Rottingdean

Rottingdean is a village in Brighton on the south coast of England. Although on the coast this was a farming village rather than a fishing one. But it was not disconnected from the sea as it used to be known as the smugglers' village. It was the home of the writer, Rudyard Kipling, and of his uncle, the painter Edward Burne-Jones.

Get in

Buses along the coast from Brighton run every 5 to 10 minutes. The walk from Brighton Palace pier will take about 1½ hours, either along the undercliff or along the cliff top. You can start this walk from Brighton Marina. At Ovingdean gap there is a small cafe by the beach that will be open if it is sunny.

Get around

A small village, easy to walk around.

See

• 1 Beacon Windmill, Rottingdean, Brighton BN2 7LB. Open to the public from 14:00 to 16:30 on the third Sunday of each month from May to September. A restored black, wooden windmill that dates back to 1802.  
• 2 Kipling Gardens, The Green, BN2 7HA (just up from the pond). With the "pig face" stone on the wall of Rudyard Kipling's old house. The local tradition is to place a finger on the nose and twirl around three times making a wish.  
• 3 Prospect Cottage and Aubrey Cottage. These were the homes in Rottingdean of Sir Edward Burne-Jones, one of the Pre-Raphaelites, and famous for his paintings and stained glass work.  
• 4 St Margaret's Church. Much visited church, mainly to view the stained glass windows by Burne-Jones, who is buried in the graveyard. The church is constructed in flint. An almost exact replica was built at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.  
• 5 Tudor Cottages and Tudor Close, 8 Dean Ct Rd, BN2 7DH. just north of the church. Neither consist of original Tudor buildings although they were based on houses and barns from that period. Tudor Close, in particular, looks a bit like something from a Disney cartoon. The houses are private but you can have a quick peer through the gate leading to the seven houses, now converted to apartments.  
• St. Dunstan's. (This is the large hospital-like building you see on the coast just before Rottingdean). St Dunstan's provided support and accommodation to blinded British servicemen. Resident Henry Allingham was briefly considered to be the oldest man in the world until his death in 2009. 
• 6 The village pond. 

Do

Stained-glass window by Edward Burne-Jones in Rottingdean Church

There is a pebble beach which is nice in the summer. Boxing Day is a traditional village day with inter-pub football, tug of war, races, etc. The whole village closes about 6:30PM that day mostly drunk.

Buy

You can go along the chalk cliff beach and look for fossils in the geodes that you will find on the beach.

Eat

• Thai, Chinese and Indian restaurants. A chippy (fish and chip shop), once frequented by John Major a former British prime minister. Try The Coach House, The Victoria or The Plough public houses for food.

Drink

Five pubs in addition to those above the Black Horse and White Horse Hotel.

• 1 Ye Olde Black Horse, 65 High St, BN2 7HE, ☏ +44 1273 300491. (updated Feb 2021)
• 2 The Queen Victoria (Queen Vic), , High St, BN2 7HF, ☏ +44 1273 894225. (updated Feb 2021)

Sleep

• 1 White Horse (Old English Inns), Marine Drive, High Street, ☏ +44 1273 300301. 

Go next

West to Brighton 4.2 mi (6.8 km) along the Marine Drive