Crawley
Crawley is a bustling town of 119,000 people (2021) in the northern part of West Sussex, on the border with Surrey, in the South East of England. The biggest influence on the town is Gatwick Airport, which many people claiming it to being the 6th-busiest airport in the world.
Understand
[edit]Crawley was a small hamlet until 1947 when it was designated a New Town by the government. Its population boomed in the 1950s and 1960s, due to this designation. From this, Crawley has become a multicultural town with a plethora of different ethnicities and religions, which can be seen in the food and the vibrant landscape of the town.
Get in
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By car
[edit]Crawley marks the midpoint of the M23/A23, which links London in the north to Brighton on the south coast. The A217 leads north to Reigate, and the A264 heads east to East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells, and west to Horsham.
By train
[edit]There are three relevant train stops for Crawley: 1 Crawley station, 2 Gatwick Airport station and 3 Three Bridges station.
While trains run directly and frequently from Gatwick and Three Bridges to Brighton, you will need to change in Three Bridges to Brighton when coming from Crawley Station. Fare and timetable information is available from Southeastern, tel. +44 8457 484950.
From Crawley station trains run north to London and Peterborough, and south to Horsham and Portsmouth. For railway services to Brighton and Haywards Heath, take a train heading north towards London Victoria or Bedford, and change at Three Bridges station (on the other side of Crawley) for trains to Brighton or Haywards Heath.
Regular fast trains run direct from Gatwick to London Victoria, which are operated by a plethora of differrent railway companies.
By air
[edit]4 Gatwick Airport (LGW IATA), a major international airport and one of the world's busiest, is on the outskirts of Crawley. Gatwick Airport also has a railway station which can be used to take direct trains to Crawley.
By bus
[edit]- National Express buses go from and to Crawley Station and Gatwick Airport.
- Metrobus #273 goes from Brighton Churchill Square to Crawley in about 70 min, crossing lovely Sussex countryside with a £5.50 fare (Dec 2018).
Get around
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Within the town centre, or to the station, county mall and the football stadium you can comfortably walk.
By bus
[edit]Local buses run by Metrobus include routes: 10, 20, 100, 281, 291, 400. Fastway services are managed by Metrobus.
From and to the airport take the number 10 Fastway service which runs almost always as a 24-hr service with the exception of Sundays and public holidays. There are also a number of alternative routes when travelling to the airport, such as routes 4 and 5.
There are also a multitude of other bus routes which can be used to reach the other suburbs, such as Pound Hill or Northgate.
Information about these routes and all the other routes can be found at the Metrobus Travel Shop, which is listed below:
Metrobus Travel Shop, ☏ +44 1293 449191.
Crawley is also well renowned for its Hydroliners, a type of bus that runs on hydrogen fuel. These can be seen throughout the Fastway network, and mainly operate on routes 10 and 20.
By taxi
[edit]You are able to find taxis at the main railway stations (Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges, Crawley) and by booking in advance via private hire companies in the area, which include:
- Metro Cars, 41 High Street, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1BQ, ☏ +44 1293 415415.
- Alpha Cars, ☏ +44 1293 400600.
- Western Cars, ☏ +44 1293 300000, info@westerncars.co.uk.
- Crawley Gatwick Taxis, ☏ +44 1293 222666.
Fares from the station to the airport are around £14 and take 10 min (if there are no traffic jams). However, the Fastway bus 10 takes about 20 min and costs £1.60.
By bicycle
[edit]Crawley is small enough to reach all ends cycling and in the town centre there are parking facilities. Cycle paths are marked and signed, but essentially the whole place is built for cars and especially the Gatwick Airport area is not meant for cyclists.
See
[edit]- 1 Goffs Park, Horsham Rd, RH11 8AX, ☏ +44 870 700 1390. There is a little model train Sundays in summer from 3PM, and the Crawley Museum with Stone Age and Bronze Age remains discovered in the area.
- 2 Gatwick Aviation Museum, Vallance Byways Lowfield, Heath Rd, Charlwood, RH6 0BT (near Gatwick Airport), ☏ +44 1293 862417. Nov-Mar: F Sa Su 9:30AM-4PM; last entry 3PM; Apr-Oct: F Sa Su 9:30AM-4:30PM; last entry 3:30PM. Adult: £7.50, children (5-14): £2.50, under 5: free.
- 3 Crawley Museum, 103 High St, RH10 1DD (10–minute walk from the town centre), office@crawleymuseums.org. Th-Sa 10:30AM-4PM. The museum contains a multitude of exhibitions about the town of Crawley and its history. Free.
- 4 Crawley Library, Southgate Avenue, RH10 6HG (adjacent to the County Mall), ☏ +44 1293 651751, crawley.library@westsussex.gov.uk. M-F 9AM-6PM, Sa 9AM-5PM.
Do
[edit]- Football: Crawley Town were promoted in 2024 and now play soccer in League One, the third tier. Their home ground Broadfield Stadium (capacity 6100) is by the A23 a mile south of town centre.
- 1 Buchan County Park, Horsham Rd, RH11 9HQ (south of Crawley starting at the Broadfield outskirts stretching to the Pease Pottage village), ☏ +44 1293 542088. 8AM-6PM. Mostly known and used by dog owners, it has two former hammer ponds and some nice old trees. Really beautiful in autumn and at springtime when the floors are blue with bluebells.
- 2 Tilgate Park (on the south side of the town). A large area with a mix of lakes, grassy areas and woodlands, with plenty of pleasant walks. Attractions include various gardens, a maze and a nature centre with a range of animals and birds which is well worth a visit. In addition to this, in the Walled Garden there is a community café that serves a wide variety of dishes, light bites and refreshments. The nature centre charges a nominal fee but other attractions are free of charge.
- Proms in the Park. Take in the classical music at the annual Proms in the Park at Tilgate Park
- Tilgate Forest. Accessible from Tilgate Park and has miles of paths for walking and mountain biking. There are several signed short downhill mountain biking courses.
Buy
[edit]- 1 Crawley County Mall, Southgate Ave, RH10 1FP, ☏ +44 1293 611975. M-W F Sa 9AM-6PM, Th 9AM-8PM, Su 11AM-5PM. Probably the largest shopping centre between Croydon and Brighton offering the typical selection of bland chain shops you will find on every UK high street.
- Crawley Town Centre. The rest of the town centre is not too bad for shopping either.
- 2 Queen’s Square. A pedestrianised zone with extensive shopping.
- 3 Gatwick Airport South Terminal, RH6 0NN. 4AM-9PM. Has quite a few shops with extended opening hours accessible also to the non-flying public.
- 4 Three Bridges. Has a few small shops, and also a Lidl, Iceland and a large Tesco Extra Supermarket. This area is a 20-minute walk from the centre.
- 5 ASDA (Wal-Mart), Pegler Way, RH11 7AH, ☏ +44 1293 663400. M 7AM-midnight, Tu-F 24 hours, Sa noon-10PM, Su 10:30AM-4:30PM. Superstore in the town centre.
- 6 Tesco Extra, Hazelwick Ave, RH10 1GY, ☏ +44 345 677 9179. M-Sa 24 hours, Su 10AM-4PM. Superstore near Gatwick Airport.
Eat
[edit]Along the High Street are pubs and restaurants featuring typical English pubs and bars, Italian chains like Pizza Express, Si and Bella Italia, two or three curry houses, Mexican, kebab kiosks and more. There are also a lot of cheaper takeaways in Crawley where you can order a meal for around £7 to £15 if you're on a budget.
- 1 Goffs Park Inn. Walk or drive the High Street southwards until it becomes Brighton Road, cross the railway, and keep on Brighton Road until to the right turns Goff's Park Road. Follow Goff's Park Road until it ends onto another road and you see in front of you that nice pub, where you can sit outside and enjoy a pint with nice food.
- 2 Taj Mahal, 2-4 High St, RH10 1BJ (south of the High Street and west of Crawley railway station), ☏ +44 1293 526197. noon-2:30PM, 5:30PM-11PM. This Indian restaurant serves great food in a pleasant and modern environment, at a reasonable price.
- 3 Mo Lin (formerly Shin Mai), 3, 6-14 High St, RH10 1BH (just along the road from Taj Mahal), ☏ +44 1293 519876. M-Sa noon-2:30PM, 5:30PM-11PM; Su noon-2:30PM, 5:30PM-10:30PM. This Chinese restaurant serves good quality Chinese food. They specialise in sea food, although this is considerably more expensive than the rest of the menu. Best to go earlier in the evening if you haven't booked as it can get busy.
- 4 Troy Kebab House, 43 High St, RH10 1BQ, ☏ +44 1293 615593. This place is often highly rated among locals as being the best kebab restaurant in the area. The place has a wide variety of burgers and kebabs, with the burgers being served with fresh salad. In the restaurant, there is also a sitting area where you can eat your food.
- 5 West Green Fish Bar, 56 Ewhurst Rd, RH11 7HE, ☏ +44 1293 525460. The place serves highly rated authentic fish & chips among locals. The place is not in the Town Centre, nor does it have a delivery service.
Drink
[edit]- 1 The Jubilee Oak, 6 Grand Parade, High St, RH10 1BU, ☏ +44 1293 565335. M-Th 8AM-11:30PM, F 8AM-midnight, Sa 8AM-1AM, Su 8AM-11PM. Wetherspoon's pub.
Sleep
[edit]- 1 The Grange Hotel, 15 Brighton Road, ☏ +44 1293 403467, fax: +44 1293 403473, reception@grangecrawley.com.
- 2 Arora International Gatwick/Crawley, Southgate Avenue Southgate, RH10 6LW, ☏ +44 1293 530000. A 10-minute drive or 8-minute train ride from the Gatwick Airport. Parking is available for hotel guests.
- Travelodge Crawley (from the High Street, head north, and you would reach your destination on Pegler Way). Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. The hotel is a no-frills, informal chain hotel with there being competitive and reasonable prices compared to other hotels. The hotel is also not far from the High Street and the Town Centre, where you can explore many of the sights seen in the 'See' and 'Do' sections.
Connect
[edit]As of Feb 2023, Crawley and its approach roads have 4G from O2, and 5G from EE, Three and Vodafone.
Go next
[edit]Map of places with Wikivoyage articles nearby
Other places of interest in the Crawley area:
- Nymans Gardens, Handcross
- Wakehurst Place, Ardingly
- Cycle to Crawley Down, East Grinstead or Forest Row by the Worth Way traffic free path. This is mainly an old railway line so gradients are modest.
- Cycle trip to Horsham going for example through the Buchan County Park and following the small country road going through St Leonards Forest south parallel to the A264. Have a rest at the Green Dragons Inn in Faygate.
- By train to Arundel and spend a day there.
- By bus to East Grinstead, historic and friendly town.
| Routes through Crawley |
| London ← Gatwick Airport ← | N  S |
→ merges with  |
| London ← Redhill ← | N  S |
→ Haywards Heath → Brighton |