South Downs Way: 8-day itinerary

Leaves Winchester on farm tracks and country lanes across gently rolling downland — arable fields, hedgerows, beech hangers — building steadily rather than climbing hard. Cheesefoot Head and Beacon Hill give the first proper high views, and the walking stays on undulating high ground with no steep pitches. This opening stretch sets the pattern for the whole trail: the path itself passes no village directly, so food, water and beds all mean a detour off the ridge. Quiet and rural rather than dramatic — a settling-in day before Butser Hill and Queen Elizabeth Country Park raise the stakes.

Logistics: The trail passes no village directly on this stretch — every food, water or bed stop means leaving the ridge and climbing back up to rejoin it.

Navigation: Well waymarked on farm tracks and lanes; easy underfoot and easy to follow, with no technical navigation on this opening stretch.

The longest section on the trail, and it packs in the most climbing: East Meon, then a real high point at Queen Elizabeth Country Park and Butser Hill (270m, the highest ground on the whole Way), before the ridge continues past Harting Down's dry chalk valleys and through the trail's most wooded stretch beyond Cocking. QECP has the best facilities directly on the route anywhere on the trail — café and visitor centre right on the path — a rare exception to the pattern of villages sitting off it. Long, steady, undulating rather than dramatic, but the cumulative climbing adds up over 45km.

Logistics: QECP, roughly a third in, is one of very few places on the whole trail with a café directly on the path — worth timing a break here rather than counting on anywhere else.

Navigation: Waymarking is reliable throughout; the dry chalk valleys around Harting Down have several similar-looking paths, so it's worth checking the acorn markers rather than following the most obvious track.

Bignor Hill and the climb over it lead down to the Arun valley at Amberley — the lowest, most abrupt dip on the trail so far — before climbing back onto the ridge past Storrington toward Washington. Villages cluster closer to the trail here than elsewhere, even if not directly on it, but the walking itself is still ridge-and-valley: down to cross the river, straight back up the other side. A shorter section than those either side of it, and a natural place to break after the long climbing of the previous stretch.

Logistics: Amberley, at the low point of the Arun crossing, is the easiest off-trail detour for supplies on this stretch — most other villages sit further from the path.

Navigation: Straightforward waymarked ridge-and-valley walking; the descent to and climb from Amberley is the only place requiring real attention to the gradient.

Short and almost entirely flat — the one genuinely easy stretch on the whole trail. Chanctonbury Ring's hilltop clump of trees is visible for miles either side, then the ridge holds height past Steyning before a gentle drop to the River Adur at Upper Beeding. Barely any climbing at all here, in sharp contrast to the sections either side; treat it as a chance to make fast time before Truleigh Hill and Devil's Dyke start the next big push.

Logistics: This is the flattest stretch on the entire trail — a good place to bank time before the climbing resumes hard at Truleigh Hill.

Navigation: Easy, obvious ridge-top walking with no technical navigation; Chanctonbury Ring is a clear landmark to aim for.

The trail's central set-piece: Truleigh Hill, then Devil's Dyke — the longest, deepest dry chalk valley in the country — then Pyecombe and a last big pull up to Ditchling Beacon, the highest point in this part of Sussex at 248m with views back to Chanctonbury and out to sea. Three real climbs in quick succession make this the most sustained up-and-down stretch on the trail. Devil's Dyke has a pub right by the path, a rare exception to the usual pattern of nothing directly on the route. Busy with day walkers around the Dyke and Beacon; quieter again beyond.

Logistics: Devil's Dyke has a pub directly on the trail — one of very few points on the whole South Downs Way where food is available without a detour.

Navigation: Well waymarked and busy with other walkers around the Dyke and Ditchling Beacon, making the line easy to follow; care is needed only in picking the right one of several converging paths near the Dyke itself.

A short, gentle drop off the ridge to the River Ouse at Southease — the trail's lowest point since the Arun crossing, and one of the easiest stretches on the whole route. Lewes sits close by for anyone wanting a full town stop, though it's a detour rather than on the line itself. After the sustained climbing around Devil's Dyke and Ditchling Beacon, this reads as a deliberate breather before Firle Beacon and the climb back onto the ridge for the final push to the coast.

Logistics: Lewes, a short detour off the trail near the start of this section, is the last proper town before the run to the coast — worth the diversion if supplies are low.

Navigation: Easy, low-level walking with reliable waymarking; the only real decision is whether to detour into Lewes or stay on the direct line to Southease.

Firle Beacon starts the climb back onto open ridge, then Alfriston is the last real village before the coast — after that the character changes completely. Beyond Litlington and Seven Sisters Country Park the trail meets the sea and turns into a genuine switchback: the Seven Sisters cliffs, one steep dip and climb after another, exposed and exhilarating in good weather, hard work in wind. Birling Gap and Beachy Head, Britain's highest chalk cliff, keep the climbing going almost to the end. Eastbourne's seafront promenade is a properly different, urban finish after 100 miles of downland and cliff.

Logistics: Alfriston is the last real village with services before the coast — the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head switchback has little beyond a seasonal café at Birling Gap.

Navigation: Easy to follow along the cliff edge, but the constant steep dips and climbs are more tiring than technical; low cloud can hide the edge itself, so care is needed in poor visibility.