South Downs Way

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South Downs Way
The South Downs Way near Beachy Head
Length	160 km (99 mi)
Location	South Eastern England, United Kingdom
Designation	UK National Trail
Trailheads	Winchester Hampshire 51°03′47″N 1°18′25″W / 51.063°N 1.307°W / 51.063; -1.307 Eastbourne, East Sussex 50°45′04″N 0°16′08″E / 50.751°N 0.269°E / 50.751; 0.269
Use	Hiking
Elevation Change	4,150 m (13,600 ft)
Highest Point	Butser Hill, 270 m (890 ft)[1]
Trail Difficulty	Easy
Season	All year
Sights	Long Man of Wilmington, Chanctonbury Ring

The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway.^[2] The trail has about 4,150 metres (13,600 ft) of ascent and descent making it a challenging route.

The undulating path begins in Winchester and moves past Cheesefoot Head, the towns of Petersfield and Arundel, the village of Steyning, Devil's Dyke viewpoint near Brighton, and miles of chalk downland, finally ending in Eastbourne. Several youth hostels are along the route to accommodate walkers. It also passes Birling Gap, a beach area with hotel and restaurant. At Rodmell on the trail, Virginia Woolf drowned herself in the River Ouse in 1941.

Much of the South Downs Way is on high chalk downland and the views are dramatic. The Way is solely within the Sussex Downs and East Hampshire Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, soon to become the South Downs National Park. There is plenty of historic interest along the way. Without exception it is a very well maintained and signposted route. While it crosses various villages for provisions much of it is surprisingly isolated and quiet considering the density of the population in south-east England.

It can be walked in about a week while a horse rider or cyclist would take two or three days. It is closed to motorised traffic along the route and this rule is generally observed.

Various events are held along the route; including the British Heart Foundation's annual Randonee. Part or all of the 100 miles is cycled to raise funds for heart disease, the fastest times are sub 8 hours with most riders taking under 14 hours.

[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ National Trail
2. ^ The bridleway route is 8 kilometres (5 mi) shorter. National Trails website.

• The National Trail Guide entitled South Downs Way by Paul Millmore ISBN 1-85410-966-9 gives many details needed including OS maps.
• OS Explorer Maps 132, 120, 121, 122, 123
• OS Landranger Maps 185, 197, 198, 199

[edit] External links

• The South Downs Way from NationalTrails.gov.uk
• South Downs Way Journal from kevanliz
• South Downs Way from southdownsway.co.uk - describes route broken into sections
• Photos of the South Downs Way on geograph.org.uk

v • d • e United Kingdom long-distance footpaths National Trails (England and Wales) Cleveland Way · Cotswold Way · Glyndŵr's Way · Hadrian's Wall Path · North Downs Way · North Norfolk Coastal Path · Offa's Dyke Path · Peddars Way · Pembrokeshire Coast Path · Pennine Bridleway · Pennine Way · The Ridgeway · South Downs Way · South West Coast Path · Thames Path · Yorkshire Wolds Way Long Distance Routes (Scotland) Great Glen Way · Southern Upland Way · Speyside Way · West Highland Way

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