"West Sussex" West Sussex by leffe3

To the south and south east of London is the county of Sussex, divided into East and West Sussex. Millions of people arrive to the UK in West Sussex as, 40 miles or so from London, is Gatwick airport - and they promptly jump on a train, only to return for their flight home. Or, alternatively, they traverse the county heading west towards Cornwall, Devon and the New Forest.

Which is a shame, as Sussex, both West and East, offer some of the very best that England can offer - and its so close to London.

Chichester

The towns of Crawley (servicing Gatwick) and the coastal resort of Worthing are West Sussex's largest, although the county 'capital' is the cathedral city of Chichester to the extreme west of the county, near to the border of Hampshire.

Coastally (and possibly the reason why West Sussex features lower on tourist priorities), the county is arguably the least impressive of the south English coast - pebble beaches and no dramatic cliffs as found to the east in East Sussex/Kent and west beyond The Solent. Worthing, Bognor, Selsey do not have the pull of Brighton, Hastings or Eastbourne. As a result, there is a quiet attraction to the West Sussex coastline with the natural harbours of Chichester and Pagham a major pull.

Selsey

It's the natural countryside of the interior and the superb stately homes, gardens, museums and castles that are the main attraction of West Sussex. Settled since Roman times, remains of Roman villas, Saxon churches and villages, Medieval castles and Renaissance stately homes abound. Arundel Castle is one of the best in England: Petworth House contains the most extensive art collection of the National Trust: the remains of Fishbourne, the largest Roman palace north of the Alps, has a bigger footprint than Buckingham Palace: the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum has almost 50 historic buildings dating from the 13th-19th century. And then there's the Sussex Downs National Park as well as any number of beautiful natural spots in the rolling, verdant countryside.