Hellingly

Hellingly is a small village without hotels of its own, so most visitors looking for a bed for the night base themselves in the surrounding towns, all within a short drive. Hailsham, the nearest market town about a mile and a half south, has a handful of pubs with rooms and budget hotel options, making it a practical, low-cost base for exploring the Cuckoo Trail and the wider Weald. Eastbourne, around nine miles away on the coast, offers a much wider choice, from traditional seafront hotels with Victorian grandeur to modern budget chains, along with easy access to Beachy Head and the South Downs.

For something quieter, smaller bed and breakfasts and country inns are scattered through the villages around Hellingly, including Horam and the Dickers, often set in converted farmhouses or oast houses typical of the Weald. These tend to suit walkers and cyclists using the Cuckoo Trail, or visitors touring Michelham Priory, the Long Man of Wilmington and the surrounding South Downs villages of Alfriston and Wilmington. Wherever you choose to stay, Hellingly's position between Hailsham and Eastbourne means a hotel booked in either town puts you within about fifteen or twenty minutes of the village and the countryside around it, giving a good mix of convenience and quiet.

Hellingly itself is small, but it sits within easy reach of some of East Sussex's best-loved attractions, from historic priories to the open chalk downland of the South Downs National Park.

• The Cuckoo Trail — the traffic-free walking and cycling path runs right through Hellingly along the route of the old Cuckoo Line railway, linking Heathfield, Horam, Hellingly, Hailsham and Polegate, with a further link on to Eastbourne.
• Michelham Priory — a former Augustinian priory near Hailsham, surrounded by the longest water-filled medieval moat in England, with gardens, a working watermill and a Tudor farmhouse to explore.
• The Long Man of Wilmington — one of Britain's largest hill figures, cut into the chalk of Windover Hill on the South Downs, a short drive from Hellingly.
• South Downs National Park — rolling chalk downland, ridgeline walks and views to the sea begin just a few miles south, around Wilmington, Alfriston and Firle Beacon.
• Sharnfold Farm — a working farm and farm shop near Hailsham with a farm park, popular with families for pick-your-own and animal encounters in season.
• Hailsham — the nearby market town has a Tuesday and Saturday street market, independent shops and the George Street conservation area.
• Eastbourne seafront — the Victorian seaside town, with its pier, promenade and the dramatic chalk cliffs of Beachy Head beyond, is around nine miles south.

Hellingly's own options are limited, so most eating out happens in neighbouring Hailsham, which has a range of cafes, pubs and takeaways around its market town centre, or in Eastbourne, which offers a fuller choice of restaurants along the seafront and town centre. Village pubs in nearby Horam and along the Cuckoo Trail are popular with walkers and cyclists breaking their journey, and Sharnfold Farm's farm shop near Hailsham is a good stop for local produce.

Camping around Hellingly means pitching in the gentle, wooded landscape of the East Sussex Weald, within easy reach of both the South Downs and the coast at Eastbourne. As with anywhere in England, wild camping is not permitted without the landowner's explicit permission, so plan on a licensed campsite or a farm-based pitch rather than pulling off the Cuckoo Trail to camp rough. The countryside here is a mix of small fields, orchards and mixed woodland rather than open access land, which makes it well suited to small, quiet touring and camping sites rather than backcountry wild camping.

The Weald's clay-and-sandstone ground can hold water after rain, so pitches with reasonable drainage and hardstanding for caravans and motorhomes are worth prioritising, particularly outside the height of summer. The best camping season here runs from late spring through to early autumn, when the Cuckoo Trail is at its best for walking and cycling straight from a tent, and evenings on the South Downs a short drive away are long and mild. Midsummer weekends can get busy at the more popular sites near the coast, so those wanting peace and quiet are better off looking slightly inland around Hellingly, Horam and Hailsham.

For campers who want more comfort than a tent but still want to be outdoors, glamping has grown steadily across this part of East Sussex, with bell tents, shepherd's huts and safari tents available on farms and smallholdings within a short drive of Hellingly. These sites tend to make the most of the Weald's quiet, hedgerow-lined countryside, and many sit close enough to the Cuckoo Trail or the South Downs Way to make a car-free day out perfectly possible. Whether pitching a tent, parking a campervan or booking a glamping pod, Hellingly's location gives easy access to both a National Park and a proper seaside town without the crowds of camping directly on the coast.