Secret Sussex

Explore fascinating stories from Sussex. To share ideas or stories with the team, email [email protected]. Series Producer: Simon Furber.

Radio Sussex,52 episodes

Episodes

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They carried them down to Brighton beach
Brighton’s Sea Planes were built in the North Laine streets and launched into the sea.
5 mins
Brighton's hidden cycling track
It might be a wonky shape, but Preston Park velodrome is the oldest in the country.
6 mins
Gatwick's forgotten racecourse
From Grand National to International, the racecourse that became a runway.
8 mins
The abandoned village of Tide Mills
The haunting, eerie and mesmerising ruins on the Sussex coast.
8 mins
The lone survivors on the Sussex landscape
An industrial eyesore or a romantic memory – what did these disappearing iron frames do?
5 mins
The most secluded beach in Sussex
If you can find it, and don’t get lost on the way, you might just discover a hidden gem.
7 mins
The silent deadly killer on Hastings beach
The German submarine that became an unexpected tourist attraction when it washed ashore.
28 Feb 2025,5 mins
Bognor on the big screen
The surprising and well-loved British films made in Bognor Regis.
8 mins
When the President visited Forest Row
Just months before his death, why did JFK visit a small Sussex village?
6 mins
When Brighton bared all
How naked bathing divided a city, shocked locals and forced a councillor to go topless.
7 mins
Strange goings-on at Chanctonbury Ring
Chilling tales and paranormal activity at the most haunted site in the South Downs.
24 Jan 2025,4 mins
The amazing story of the world’s deepest well
Once they started digging in Woodingdean, they didn't stop until they found water.
17 Jan 2025,8 mins
Abandoned beneath Brighton Station
A hidden space where trains pass noisily overhead.
10 Jan 2025,5 mins
Lost in the snow
Something very peculiar happened when two boys got lost in the snow on Ditchling Beacon.
6 mins
Found on a doorstep in Petworth
The mysterious bundle of papers discovered just in time for Christmas.
18 Dec 2024,7 mins
What did he see on the South Downs?
The shepherd who watched more than his flock at Firle.
06 Dec 2024,6 mins
The strange dome hiding by the A27 roadside
Inside the eerie camouflaged building on the edge of Shoreham Airport.
5 mins
Where Christmas puddings hang from the ceiling
The Midhurst Inn stirring up a tradition more than 100 years old.
22 Nov 2024,5 mins
Inside Worthing's hidden basement
Ancient maps, priceless books and a ghostly guardian.
14 Nov 2024,6 mins
What happened to Uncle Percy?
Roy and his grandson Tom follow a trail to discover the truth about their missing uncle.
07 Nov 2024,14 mins
Smugglers, witches, priests and ghosts
A secret tunnel, witches marks and ghostly goings on at The Six Bells in Billingshurst.
5 mins
The postcard that took 100 years to arrive
How an emotional farewell message sent in 1916 from Newhaven shocked an entire family.
10 mins
Surprising Selsey
The unlikely misfits who put the town on the map.
27 Sep 2024,7 mins
Finding England’s smallest church
The tiny hidden church in the South Downs that you can only reach by foot.
20 Sep 2024,6 mins
It happened on a rainy night
The tragic tale of a young couple married for just four hours.
7 mins
When Mrs Sandilands went to court
The village art project that forced Nancy to take on a bishop, MPs and bohemian artists.
05 Sep 2024,20 mins
Gasbags Ahoy!
The 142 acres of land that was transformed into Polegate Airship Station.
29 Aug 2024,6 mins
The man who played guitar with Bowie
A revealing glimpse into the backstage world at the greatest rock concert on Earth.
20 Aug 2024,8 mins
Goring's Sistine Chapel
The stunning reproduction of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in a little-known Goring church.
14 Aug 2024,8 mins
Behind closed doors at Batemans
The anguish, despair and haunting at Rudyard Kipling's house in Burwash.
07 Aug 2024,18 mins