Pulborough in West Sussex
Pulborough is a large village - almost a town - on the River Arun with some lovely Georgian buildings around the Church. It has become something of a commuter village because of the rail link through to London Victoria - around three quarters of the working population of the village work elsewhere.
It is thought that the Romans used Pulborough as a key stop on Stane Street - the Roman road from Chichester to London - in part because the River Arun could be forded at Pulborough. Later the Saxons built the village's first stone bridge over the river
Pulborough Castle
Swamped by woodland to the west of the village lie the remains of Pulborough Castle.Like the castles at Midhurst and in Priory Park, Chichester, Pulborough Castle is an earthwork motte and bailey affair. It was built in a prominent position overlooking the River Arun, which was a key Sussex transportation route.
The site of the castle was especially strategically valuable because it commanded views of the river junction of the Rother and Arun. Controlling the castle therefore meant power over the main water route to the whole of the western Weald - all the way from Midhurst towards Horsham.
The River Arun at Pulborough
Some things don't change however and the awesome River Arun flowing besides Pulborough is one of them.One of the main attractions near Pulborough is the RSPB Pulborough Brooks Nature Reserve, which takes advantage of the huge advantages the winter flooding of the Arun Valley gives to birdlife.
The flooding is spectacular to behold, either from Pulborough itself, or from high on the Downs, particularly looking north from Bury Hill.
Pulborough is also the home of the South Downs Light Railway Society, which is located in the Wyevale Garden Centre a mile to the west of the village on the Stopham Road.
- Arundel
- Bognor Regis
- Burgess Hill
- Chichester
- Crawley
- East Grinstead
- Haywards Heath
- Horsham
- Littlehampton
- Midhurst
- Petworth
- Shoreham-by-Sea
- Steyning
- Worthing
