Amberley is a village and
civil parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
in the
HorshamHorsham is a local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in Horsham. The district borders those of Crawley, Mid Sussex, Mole Valley, Chichester, Arun and Adur....
District of West Sussex, England.
Amberley is situated at the foot of the
South DownsThe South Downs is one of the four areas of chalk downland in southern England. They extend from the eastern side of Hampshire through Sussex, culminating in the cliffs at Beachy Head...
. Its neighbours are
StorringtonStorrington is a village in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, and one of two in the civil parish of Storrington and Sullington. Storrington lies at the foot of the north side of the South Downs. As of 2006 the village has a population of around 4,500. It has one main shopping street...
,
West ChiltingtonWest Chiltington is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the Storrington to Broadford Bridge road, 2.6 miles north of Storrington....
and
ArundelArundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...
. The village is noted for its many thatched cottages. The house named "The Thatched Cottage" is one of the village's few non-thatched houses.
One of the attractions in Amberley is
Amberley Working MuseumAmberley Museum & Heritage Centre is a museum at Amberley, near Arundel in West Sussex, England.The museum was founded in 1979 by the Southern Industrial History Centre Trust and has previously been known as the Amberley Working Museum, Amberley Chalk Pits Museum or plain Amberley Museum.The museum...
which was used as a set location for the James Bond film
A View to a KillA View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the third Bond film after The Spy Who Loved Me...
as "Mainstrike Mine".
Amberley has its own
railway stationAmberley railway station is a railway station in West Sussex, England. It serves the village of Amberley, about half a mile away, and was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway...
on the
Arun Valley LineThe Arun Valley Line, also known as the Mid Sussex Line is part of the Southern-operated railway services. For the initial part of the route trains follow the Brighton Main Line, and at a junction south of Three Bridges the route turns westwards...
, with regular services to
Bognor RegisBognor Regis is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, on the south coast of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and southeast of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Littlehampton east northeast and Selsey to...
,
PortsmouthPortsmouth is a city located in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the United Kingdom's only island city and is located on Portsea Island. The City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club are both nicknamed Pompey...
and
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
To the north of the village is the tidal plain of the
River ArunThe Arun is a river in the English county of West Sussex. Its source is a series of small streams in the St Leonard's Forest area, to the east of Horsham.It flows through Horsham to the west and at Nowhurst is joined by North River , whose source is the the heights of Leith Hill and Holmbury Hill...
, known as
Amberley Wild BrooksAmberley Wild Brooks is a wetland Site of Special Scientific Interest in the flood plain of the River Arun, just north of the village of Amberley, West Sussex, England. There is a path, which forms part of the Wey South Path, leading through the Wild Brooks from Amberley to Greatham Bridge near...
. This wetland area is a
Site of Special Scientific InterestA Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based...
which floods in winter and is known for its wildfowl. Good views can be had from the Sportsman Pub at the east end of the village, known as crossgates. The Black Horse in the centre of the village often has
Morris DancingA morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers...
in Summer. Amberley also has a
castleAmberley Castle is in the village of Amberley, West Sussex . It is a Grade I listed building.It was erected as a 12th century manor house and fortified in 1377. It then had a stonework enclosure with high curtain walls, towers, a hall and a gateway and was used as a fortress for the bishops of...
, which is now a Hotel. The 'castle' is in fact a fortified
manor HouseA manor house or fortified manor-house is a country house, which has historically formed the administrative centre of a manor , the lowest unit of territorial organization in the feudal system...
next to which is a
NormanThe term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used for English Romanesque architecture...
Church, the Parish Church of St Michael.