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SOUTH DOWNS WAY

Winchester - Exton - Petersfield - Arundel - Devil's Dyke - Pyecombe - Lewes - Beachy Head

SOUTH DOWNS WAY Total Distance: 100 Miles KEY ATTRACTIONS: WINCHESTER, MEON VALLEY, Beacon Hill, EXTON, Old Winchester Hill, Butser Hill, BURITON, PETERSFIELD, QE Country Park, Harting Down, Uppark, COCKING, Upwaltham, Bignor Hill, Amberley Wild Brooks, ARUNDEL, STORRINGTON, Chanctonbury, STEYNING, DEVIL'S DYKE Upper Beeding, FULKING, PYECOMBE, Jack and Jill Windmills, Ditchling Beacon, LEWES, Rodmell, Firle Beacon, ALFRISTON, Seven Sisters, EASTBOURNE, Beachy Head.

SOUTH DOWNS WAY: INFORMATION, MAPS AND STATISTICS

Background The 161 kilometre long South Downs Way follows the old routes and droveways of ancient man along the chalk escarpment and ridges of the South Downs. The route provides the visitor with the opportunity "to get away from it all" without having to travel too far in this busy part of England. The undulating route provides a wonderful trip for long distance riders as well as walkers. It also provides interesting day trips and short breaks. Countryside The South Downs Way is characterised by rolling chalk grassland, deep dry valleys, and extensive views over the Weald to the north and the sea to the south. The western end of the South Downs Way is at the historic and well preserved city of Winchester, capital of King Alfred the Great. In Hampshire the landscape is a rolling countryside of mixed farming and small woodlands. The Meon Valley is particularly attractive, with the superb Iron Age hill fort of Old Winchester Hill and the Meon Valley Villages both well worth a visit. Further west the South Downs Way follows the scarp across West Sussex, often wooded closer to the Hampshire border but more and more open - classic Downland - as East Sussex nears. The Downs are cut by the major river valleys of the Ouse, Adur, and Arun and there are numerous attractive villages along the foot of the downland slope. This is a landscape full of history, and the Trail follows a route that has been used since the end of the Ice Age. At the far eastern end of the route the footpath follows the spectacular chalk cliffs of Seven Sisters and Beachy Head, while the Bridleway takes a route above the ancient chalk figure of the Long Man of Willmington. The bridleway offers views out across the Weald and Pevensey Levels, but both routes rejoice in the vast open space of classic Sussex Downland. The South Downs Way provides one of the best long distance trails in the country, but it can be a thirsty walk in summer and cold and wet when the winter gales blow in from the Channel. Come prepared for some of the best lowland walking in England. History People have travelled along the route of the South Downs Way for over 8000 years, back into the Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age. The high and drier chalk ridge offered much easier travelling than the wet and thickly wooded Weald below. The earliest signs of occupation that can be readily seen today are from the Neolithic, or New Stone Age, the period from about 6000 years ago when settled farming replaced hunting and gathering as the main source of food. The dips left by old flint mines can be seen in several places. It was during the Neolithic that large scale clearance of the open woodland on the Downs took place, enlarging existing clearings to provide grazing for domestic stock and room for the first fields. The Bronze Age peoples left more impressive monuments, especially the rounded Tumuli that dot the landscape. Although these are often called "burial mounds" many never contained any human bones, and those that did almost always held only cremated remains. The characteristic dip in the tops of the mound is usually due to the activities of Victorian antiquaries looking for treasure or skeletons; unfortunately their digging has destroyed much of the information that could have been obtained with more modern techniques. Bronze was introduced gradually alongside flint from about 3500 years ago. Iron first appeared on the Downs around 1000 years later; the Iron Age peoples seem to have been much more warlike than their predecessors and certainly the hill forts they left behind were impressive defences. When new, the forts' gleaming white chalk ramparts must have dominated the landscape. There are many hillforts along the South Downs Way, but Old Winchester Hill is perhaps the best example. Iron Age or "Celtic" field systems are also common. Most of the known activity during the Roman period took place on the coastal plains and in the Weald, but there are some Roman roads that cross the Downs most notably Stane Street at Bignor. By the mediaeval period the Downs were used for a mixture of arable agriculture and sheep grazing, and this continued up until the Second World War. When corn prices were high, such as during the Napoleonic Wars of the late 1700s and early 1800s, more land was ploughed. When corn prices were low, such as in the later 19th century and again in the 1930s, land "tumbled down" back to downland as fields were abandoned. As well as economic hardships disease also took its toll and several downland Villages were abandoned following the Black Death. During WW2 large areas of the Downs were used for military training, but the biggest changes came after the war. Mechanised agriculture, heavy subsidies, and the extensive use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers allowed larger areas to be ploughed than ever before. Wildlife When most people think about wildlife on the Downs, they think of chalk grassland. Classic chalk downland is one of the richest habitats on earth when viewed close up; there can be over 50 species of plants per square metre. Many of the specialist plants have romantic or just plain strange names; Squinancywort, Autumn Ladies Tresses, Bastard Toadflax. The best time to see the chalk grassland in its full glory is from late spring through until August - on sunny days the hills will be alive with butterflies then, too. The short downland turf has been created by millennia of grazing dating right back to the wild herds of cattle and ponies that were here at the end of the last Ice Age. Grazing keeps the grass short and the soil poor, allowing many plants to thrive rather than just a few of the most vigorous species. It also helps to keep scrub at bay. From about 6000 years ago domestic stock replaced the wild grazers, and while farming had its ups and downs, and more or less land was ploughed according to the demand for corn, large scale grazing was pretty constant up to WW2. During the War years even more land was ploughed as Britain struggled to feed herself, and the drive to self sufficiency in food continued long after peace returned. It was the introduction of chemical agriculture from the 1960s that changed the Downs for ever. Armed with the new fertilisers and herbicides farmers could "improve" or plough virtually every scrap of land that could be reached with a tractor. "Improvement" meant getting rid of the ancient flower rich turf and replacing it with a productive sward of imported ryegrass. What land could not be fertilised was often abandoned, and left ungrazed it soon became overgrown with scrub. Today only 3% of the chalk is still covered in flower rich grassland. Facts and Figures The trail is 161 kilometres long (100 miles). There are two start points both on the outskirts of Eastbourne. The coastal route from Eastbourne to Alfriston is for walkers only and is 17.5 kilometres. The inland route is the bridleway section and runs from Eastbourne to Alfriston via Jevington. This section is 12 kilometres long. Through much of East and West Sussex the route follows the escarpment top, with regular water points and waymarked routes to Wealden and downland villages. Within Hampshire the route through the Meon Valley is undesignated on the ground. Temporary routes are signposted through this area. There are separate routes for riders and walkers. Appropriate clothing should be worn, in winter the Downs can become very cold and bleak, and good quality outdoor wear essential. During the summer, light weight clothing can be worn, however, user should be prepare for hot, dry conditions.

SOUTH DOWNS: WEST WINCHESTER 0 BEACON HILL 11 MEON VALLEY 14 OLD WINCHESTER 16 BUTSER HILL 20 BURITON 21 QE COUNTRY PK 24 HARTING DOWN 30 UPPARK 31 COCKING 37 UPWALTHAM 45 BIGNOR HILL 47 AMBERLEY 52

SOUTH DOWNS: EAST STORRINGTON 56 CHANCTONBURY 63 STEYNING 65 UPPER BEEDING 67 FULKING 72 PYECOMBE 76 JACK/JILL WIND 78 DITCHLING 80 LEWES 84 RODMELL 88 FIRLE BEACON 92 ALFRISTON 95 EASTBOURNE 107

IMAGES: SELECTED PICTURES FROM SOUTH DOWNS WAY (GALLERY LEADS WEST TO EAST)