Free days out in Sussex

Sussex has two national parks, miles of coast and more free space than you'll get through in a summer. The hard part is picking. The South Downs on a clear morning with a four-year-old who's decided today they're a hiker: that's free. Seven Sisters on a windy Tuesday in October when the car park's half empty and the kids are running at the cliff edge and you're pretending not to be terrified: also free. Sussex has a habit of giving you its best stuff without charging for it. Buchan Country Park near Crawley is the one locals with young kids tend to end up at most — not because it's the most dramatic, but because it's got good paths, a decent play area, and you can be in and out in two hours without anyone having a meltdown in a gift shop. Devil's Dyke is the one you take visitors to. Cissbury Ring is the one you go to when you want to feel like you've earned it. Parking is the only real cost at most of these. Some of the coastal spots charge £5-6 on a summer Saturday, which feels steep until you remember you've just had a full day out for that. A few of the council parks have broken ticket machines that nobody seems in a rush to fix, which is either frustrating or quietly useful depending on your outlook. We've rated everything the same way we rate paid venues — on what kids actually make of it. A free country park that bores them rigid after 20 minutes isn't a good free day out. Some of these are genuinely brilliant. A couple are fine. We'll tell you which is which without the usual tourist board enthusiasm.