South Downs Way hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The South Downs Way is a National Trail in the south of England. It runs for 160 km (100 miles) from the old city of Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne on the Sussex coast, almost all of it inside the South Downs National Park. It follows the chalk ridge of the South Downs: open grassland, beech woods and farmland high above the villages, with wide views north over the Weald and south to the sea. It is waymarked with the National Trail acorn in both directions, and most people walk it from west to east, so the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head come at the end. Most of the trail is a bridleway, so you share it with cyclists and horse riders.

The route

From the City Mill in Winchester the trail climbs out of the city to Cheesefoot Head and crosses quiet farmland to the Meon valley at Exton. It then climbs Old Winchester Hill, with its Iron Age hill fort, and continues over Butser Hill, at 270 m the highest point of the trail, to Queen Elizabeth Country Park and Buriton. East of the A3 the trail enters Sussex and runs along wooded ridges past Harting Down and the Devil's Jumps burial mounds to Cocking. Next it crosses Bignor Hill, where the Roman road Stane Street crossed the downs, and drops to the River Arun at Amberley, about halfway. Beyond the Arun the trail is higher and more open: it passes Chanctonbury Ring and crosses the River Adur near Steyning, then goes on over Truleigh Hill to Devil's Dyke and Ditchling Beacon (248 m) and down to the A27 at Housedean, near Lewes. The last days cross the River Ouse at Southease and follow the ridge to the village of Alfriston. Here the trail splits. This guide follows the walkers' footpath along the coast: down the Cuckmere valley to Exceat, over the seven chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters, past Birling Gap and the Belle Tout lighthouse, and over Beachy Head (162 m) to the end of the trail at the western edge of Eastbourne. Cyclists and horse riders must take the shorter inland bridleway via Jevington.

This guide follows the walkers' route as mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 8 stages, about 20.4 km each, ending in the villages where walkers usually stay. The trail is never very high, but it goes up and down all day: the National Trail figures add up to about 3,800 m of climbing in total.

Highlights

• Winchester: a historic cathedral city, once the leading city of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, with the working City Mill at the start
• Old Winchester Hill: an Iron Age hill fort with views over the Meon valley
• Butser Hill and Queen Elizabeth Country Park: the highest point of the trail (270 m) and a large beech woodland
• Amberley and the River Arun: a village with a castle that began as a 12th-century manor house (now a hotel), at about the halfway point
• Chanctonbury Ring: an Iron Age hill fort on the ridge above Washington
• Devil's Dyke and Ditchling Beacon: a deep dry valley and one of the highest points of the Sussex Downs (248 m)
• Alfriston: a medieval village with old inns, in the Cuckmere valley
• Seven Sisters, Birling Gap and Beachy Head: white chalk cliffs above the sea, ending at Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain (162 m)

When to walk the South Downs Way

You can walk the South Downs Way all year. Late spring and early summer are the best time for wild flowers and butterflies on the chalk grassland, and autumn colours in the beech woods. Summer is the busiest season. The downs have very little shade, so on hot days carry plenty of water and sun protection. In winter and after rain the chalk and flint paths are very slippery and some tracks are muddy, and the days are short. Strong wind and sea mist are common on the cliffs at the end of the walk.

How many days do you need?

Most walkers take 8 or 9 days. The 8 stages in this guide follow a common 8-day plan of 17 to 25 km a day; the National Trails itinerary uses 9 days, with short stages to Pyecombe and Southease. Fit walkers finish in 6 or 7 days, and many people walk it in sections at weekends, because there are railway stations close to the trail.

Getting there and logistics

Winchester has direct trains from London Waterloo and is about 24 minutes by train from Southampton Airport. Eastbourne has direct trains from London Victoria and from Gatwick Airport (about 1 hour). On the way there are stations at Petersfield, Amberley, Hassocks, Falmer, Lewes and Southease, so it is easy to join or leave the trail. The end point at the foot of Beachy Head is about 2 km from Eastbourne station.

You sleep in inns, B&Bs, hotels, two YHA hostels, bunkhouses and campsites; there are no mountain huts. The trail stays high on the ridge, so many places to stay are in villages 1 to 2 km below it. At Housedean there is only a campsite: most walkers take the bus to Lewes for the night. There is normally no right to wild camp, so use campsites or ask the landowner first. Several companies can book rooms and carry your bags. Water is a problem: there are only a few taps on the route, so fill up at every tap, pub or café and carry at least 2 litres.

In 2026 there are no major long-term diversions, but the A259 bridge at Exceat, by the Cuckmere, is being rebuilt until 2028. Check the National Trails map for short diversions before you go.

Difficulty

The South Downs Way is a moderate walk with no mountains and no scrambling, but the days are long (17 to 25 km) and there are many steep climbs and descents to the river crossings. The paths are wide and well waymarked. The chalk and flint surface is very slippery when wet. You share most of the trail with mountain bikers and horse riders, and you cross fields with sheep and cattle and several busy roads. On the last day the Seven Sisters are a series of short, steep climbs, and the cliff edges are unstable: keep at least 5 m from the edge. Good walking shoes, waterproofs, sun protection and enough water are the most important things to bring.

History

People have used the paths along the chalk ridge for about 8,000 years, because they were drier and safer than the wet, wooded lowlands. Later people built burial mounds and Iron Age hill forts such as Old Winchester Hill and Chanctonbury Ring on the hills. The Romans built Stane Street across the downs near Bignor, where the remains of a Roman villa can still be seen. The South Downs Way became a National Trail in 1972. It was the first long-distance bridleway in Britain and at first ran from Eastbourne to Buriton, on the Hampshire border; in 1987 it was extended to Winchester. The South Downs became England's newest national park in 2010, and today the National Park Authority and volunteer rangers look after the trail.