fbpx Skip to main content

Easy access walk to the Chattri Memorial



Explore the beautiful memorial and part of the South Downs Way National Trail.

Distance: <5 miles. 4-5 miles
Location: East Sussex
Type: Miles without Stiles
Duration: 1-2 hours

This Miles Without Stiles circular route set in a beautiful area of the South Downs National Park is suitable for off-road class 3 all-terrain mobility scooters.

Enjoy stunning views from the historic Jack and Jill windmills and pay your respects at the peaceful Chattri war memorial. Following this trail also takes you along a section of the famous South Downs Way National Trail – a 100 mile route which runs the entire length of the South Downs National Park, from Winchester to Eastbourne.

The path is loose stone and some mud in winter. There are no steps or other barriers.


Getting Here

Parking: Jack & Jill windmills free car park with height barrier. Alternative car parking is available at Ditchling Beacon (charges apply).


Points of Interest

Jack and Jill Windmills

These picturesque windmills stand atop the scenic South Downs with spectacular views out across the Sussex Weald. Jack is privately owned but Jill is often open to visitors and when the wind is blowing she may even be in operation with a guide available to explain the mysteries of milling. Visit jillwindmill.org.uk for more information.

Ditchling Beacon

One of the highest points on the South Downs, Ditchling Beacon, once an Iron Age hillfort, has stunning pockets of rich chalk grassland. If visiting in July look for the musk orchid, only found in the south of England, limey-green in colour and honey-scented.

Between June and August you’ll also see the marsh fragrant orchid which is dark pink in colour and can be found on the northerly scarp slopes. Amongst these spectacular flowers keep an eye out for the green hairstreak butterfly. When not in flight they hold their wings closed showing a green underside with a faint white streak. Rival males can often be seen spiraling close to shrubs.

The Chattri

This beautiful memorial stands on the Downs near Patcham at the place where Hindu and Sikh soldiers who died in Brighton war hospitals during 1914-1918 were cremated. Around one and a half million members of the Indian army fought alongside British soldiers during the war. The word ‘chattri’ means umbrella in Indian Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu and is reflected in the memorial’s style.


Directions

  1. From the car park head back out of the main entrance and turn left following the main track up the hill. Turn right onto the South Downs Way (SDW) heading south.
  2. Continue through New Barn Farm and straight over the crossroads of track.
  3. Follow the track down into Rag Bottom – this is quite steep with occasional
    loose flint. Then follow the track back up the hill the other side.
  4. Turn left and then right to follow the track along the edge of the field at
    Middle Brow.
  5. At the crossroads of paths turn right onto the Sussex Border Path and continue down to the Chattri war memorial.
  6. When you want to continue your walk retrace your route back up the Sussex Border Path, then continue straight over at the crossroads.
  7. When you reach the SDW, turn left and return to the car park at Jack and
    Jill windmills.