The land here rolls in long ridges of sandstone, with deep ghylls, the local word for a wooded stream valley, cut between them. It is pretty, in an unshowy way: small fields, oak woods, white-painted weatherboard on the farm buildings, and every junction signed for somewhere with an unlikely name.
The thing that most people notice is the Ouse Valley Viaduct near Balcombe, which carries the London to Brighton railway across the river on thirty-seven arches of pale brick. It was opened in the early 1840s, and its stone balustrades and pavilions were designed to make it look less like an industrial thing and more like a feature in a park. You can see it from a footpath and a couple of lanes, and it is worth a minute even if you do not care about railways. Nearby, Nymans garden at Handcross is a National Trust property with a ruined house and a very good collection of plants, and it makes a decent excuse for a stop if the rain starts.
The riding is fun in the old, unsophisticated way. The B2036 and the lanes between Balcombe, Staplefield and Cuckfield offer tight bends, patchy surfaces and a lot of mud after rain, so keep your speed honest and watch for horse riders. The A23 runs close to the east and carries the main London to Brighton traffic, which is a reminder of how near the capital is, and on a Sunday afternoon its southbound lanes can be solid. The nearest big shops and fuel stations are at Maidenbower and Crawley a few miles north, and Handcross has a village pub and a garage within reach. If you plan to run low, do not trust a village.
As a place on a route home, this is a good one to have at the end: gentle, wooded, close to the motorway but far enough from it to keep a sense of the countryside for a little longer.