Editing Lewes (section)

==Transport==

[[File:LewesStation Big.jpg|thumb|right|[[Lewes railway station]], looking east. South Downs in the distance]]
Lewes, from its inception, has been an important transport hub.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56908 |title=''British History Online'' |publisher=British-history.ac.uk |date=22 June 2003 |access-date=1 August 2011 |archive-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809072350/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56908 |url-status=live}}</ref> Its site as a bridging point was probably originally a ford: today the main routes avoid the town centre. The [[A27 road|A27 trunk road]] taking traffic along the south coast between [[Eastbourne]] and [[Southampton]] passes to the south of the town. The [[A26 road|A26]] from [[Maidstone]] to Newhaven; and the [[A275 road|A275]] (the London road) both come in from the north. The [[Brighton & Hove (bus company)|Brighton & Hove]] bus company and Compass Travel serve the town. [[Lewes bus station|The bus station]] was closed for a while but reopened in late 2008.

[[Lewes railway station]] was originally the junction for six routes. The town still enjoys hourly fast trains from London. The two erstwhile rural rail routes to the north, linking to [[East Grinstead]] and [[Uckfield]] respectively, are both now closed, but the [[East Coastway Line]], connecting Brighton with Eastbourne and [[Hastings]], and the branch to [[Seaford, East Sussex|Seaford]] remain.

The [[Vanguard Way]], a [[long-distance trail|long-distance footpath]] from London to Newhaven, passes through countryside east of the town. The [[South Downs Way]] also passes close to Lewes, crossing the Ouse at [[Southease]], some four miles south of the town. The [[Greenwich Meridian Trail]], a long-distance path that follows the [[Prime meridian (Greenwich)|Greenwich Meridian]] from Peacehaven in East Sussex to Sand le Mere in East Yorkshire passes through the middle of the town. A festival celebrating and encouraging walking and cycling, the Lewes Hike and Bike Festival, was created in 2012 but only ran for three years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leweshikeandbike.co.uk/ |title=Lewes Hike and Bike Festival |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609024101/http://www.leweshikeandbike.co.uk/ |archive-date=9 June 2015}}</ref>  The Eastbourne and Lewes Walking Festival was created in 2018 to promote walking in the local urban and rural South Downs area.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eastbourneandleweswalkfest.org/ |title=Eastbourne and Lewes Walking Festival |access-date=18 January 2021 |archive-date=10 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110153659/https://eastbourneandleweswalkfest.org/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>