Reception & the Lane
The reception desk is kept open from six in the morning to midnight every day. Outside those hours, the duty observer may be reached on the house telephone for late arrivals and for matters that will not keep until morning.
The Hotel
Thornveil House Hotel and Casino Resort
Observatory Lane
Thornveil,
West Sussex RH20 0XX
By Letter
For booking enquiries, access requirements, the Observatory, and the press.
Travel
Pulborough 4 mi
Chichester 18 mi
Gatwick Airport 31 mi
By Road and by Rail
By road from the south, leave the A27 at Arundel and follow the A29 north through Bury to the Observatory Lane turning above Thornveil. By rail, alight at Pulborough on the Arun Valley line; the duty observer will arrange the ten-minute drive on request, by note in advance or on the platform telephone. There is no waterway suitable for arrival; the Arun runs in the valley below the house and is the size of a small river.
Walking In and Out
The chalk path runs south from the south door of the hotel, along the seaward edge of the bluff, past the bee-orchid hedge of the west boundary, and on to the star-platform at the high point. The path is chalked, taken at the guest’s own pace, and is unsuitable for wheels in heavy weather. The duty observer keeps a small box of walking sticks in the vestibule for guests who would care to borrow one.
Press & Editorial Enquiries
The Trust answers a small number of press enquiries each year, and prefers letters to telephone calls. Please write to the address above with a short note of the piece and the standing of the publication. The Trust does not run a press list, does not issue advance copy, does not host visits except on the January Quadrantid meeting at the star-platform, and does not photograph guests of the hotel under any arrangement.