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Itinerary:
Day 1:
Alfriston: Travel to Alfriston, explore the Mediaeval town and
amble by the Cuckmere River. This
is one of the most beautiful villages in the Downs. The large church
in the village is often called "the Cathedral of the
Downs". The village is also home to the first property of the
National trust, Clergy House. It is said that the site of the Star
Inn is where Alfred burnt his cakes. Alfred gave the area to one of
his warlords, Aelfric, as a fief in reward for battle valour.
Day 2: Eastbourne -
Alfriston: (12 miles/19.3km from Eastbourne Station) A
Fantastic walk in reasonable weather conditions. After breakfast
you will be transported to Eastbourne. You could have a quick look
along the Victorian Promenade (an ice cream perhaps?) and then start
the walk up to Beachy Head cliffs overlooking the famous Lighthouse.
Rollercoaster along the “Seven Sisters” group of chalk down
cliffs, until the scenery changes at Cuckmere Haven, a real beauty
spot where the Cuckmere river meanders lazily down to the sea. Walk
up the valley and across hillside footpaths to Littlington with its
attractive pub and tea shoppes before the last section across
watermeadows back into Alfriston.
Day
3: Alfriston - Rodmell
(9.5 miles/ 15.2km) The Way rises up onto the high Downs
reaching a high point on this section at Firle Beacon. Walk across
farmland, until you reach the River Ouse gap near Rodmell. Fans of
the Bloomsbury group of Bohemian artists will be keen to make an off
route diversion to
Alciston, Berwick and West Firle with various pubs and teashops.
Rodmell Village has a pub and the “Monk’s House, where Virginia
Woolf used to live.
Day
4: Rodmell - Clayton:
(14 miles/ 22.5 km) After the Ouse the trail climbs above the
historic town of Lewes. This
section takes you up onto the highest parts of the Downs, round the
back of the Brighton and Worthing conurbation, following mainly
grassy tracks. You go over the highest point on the route at
Ditchling Beacon 248 m . You may find an ice cream van up here in
summer. Eventually, passing lark filled skies, the white “Jack and
Jill“ Clayton windmills greet you on your descent down to Clayton.
Day
5: Clayton - Steyning:
(10 miles/ 16 km) The
route ascends and descends via the “Devil’s Dyke” – said to
be the World’s largest chalk dry valley. There is a pub restaurant
here, great views and circular walks that you can do if you want to
spend more time on the heights.
We then walk on through
the parish of Upper Beeding to
drop down to the Ardur River Valley. There follows another
lovely stretch of The Downs with great views down to the villages
below and ancient historical features abound such as Tumuli burial
mounds and cross dykes. We descend off the Down to Steyning, a busy
little country town with some nice shops.
Day
6: Steyning –
Amberley: (11 miles/ 17.7km) Commence
with a steep climb up to the fascinating Chanctonbury Ring – a
Bronze Age hill fort settlement with one or two ghost stories
attached to it. The Way then drops steeply to cross the A24 road and
then climbs once again for the leg above the town of Storrington,
where beautiful Downland trails
or a minor road from
Chantry Post, can be used to make a pub diversion
to this town. The
trail etches its way over the fields and through pockets of forest
to reach and descend to the attractive Triptych of villages:
Amberley, Houghton and Bury on the lazily meandering River Arun.
This is a beautiful rural setting, looking up at Downs rather than
down from Ups.
Day
7: Amberley - Cocking
(12 miles/ 19.3 km)
The Way next follows flinty trails up Bury Hill, from where there is
a footpath off The Downs to the Roman Villa remains at Bignor, and
continues over Bignor Hill and its viewpoint (225m). There are many
interesting historical features today including a couple of minutes
on the Roman Road called Stane Street that connected Chichester with
London. You could practice your navigation trying to find the
Neolithic Camp just off of the route. Chichester Cathedral is
also visible seaward. Descending into the Dry valley of the A285,
there is then a steep climb up to a point from where it is about
0.25 miles South (off route); to the highest point on the South
Downs at Crown Tegleaze at 253 m.
The route undulates across the scarp slope the Downs, soon
entering dark and sometimes muddy woodland before dropping down to
the A286 on Cocking Hill, from where it is a mile into Cocking
village itself.
Day
8: Cocking
Depart after breakfast
you will be driven
over to Petersfield Railway Station for your departure on
mainline rail services from the downs.
Extension
The
original South Downs Way ran as far as Buriton (after
Cocking) until the extension to Winchester was added in the
late 1980s. Purists may decide that the additional rolling landscape
to Winchester, does not constitute ‘The Downs’ proper, but those
with more time might like to complete the 100 miles to Winchester.
Day
8: Cocking – East
Meon (18 miles/ 29 km) A
convoluted section often on woodland trails. Interesting features,
including the Devil’s Jumps tumuli; a group of large ancient
burial hillocks. There is also Beacon Hill, an Iron Age Hill fort
that you can pass over on the trail, which still has vestiges of the
old ramparts and views towards Chichester Harbour. Next you will be
winding around above the attractive villages of Harting with its
impressive looking coppered church spire and then Buriton.
You can decide whether to walk down to village. This is an
attractive Springline Village with a series of ponds. The
walk continues above Buriton,
climbing
and then descending through the Queen Elizabeth Country Park. (There
is a café). You then climb steeply up Butser Hill with Bronze Age
field patterns etched upon it. The route then undulates over The
Downs into some vast arable and wooded countryside, before dropping
off route towards our accommodation near East Meon.
Day
9: East Meon to Winchester (16 miles/ 26km) Once back on
the route we have a steep climb up to “Old Winchester Hill,” a
National Nature Reserve and Iron Age Fortress from where the isle of
Wight can be seen on a clear day. Descend beside a beautiful clear
chalk stream in which you may see Brown Trout gliding about. At
around lunchtime, the necklace of Meon Valley villages: Exton,
Corhampton and Meonstoke (all within a mile of each other) are
beautiful places to river watch and quaff beer as the Meon River
flows idly by. The final half day is spent rolling over fields until
at last Winchester comes into view!
Day
10: Depart from Winchester. A gemof a town, the ancient capital
of England and the Kingdom of Wessex before that. The cathedral has
the longest nave in Britain and there is a beautiful walk (flat at
last!) down through the water meadows to St. Cross. Where
a “Dole” of bread and
Ale can still be obtained from the monastic buildings there. You
should have plenty of time to look round before you have to take one
of the many trains out of town, or
if you are really enjoying Winchester why not have an extra
night?
Accommodation
Places
to stay along The South Downs Way are found rather sporadically.
This can mean that in order to find places which are on or just off
the route, day stage lengths vary somewhat. We use a range of small
attractive guesthouses and country inns of a good standard. Although
we aim to provide ensuite accommodation this may not always be
possible. Our first two nights are spent in Alfriston, in one
of Britain’s oldest inns from the 1300s. Rooms are furnished to a
high standard. In Rodmell we stay in a cosy guesthouse. Next
we stay in a quiet country pub in Clayton situated within
sight of the Jack and Jill windmills, with ensuite rooms. In the
attractive village of Steyning we alight at a highly rated
hotel. In picturesque Amberley our guesthouse enjoys
magnificent elevated views across the ‘Wildbrooks’. There is a
guest sitting and dining room with log fire and luxury private
bathroom and additional washroom with drying facilities for walkers.
A mile or so off the Downs in Cocking we are at a simple
country pub with good beer, rooms are not ensuite.
9 nights/10 days - The 10 day
tour includes a country guesthouse at East Meon and on the
final night a comfortable B&B in Winchester, near to the
historical centre.
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