The route continues, crossing the A24 and passing through a number of villages and small towns in West Sussex, such as Billingshurst, Petworth and Midhurst.

It then runs NW along the Andover Road (formerly B3420), terminating at the A30 in the parish of Barton Stacey, an overall length of 85 miles (137 km).

There is very little dual carriageway—just three very short sections between Petworth and Midhurst—and it therefore gives the driver an experience which is reminiscent of English country roads as they were in the middle of the 20th Century.

Prior to the development of modern roads, this was difficult for travellers, because of the extensive forest and tracts of low-lying marshy ground.

[2] The A272 is the subject of a chapter in W H Charnock's book "Mind over Motor" describing in detail a car journey from Winchester to Petersfield.