Description: The South Downs is a range of hills stretching east-west between Hampshire and Eastbourne in East Sussex; north of the southern English coast. They reach the maximum height of 270m above the sea level and are the focus of a new national park (that also incorporates the chalky cliffs of Beachy Head and Seven Sisters, covered by a separate article).
The South Downs are not serious hills for climbing by any means, but they provide very enjoyable walking environment that is within easy reach of the London conurbation as well as the seaside towns of the South Coast. The South Downs Way runs along the hills and some stretches of the coast, but there are many paths and tracks that criss-cross the area and give access to the uncultivated reaches of the Downs.
The Downs landscape is the epitome of the ''green and pleasant land'' so beloved of the admirers of rural England, although much of it (especially near the coast and at the higher escarpments) is uncultivated and provides a welcome respite from the relentless farminess of much of England which is largely covered by arable and pasture land.
When we lived in Brighton for a few months in the late 1990s, we walked several times on the South Downs, and it usually worked well, but in my experience it's worth doing a bit of research before setting off inland.
Ditchling Beacon, at 248m the third highest summit on the Downs can be reached from Brighton along the Ditchling Road (there is also road access and an unfortunate National Trust car park at the top). If you have a car you can stop somewhere along the road and walk up onto the escarpment to the trig point and then down to the pleasant village of Ditchling, ideal for a some food or a drink; or do the whole thing from Ditchling itself. There is also now a regular bus from Brighton (no 79), but it's better to walk up the hill. The views are grand and
Devil's Dyke is a popular spot very near Brighton (there is a bus from Brighton or a car park at the top), the largest ''dry valley'' in the UK at over 300 feet deep and over 1km long. I found it too developed and busy, with a crappy chain pub and a row of cars parked at the edge of the escarpment completely spoiling the view. Things might have changed now the National Park has been established though.
East towards the Beachy Head cliffs lies the village of Wilmington and nearby the so-called Long Man of Wilmington, an 17th century hillside chalk image tracing a human figure with two long staves or sticks in his hands. If you have a car, you can park fairly nearby and have a hillside picnic with a good view of the Long Man.
The South Downs are not exactly spectacular and I would not go much out of my way to visit the area - apart perhaps from the chalk cliffs of the Beachy Head and Seven Sisters if you never experienced any of the England's white cliffs - but if you are staying in the area, or even in London, for any length of time, the South Downs National Park is one of the nearest points for some pleasant countryside walking and comes recommended.
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