Horsham

Horsham is a city in England.

Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 (2008) on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is 31 miles (50 km) south south-west of London, 18.5 miles (30 km) north-west of Brighton and 26 miles (42 km) north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Crawley to the north-east and Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill to the south-east. It is the administrative and market centre of Horsham District Council area.

North towards Dorking
Heading North should be no problem on the roundabout junction of the A264 and the A24. On the Northbound carriageway just after the roundabout is a large concrete hatched area in front of an electricity substation (?) that cannot be used for parking but is ideal for lifts to pull in to. Traffic is also slowed because of the roundabout. (Lat 51.087513, Lon 0.333753)

West towards Guildford/Petworth
Broadbridge Heath is a small village on the Western outskirts of Horsham. It has the main Tescos supermarket and petrol station as well as a smaller Shell petrol station. Both of these can be good hitching grounds. Alternatively walk through Broadbridge Heath to hitch on the A281 towards Godalming and Guildford

If headed towards Billingshurst and Petworth walk further to the left and there is a Garden Center on the A264 with a good space to pull over.

East towards /Crawley/Brighton
The is a trunk motorway/road that runs from London to Brighton. It is approximately 6 miles to the East of Horsham and the service station at Pease Pottage can be used to travel both North and South.

2 spots are ideal for hitching out of Horsham in this direction. The roundabout on the corner of the A264 as it meets Horsham is a good spot. There is a slight lay-by on the North bound carriage way just after the roundabout and traffic is slower. (Lat 51.084062, Lon 0.289249)

Alternatively Forest Road is a smaller 'B' road that runs directly to Pease Pottage and so most traffic heading this way will pass through here. (Lat 51.075138, Lon 0.289378)

Hitching in
Walking from any of the outer Dual Carriageways to the center of Horsham should take no more than 30 minutes.

Hotels/Hostels
There are no recognised Hostels within Horsham. The Travel Lodge hotel situated in the centre of town next to the Shelley Fountain (Water feature that often does not work and resembles a giant Chicken Nugget (ironically next to the towns only McDonalds)) offers cheap rooms (Circa £30 pn). Premiere Inn, located opposite Horsham Railways Station, may also have cheap accomodation

Wild Camping
Wild camping is possible all around Horsham. There are a number of small copses' of woodland within Horsham and is partially surrounded by St Leonards Forest on the Eastern side. The easiest way to access these woods would be through the 'Leechpool Woods' car park off of Harwood Road B2195. A short walk up Hammerpond Road will give a good few places to enter the woods as well.

User Experiences
Brackers stood at the A264 roundabout with a 'Pease Pottage' sign. Slow moving trucker had enough room and time to pull up after 20 minutes (July 2012).

isin: South East England