# Things to do near West Marden and Chichester

> Our guide to the South Downs around West Marden: Goodwood, Kingley Vale, Chichester, the harbour and beaches, pubs, dark skies and walks from the door.

- [Walks from the door: the Octagon Way and its eight short loops](https://themarden.co.uk/local/octagon-walks.md): The Octagon walks are nine waymarked routes through the eight downland villages around West Marden. The West Marden loop (2.7 miles) starts in the village, the 15-mile Octagon Way passes a quarter of a mile from the farm, and the rest begin within two and a half miles. You can leave the car where it is.
- [A place to stay near Goodwood: 11 miles from the Motor Circuit](https://themarden.co.uk/local/goodwood.md): The Marden is three self-catering homes on West Marden Farm, about 11 miles and 20 minutes on a normal day from Goodwood Motor Circuit, and about 12 miles from Goodwood House and the Racecourse. In 2027 the Festival of Speed is 15 to 18 July, the Qatar Goodwood Festival is 27 to 31 July and the Revival is 17 to 19 September. Each home sleeps four, and there is a three-night minimum over Goodwood events.
- [Kingley Vale: the yew forest and the Devil’s Humps](https://themarden.co.uk/local/kingley-vale.md): Kingley Vale is a National Nature Reserve about 5 miles from West Marden Farm, around 15 minutes by car to either car park. Natural England calls it one of the finest yew forests in western Europe, with veteran trees more than 500 years old, and four Bronze Age burial mounds called the Devil’s Humps stand on the ridge above. It is free, open all year, and dogs must be on a lead.
- [A day in Chichester: cathedral, theatre, galleries and a Roman palace](https://themarden.co.uk/local/chichester.md): Chichester is about 10 miles from West Marden Farm, 20 to 25 minutes by car. The walled city has a cathedral with a Marc Chagall window, Pallant House Gallery, the free Novium Museum and Chichester Festival Theatre, and Fishbourne Roman Palace is about 9 miles from the farm on the way in. Fishbourne is closed from 7 December 2026 to 12 February 2027, and the galleries are shut on Mondays.
- [Pubs near West Marden, nearest first](https://themarden.co.uk/local/pubs.md): The nearest pub to The Marden is the Victoria Inn in West Marden, a very short walk from the farm, with a log burner, homemade pies and Sunday roasts. Seven more country pubs are within 7 miles by car, at Walderton, Stoughton, Hooksway, Chalton, Chilgrove, East Ashling and Elsted. The Coach and Horses in Compton, under a mile away, may be closed, so check before you set out.
- [Stargazing in the South Downs International Dark Sky Reserve](https://themarden.co.uk/local/dark-skies.md): The South Downs National Park has been an International Dark Sky Reserve since 10 May 2016, and West Marden Farm is inside it. The nearest Dark Sky Discovery Site is Harting Down, about 5 miles and 10 to 15 minutes from the farm. The long dark nights run from October to March, and the 2027 Dark Skies Festival is reported for 11 to 21 February.
- [The Mardens and their neighbours: Compton, Stoughton and Racton](https://themarden.co.uk/local/the-mardens.md): The Mardens are four small downland settlements in the South Downs near Chichester: West, Up, East and North Marden, the last three all within 4 miles of West Marden Farm by road. West Marden is the largest and the only one with a pub. Up Marden has St Michael’s, a 13th-century church at the end of a farm track, whose interior the critic Ian Nairn counted among the loveliest in England.
- [The South Downs Way and other long paths near West Marden](https://themarden.co.uk/local/south-downs-way.md): The South Downs Way is the 100-mile National Trail from Winchester to Eastbourne, and the nearest place to join it from West Marden Farm is the National Trust car park at Harting Down, about 5 miles and 10 to 15 minutes away. The Monarch’s Way passes through Walderton, 2.5 miles down the valley. For cycling, the traffic-free Centurion Way runs 6.8 miles from Chichester to just beyond Singleton.
- [Getting to The Marden: by car, train and bus](https://themarden.co.uk/local/getting-here.md): The Marden is on West Marden Farm in West Sussex, about 66 miles from central London, which is two to two and a half hours by car. The fastest train is London Waterloo to Petersfield in 1 hour 2 minutes, then about 9 miles by taxi, and the nearest station is Rowlands Castle, 3.7 miles away. You need a car once you are here.
- [Stansted Park: house, arboretum, farm shop and a flat walk, ten minutes away](https://themarden.co.uk/local/stansted-park.md): Stansted Park is an Edwardian country house and estate at Rowlands Castle, about 3.5 miles and ten minutes by car from The Marden in West Marden. Entry to the estate and parking are free and it is open every day of the year, with a farm shop, garden centre, tearoom, arboretum and a light railway. The house opens on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday afternoons from Easter Sunday to the end of September.
- [Uppark and Harting Down: a house on the crest and the downland beside it](https://themarden.co.uk/local/uppark-and-harting-down.md): Uppark is a National Trust house built between 1685 and 1690 on the crest of the South Downs, about 3.5 miles and ten minutes by car from The Marden in West Marden. Harting Down, about 5 miles away, is one of the largest areas of ancient chalk downland in the Trust’s care, open every day from dawn to dusk, with the South Downs Way along its ridge. After dark it is the nearest Dark Sky Discovery Site to the farm.
- [Beaches near West Marden: West Wittering, East Head, Bosham and Emsworth](https://themarden.co.uk/local/beaches-and-harbour.md): West Wittering beach is about 17 miles from The Marden in West Marden, around 40 minutes by car and longer on a hot summer day. Parking can be pre-booked only until 11pm the night before, with no same-day booking. Nearer the farm, the harbour town of Emsworth is about 7 miles away and Bosham about 9.
- [Singleton and West Dean: the Weald & Downland Museum, West Dean Gardens and the Trundle](https://themarden.co.uk/local/singleton-and-west-dean.md): The Weald & Downland Living Museum at Singleton and West Dean Gardens are about 12 miles from The Marden in West Marden, 20 to 25 minutes by car, and a mile or two from each other. The museum has more than 50 rescued historic buildings on a 40-acre site, and The Repair Shop is filmed in one of its barns. The Trundle hillfort, the Goodwood Art Foundation and the Centurion Way cycle path are in the same valley.
- [Day trips from West Marden: Petworth, Arundel, Midhurst, Portsmouth and Butser Hill](https://themarden.co.uk/local/day-trips.md): From The Marden in West Marden, Petersfield and Queen Elizabeth Country Park are about 15 to 20 minutes by car, Midhurst about 25, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard about 35, and Petworth and Arundel about 40. Butser Hill, 11 miles away, is the highest point on the South Downs chalk ridge at 271 m. Several places shut for winter: Arundel Castle reopens on 25 March 2027.
- [Days out near Chichester with kids, by age and for when it rains](https://themarden.co.uk/local/family-days-out.md): From The Marden in West Marden, a family can reach Stansted Park’s light railway in ten minutes, the Weald & Downland Living Museum in about 25, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in about 35 and Marwell Zoo in about 45. Marwell is open 363 days a year, so it works in any school holiday. On the farm there is a heated outdoor pool from mid-June to early September, for our guests only.
- [Farm shops and vineyards near West Marden: where to stock the fridge](https://themarden.co.uk/local/food-and-drink.md): The nearest vineyard to The Marden in West Marden is Ashling Park, 5.5 miles away, and the nearest farm shops are at Stansted Park (about 3.5 miles) and Adsdean in Funtington (4.4 miles). All the main supermarkets deliver to the farm, and the nearest convenience shop is in Rowlands Castle, about 4 miles away. Chichester Farmers’ Market is on the first and third Friday of every month.