The South Downs Way is a 100 mile long-distance bridleway. You can travel along it on foot, off-road bicycle, or on horseback. It takes about a week to walk the whole route between Winchester and Eastbourne, but it can be cycled in 2-3 days.

The trail runs through prehistoric monuments and flower-filled nature reserves, past pretty villages and imposing country houses. There are some moderately steep slopes but mostly the path runs across rolling open country. It is well marked and can be walked by anyone who is reasonably fit. Much of the route is accessible to a suitable cross-country motorised wheelchair. (For details of path standards, please contact the National Trail Officer at www.nationaltrail.co.uk/Southdowns - email: sdw@southdowns-aonb.gov.uk)

Chalk Downland is famous for its wildflowers and butterflies, but there is plenty of other wildlife to see along the Trail. Walk quietly and you might see deer, and keep an eye on the big Downland skies for Red Kites and other birds of prey. At the eastern end of the Trail the Heritage Coast offers some superb rock pools full of colourful marine life.

A long and fascinating history

Along the Trail are numerous Bronze Age barrows and Iron Age hill forts. There are views of Elizabethan palaces and classic country houses, a Roman road and a villa to visit, even some relicts of the Second World War, all set in a picture-postcard English landscape. Pass through the area where Virginia Woolfe lived and worked, or explore Andy Goldsworthy’s modern chalk sculpture trail. The South Downs Way is one of the best ways to experience this quiet corner of the busy southeast.

The South Downs are designated as two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Sussex Downs and East Hampshire.

The Hampshire Downs are a landscape of rolling fields and small woodlands, cut by the pretty River Meon. The West Sussex Downs are more wooded, with a defined ridge along which the South Downs Way runs. There are superb views to the north across the Weald and south to the Isle of Wight. The East Sussex Downs are classic open downland running down to the sea.