turtle doves in May and June, wildflowers and butterflies through summer, and the estate's deer rut adding drama in September and October. Guided Knepp safaris typically run from spring to autumn, so visitors planning a trip specifically to see the wildlife should check the estate's own calendar before booking accommodation. Winter is quieter, with bare trees and muddy footpaths, but it suits those who prefer village pubs by the fire to long days outdoors, and the Crown Inn is every bit as welcoming out of season.

Where to stay in Dial Post

Accommodation in the village itself is centred on the Crown Inn, a 16th-century pub with rooms right on the village green, along with a couple of self-catering cottages attached to the pub. Beyond the village, Knepp Estate itself offers a small number of safari tents and shepherd's huts for those who want to stay immersed in the rewilding landscape overnight, while Horsham, eight miles north, has a wider choice of hotels and guest houses for visitors who want more facilities on hand.

Food and drink in Dial Post

The Crown Inn is the heart of the village and its main reason to visit for food, an award-winning pub with rooms serving a daily-changing menu of pub classics and seasonal dishes cooked by owner and head chef James Middleton Burn, who sources heavily from local Sussex breweries, farmers and foragers. Just up the road, the Knepp Wilding Kitchen serves café food and barbecue built around meat from the estate's own free-roaming herds. Beyond those two, options are limited within Dial Post itself, though Horsham and the surrounding villages offer a broader spread of pubs, cafés and restaurants a short drive away.