West Sussex?

I'm going to be staying with friends who recently moved from Manchester to West Sussex. How hard is it to get from there to London? How much would it typically cost (by train)? From what I've found online it seems like I could easily go from there to London just for the day. What would you recommend seeing/doing as a tourist in West Sussex?

It really depends where you want to go in West Sussex. But generally speaking, getting there is no problem from London and definitely doable in a day. Gatwick airport is in West Sussex.

Visit the coast, some castles or some of the countryside... obviously a car would be your best bet.

Or head over to Brighton in East Sussex... its a seaside town with a pier and a very nice city centre. That is on a main train line from London or accessible by coach.

Have fun!

I'm really into history. I love seeing castles, visiting museams, etc. Thanks Olive Oyl! I was looking the West Sussex tourist page, but I can't find any tourist books at my library about it. I'm flying into Gatwick so that works out great. 

Hello! I don't know first hand about any places as I'm not nor never have been in the UK, but did you check this site?

http://www.visitsussex.org/

it doesn't have a section on "West" Sussex, but it looked like a general touristy page. Maybe that will help some?

I just looked online, and the national rail and a couple of other places are tellilng me that I need to go all the way to London Victoria on the Gatwick express, then exchange and go to West Sussex. But that doesn't make sense if Gatwick is in Sussex. The people I'm visiting never use the trains, so they have no clue what to tell me. 

Thanks for the link Someday! I think that might be one of the links i've been looking at.

This link shows which railway services stop at Gatwick Airport railway station that you can jump onto and go straight to various destinations in East and West Sussex - one of them must be near where you are going! 

http://www.carlberry.co.uk/rfnlistr.asp?L1=GAT003&OP=T

www.nationalrail.co.uk  - This has all UK train times and destinations.  You don't need to use the Gatwick Express at all, even if people try to encourage you onto it.

My advice is DEFNINITELY to go to Brighton.

Vicky

Thanks! Those links help alot. From just looking at a map going from Gatwick to Victoria then to West Sussex. T

he people I'm staying with said they "think" I need to go to Haywards heath. Guess I'll find out once I'm there. I'm not going to have a cell phone, so this could get interesting. With my luck and sense of direction I'll end up either in France or Scotland.   

Hi - Gatwick Airport has a very busy train station located right next to the terminal.  There are trains very few minutes to both London and many towns in Sussex/Kent.  It's definitely better connected by public transport than Heathrow.

You might want to have a look at this map on National Rail's website to see where you can go direct from Gatwick:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/print_maps/LondonAndSouthEast.pdf

Here is a summary of where you can go by train (taken from the airport's website):

Location

The rail station is directly linked to Gatwick's South Terminal and is just a few minutes from North Terminal via a free transit train link. Rail information and ticket desks are located in the rail station and within the arrival areas of both terminals.

First Capital Connect

Regular service every 15 minutes through Sussex to Brighton.
Services every 15 minutes north to East Croydon, central London (King's Cross Thameslink), Luton and Bedford.
Services north from King's Cross to Cambridge, King's Lynn and Peterborough.
Southern

Services every 15 minutes during the day to and from London Victoria, and every hour at night.
Regular northbound services to East Croydon, Clapham Junction and Watford Junction providing connections to many London destinations.
Direct southward services to Brighton, Eastbourne, Portsmouth and Southampton.
Single ticket from Gatwick to Victoria is £8, with an average journey time of 35 minutes.

South Eastern

Services to Redhill, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

First Great Western Link

Services to Redhill, Guilford and Reading.

Virgin Trains Cross Country

Services operate to destinations including Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

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Enjoy Sussex - it's lovely - I liked the town of Battle and Bodiam Castle - both in east Sussex.  Brighton is also a lot of fun!  Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters also a must see!

I can't find any tourist books at my library about it. I'm flying into Gatwick so that works out great. 

Most guidebooks on England or GB will have a few main tourist places to go in the different counties.

If you are already at Gatwick and then meeting your friends you really shouldn't have any problems. Find out what their town is called and have a look at the train map and find the best train line. When you get to Gatwick just after passport control and before collecting your luggage there is a transport info desk. I've bought tickets there before or you can head straight to the trains and buy a ticket on the upper level before you reach the platform. Gatwick is a big hub so I imagine they may be on a line passing through it.

The UK still has pay phones and many stations still have access to them so just make sure you pick a station beforehand and once you arrive find out when the train will arrive that station and ring your friends that you will be there. It is pretty straightforward.

Thanks for all the advice and help. I think I've finally figured it all out. Not too complicated after all.   

If u like castles..check out Arundel Castle in West Sussex,you can get to it by train,the station's about a 15 min walk from the castle

I'm going to try to go to the castle on Saturday. The people I'm staying with had so much planned for me to do, that I only got to go into London one day, went to Brighton one day, and spent another day just meeting new people. Then it was time for me to come to Manchester. All I've seen of West Sussex is the train station.