 After crossing the London to Brighton Way possibly where Preston Circus is now, it continued eastwards up the east side of the Wellesbourne valley on to the ridge of the South Downs to Lewes, where it became a ridgeway as it crossed Newmarket Hill and Kingston Hill.Brighton Racecourse opened on Whitehawk Hill to the northeast of Brighton in 1783, and the ancient track—which climbed a long, steep west-facing slope at this point—was used by people visiting it from central Brighton.As the town grew, it became a more important route, and in 1852 elm trees were planted along each side by Amon Henry Wilds on behalf of the Brighton Town Commissioners, for whom he had previously served as an officer.