Midhurst is one of the nicest market towns in the South Downs, and it sits on one of England's most loved biking roads. The A272 runs east and west across Sussex and Hampshire, through villages and woods and over little hills, and it has a cult following among riders who prefer charm to speed. Midhurst is a natural pause along it, with old coaching inns, timber-framed houses and a broad main street.
Just outside the town lie the ruins of Cowdray House, a great Tudor mansion visited by Henry VIII and Elizabeth, which burned down in 1793 and was never rebuilt. The roofless walls by the River Rother are hauntingly beautiful, and the surrounding parkland is famous for polo, with matches on summer weekends drawing a smart crowd. The writer H. G. Wells spent part of his youth in Midhurst, studying and teaching at the grammar school, and he wrote fondly of the town.
The landscape is classic southern England: the chalk ridge of the South Downs to the south, with long views from the top, and the wooded sandstone hills of the Weald to the north. Roads cross the Downs at points like Cocking and Duncton, with steep climbs and sharp bends. They are narrow, often lined with high hedges, and can be busy with cyclists, horses and tractors. Rain makes the chalk roads slippery, and mud from farm vehicles is common.
Midhurst has fuel, shops, pubs and cafés, as well as several good bakeries. A pub lunch in one of the old inns is a classic experience. Petworth, a few miles east on the A272, has a huge country house with a famous art collection and is equally worth a stop.