Adventures around Eastbournewith PlusBus
Where better than Eastbourne for a day out by the sea? It’s one of the UK’s sunniest towns with one of Europe’s biggest marinas. There’s culture and history here – Roman forts, Norman castles, a gold-domed Victorian Pier, and the fabulous modernist Towner art gallery with paintings by Eric Ravilious and changing exhibitions of contemporary art. All these and more are reachable by bus. When you buy your train ticket for Eastbourne or arrive at Eastbourne station, you can add a bargain PlusBus ticket for unlimited bus travel around the area. Here are just three of the many things you could do.
-
-
1. Towner Gallery
A sweeping, rainbow-bright façade by Lothar Götz, a great range of free artworks in a stylish, light-filled, modern building… there are lots of reasons to visit Eastbourne’s Towner Gallery. You need a ticket for some of the bigger changing exhibitions, but you’ll get 10% off for arriving car-free. An extended space for the collection of work by Eric Ravilious is opening in autumn 2025.
- So how do I get to the Towner gallery without a car? Make sure you’ve got a PlusBus ticket before you leave the station. Cross the road in front of the station and head for stop R1 just near the bubble tea shop. Catch half-hourly bus 3 (hourly on Sundays) towards Foot of Beachy Head and get off after five minutes at the stop called Winter Garden. Walk a few steps in the direction the bus was going, past the theatre, and very soon turn right through flower beds to find the gallery.
- There are other ways you could reach the Towner Gallery too – by bus form other places or on foot. For more advice and a journey planner, see Good Journey’s directions to the Towner Gallery.
- Is there anywhere to eat? Light, the Towner’s café and bar, with views of the surrounding area, reaching as far as the South Downs, has elegant menus and serves great coffee and cake. There are lots of other places too along the seafront nearby.
-
-
2. Seafront Walk
One of Eastbourne’s best activities is totally free. The palm-studded seafront, with its views of the pier, the marina, Beachy Head cliffs and more, offers a beautiful four-mile stroll, full of history, seaside charm and even wildlife. You could start by hopping back on bus 3 from opposite the Winter Garden (or direct from the station – see 1 above) to the bus stop called Foot of Beachy Head.
- There’s a Cadence cycle café nearby, which is great for refuelling. Really keen walkers might want to start by following the paths to the iconic chalk cliffs and down again. Otherwise, just set off along Eastbourne Promenade with the sea on your right.
- After one mile, you’ll pass The Wish Tower, an old Martello tower with a lovely garden, close to the Towner gallery.
- After another half a mile, you’ll pass Eastbourne Pier. Look out around sunset from autumn to spring for murmurations of starlings settling down to roost there for the night. Another half a mile and you’ll pass the circular Redoubt fortress, built as a defence during the Napoleonic Wars.
- Keep on along the varied seafront for another couple of miles to reach the huge Sovereign Harbour, home to Eastbourne Waterfront, lined with harbourside bars and cafés. It’s a great place to end the walk: a choice of refreshments and buses nearby. It’s a short journey from here by bus to Pevensey Castle (see 3 below) or back to the station.
- How do I get to Eastbourne Waterfront from the railway station? Bus 99 stops every half an hour at the Asda bus stop, just a few minutes’ walk away on the far side of Sovereign Harbour retail park. It ends on Gildredge Road, close to Eastbourne railway station. Heading in the other direction, bus 99 can take you out of town (all on your PlusBus ticket) to historic Pevensey Castle (read on for more!)
-
3. Pevensey Castle
The stone defences of Pevensey Castle began to rise in the third century AD. With walls more than 500 metres long and eight metres high, it was once the mightiest of all the forts built by the Romans along the Saxon Shore to protect the sprawling Empire from Saxon raiders. William the Conqueror invaded in 1066, he built his own castle inside the surviving Roman fort. It was used again during World War II and today’s visitors can explore all these impressive layers of history.
- How do I get to Pevensey Castle by bus? Bus 99 runs every half an hour from Cornfield Road, close to Eastbourne railway station, past Sovereign Harbour retail park, all the way to the railway station at Hastings. It stops at Pevensey’s Church Lane just eight minutes (12 stops) after leaving Asda. You could also catch hourly bus 8 (not Sundays) from Gildredge Road near Eastbourne station, which takes about 40 minutes to wind through the suburbs, but stops very close to the castle.
- From Church Lane bus stop, walk back a few steps, turn right into Church Lane, and follow it past St Nicholas’ church to the castle. It’s about five minutes’ walk along a quiet lane. The thirteenth-century church is open every day and has beautiful early English architecture so it’s well worth popping in.
- If you need refreshments, the Castle Cottage tearoom, serving sandwiches and sweet and savoury cream teas, opens Thursday to Sunday and you can order food until 2.45pm. The Royal Oak and Castle Inn is open every day and evenings and does pub classics and legendary Sunday roasts. Bus 8 leaves from just outside the pub when you need to head back to the station. Or walk back along Church Lane to pick up Bus 99.
-
For more car-free adventures in the area...
check out our guides to exploring Brighton by bus, Hastings by bus and lots more at Good Journey.
