South Downs · United KingdomSouth Downs Way
Chalk ridges from Winchester to the sea
About South Downs Way
The South Downs Way runs 161 kilometres with around 3,200 metres of climbing along the rolling chalk ridge, from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne on the Sussex coast. It follows old drovers' tracks over the chalk escarpment and is waymarked throughout with the National Trail acorn.
Its character is wide views, rolling grass, deep dry valleys and villages of flint walls and thatched roofs below. Technically it is easy, but the constant short climbs add up: the standard schedule takes eight to nine days, finishing with the steep rollercoaster over the Seven Sisters. The high point is Ditchling Beacon at 248 metres, and the route is high enough almost every day for views over the Weald and out to sea.
The chalk underfoot is one continuous geological story: the Downs are the eroded edge of an ancient seabed, pushed up and carved into today's ridges, with the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters as the finale. People have walked this crest for millennia, leaving hillforts, old drove roads and flint villages behind. In the valleys lies Bloomsbury country around Charleston and Monk's House, where Virginia Woolf walked these same hills.
Practical. Nine stages, with the steepest climbing in the last two days. Both ends have railway stations with direct services from London, and intermediate stations at Petersfield, Amberley, Hassocks and Lewes make shorter breaks easy. You sleep in riverside pubs, country hotels and B&Bs; the route passes nine villages with beds, so luggage transfer or light packing both work. Spring brings wildflowers and long evenings, September offers settled weather; chalk paths turn muddy after rain but stay walkable all year.
Stages South Downs Way
The South Downs Way is split here into 9 stages of 10 to 27 km, 162 km in total, from Winchester to Eastbourne. The stages below are a sample itinerary: in the planner you put together your own days and choose where you sleep.
Winchester - Exton
Leaving Winchester's cathedral close, the trail climbs onto the chalk downs past Cheesfoot Head's great amphitheatre of grass. Old drove roads roll along the ridge with wide views over the Itchen valley, before a long descent through beech woodland to the meadows of the River Meon at Exton, a tiny village with a river-side pub.
Exton - Buriton
The day opens with the climb to Old Winchester Hill, an Iron Age hill fort and nature reserve with views to the Isle of Wight. Chalk downland and deep dry valleys follow over Butser Hill, the highest point of the park, before the trail drops through Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Buriton, a tidy flint village under the downs.
Buriton - Cocking
A shorter ridge day through the wilder western downs: the path climbs back onto the open grass and runs above Buriton's chalk pits, over the Henwood Downs and through quiet estate country to Cocking, sheltering in a fold of the hills with its church and popular village inn.
Cocking - Amberley
The longest day: beech-clad Beacon Hill, the vast arable skies above Bignor Hill with its Roman villa in the valley, then the steep chalk drop to the River Arun. Amberley arrives as a welcome oasis of thatched cottages, a station pub and a museum village below the ramparts of the downs.
Amberley - Steyning
Back on the ridge, the trail crosses the River Arun's wide watermeadows and climbs to Chanctonbury Ring, a Bronze Age hill fort wrapped in folklore and crowned by a famous ring of beeches. Open downland follows to the ancient market town of Steyning, tucked under the steep escarpment at the edge of the Adur valley.
Steyning - Pyecombe
The downs roll on over Edburton Hill and the Fulking escarpment, with long views over the Weald, to the Devil's Dyke, the world's largest chalk dry valley and a Victorian beauty spot. Beyond it the trail dips through Saddlescombe farm to Pyecombe, a hamlet of flint cottages beneath the steep hillside.
Pyecombe - Southease
A big downland day: past the Clayton windmills, over Ditchling Beacon at 248 metres, the trail's high point with views to the sea, then miles of rolling grass with the coast drawing closer. The day ends with the long descent to the River Ouse at Southease, a hamlet with a famous church and youth hostel by the bridge, where the tide of the estuary still reaches.
Southease - Alfriston
A short, blissful day across the Ouse valley and up over Itford Hill to Firle Beacon, with the sea now a constant companion on the horizon. Descend through the old villages of the Cuckmere valley: Litlington's thatched roofs and the riverside path lead into Alfriston, the prettiest village of the Downs, clustered around its huge fourteenth-century church.
Alfriston - Eastbourne
The grand finale: follow the Cuckmere river to the sea, then climb the roller-coaster of the Seven Sisters, seven gleaming chalk cliffs between green dips, to the lighthouse at Beachy Head. The trail edges the clifftops before descending through Holywell to the Victorian promenade and pier of Eastbourne.
FAQ
Below you'll find answers to some frequently asked questions.
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