The South Downs Way is a glorious mix of rolling downland, sleepy villages, and historic towns. Its 160km length and 4,150m of ascents takes you on a journey from the cathedral city of Winchester to the white chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters Coast, finally depositing you in the cheery seaside town of Eastbourne. On the way it passes Bronze Age hillforts and burial mounds, chalk figures, castles, centuries old churches, and Bloomsbury Group hotspot and home of Vanessa Bell, Charleston.
Rudyard Kipling, who spent a bit of time in the area, referred to the South Downs as, “Our blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed Downs.” It perfectly sums up the experience of walking this exposed chain of hills with the land falling away sharply on either side. From the tops of the Downs the views stretch for miles across the countryside to the English Channel in the south, and the North Downs in the north.
I write this having just completed the route over six days in May. What is most remarkable about a long distance path in southern England close to several cities, and only a short distance from London, is just how few people there were on the majority of the route. Some days I spent hours walking in splendid isolation, with only birdsong and the breeze for company. Despite the ever present risk of torrential rain, it was magnificent.
That’s not to say there weren’t times when, labouring up steep chalk escarpments as the sun beat down, or taking shelter from a passing heavy downpour, that I didn’t question my sanity. On day two, I walked for several hours wondering what all the fuss was about, because (and speak it quietly) the landscape was quite boring. Then at the Devil’s Jumps, a row of Bronze Age burial mounds near Cocking, the landscape became more dramatic.
It stayed that way for the next four days, and despite the fact that the weather was ‘variable’ I lived a charmed life. Walking along the ridge of the South Downs Way I could see rain clouds laden with water sweeping across the landscape. Occasionally there was a rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning. Yet the heavy rain stayed in the north or landed along the coast, while I often walked in sunshine.
I got caught by the rain twice. Both times I could see the inevitable moving inexorably towards me, the heavy rain was visible from several kilometres away. Ironically, one “devout drench” came as I was approaching Eastbourne. The end was in sight but I had been observing the dark, ominous clouds making their way towards me for an hour. In the end I couldn’t outrun them and just had to accept my fate.
It’s been a long time since I did a multi-day hike carrying all my possessions on my back. There were occasions I cursed my decision to bring a laptop – 1.6kg of unnecessary weight. Truth be told though, it was liberating to pack my things up each morning and just head off into the countryside. So-much-so, arriving in Eastbourne was jarring. On the route you’re in a bubble, back in society everything reverts to normal.
Almost the entire route is within the South Downs National Park, Britain’s most recent addition to the National Parks family. It came into being only in 2009, fifty years after the original surge of national parks in the 1950s. The lack of protection has seen much of the landscape damaged by development and agriculture over the interveníng decades. Farming is largely a monoculture of cereal crops.
While that is a travesty, it doesn’t take away from the delights of walking the entire length of the national park. The catalyst for doing the walk came on New Year’s Eve 2025, when I walked the Seven Sisters coastal route. It was so beautiful, so enjoyable, I thought I’d do the entire South Downs Way. As a result of that walk though I made a difficult decision in the pretty village of Alfriston.
Instead of the 17km coastal route I took the 13km inland route. This stayed on high ground and took me past the Long Man of Wilmington (the largest chalk depiction of a human in Europe). It then passed through the village of Jevington where a blue plaque on a house claimed that this was the birthplace of banoffee pie. When I finally arrived in Eastbourne, wet and tired, I treated myself to a shower, a couple of beers, and fish and chips … in that order.
My South Downs Way itinerary:
Day 1: Winchester to East Meon. Distance 31km, stayed Ye Olde George Inn.
Day 2: East Meon to Cocking. Distance 33km, stayed in a shepherds hut at Manor Farm Campsite and B&B.
Day 3: Cocking to Steyning. Distance 37km, stayed studio apartment on main street.
Day 4: Steyning to Lewes: Distance 43km, stayed town centre apartment.
Day 5: Lewes to West Firle. Distance 22km, stayed in a shepherds hut.
Day 6: West Firle to Eastbourne. Distance 31km, stayed Ravilious Hotel.
Total distance walked: 197km
