Various charity, sporting and other events which are run regularly between London and Brighton incorporate this steep road as a challenging part of their route.

[3] Ditchling Beacon is part of the Clayton to Offham Escarpment biological Site of Special Scientific Interest[4] and an area of 24 hectares (59 acres) is a nature reserve managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Ditchling Beacon was an Iron Age hill fort and its ramparts are detectable on their north and east sides (TQ 332 131), though the overgrown vegetation and fences makes it difficult to walk them in parts.

A single defensive bank and ditch enclosed an area of approximately 5.5 hectares (13.6 acres), making it one of the larger camps in Sussex.

[7] Relatively little excavation of the fort has been carried out, however, and the existence of dew ponds, paths and tracks, as well as regular ploughing activity over the years, reduces the likelihood of any significant discoveries in the future.

Later in early medieval times, the swineherds from Patcham, Withdean, Stanmer and probably Brighton drove their pigs down these bostals to their swine pastures at Wivelsfield and beyond to Worth Forest.

The robust chalk grassland specialists Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus and Neckera crispa grow in abundance on the north-facing slopes along with Fissidens dubius, Campylium protensum, Dicranum bonjeanii and Hylocomium splendens.

From this point, Ditchling Road descends through open downland for approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) until the edge of the Brighton built-up area is reached at Hollingbury.

Access by rail can be achieved from Hassocks, from where a well-used path runs alongside the line to Clayton, at the western end of Underhill Lane.