6-day South Downs Way itinerary

1. Day 1

   Winchester to East Meon

   7–8 h 17.6 mi (28.4 km) ↑ 520 m (1,700 ft) ↓ 420 m (1,400 ft)

   Cheesefoot Head looks toward the Solent, and Chilcomb is where you may hear the ranges. Beacon Hill drops on stiles into the Meon. Exton is the flint village a first walk uses as a night. This plan walks through it. Old Winchester Hill follows, and the bed is a campsite at East Meon, below the ridge. Tomorrow already includes Butser Hill on the way to Cocking. Book the campsite. There is no Exton night to fall back on.

   Example stay Duncombe Farm (opens in a new tab)

2. Day 2

   East Meon to Cocking

   8–9 h 18.4 mi (29.7 km) ↑ 660 m (2,150 ft) ↓ 680 m (2,250 ft)

   Butser Hill, the highest point on the Way, sits in the middle of this day rather than at the end of its own. You climb from East Meon, drop through the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, and Buriton is lunch, not a night. Harting Down and the Devil's Jumps come after, then the descent to Cocking. The day is long, and the walk into Alfriston is longer still. Cocking has few beds. Book it. A taxi to Midhurst is the fallback. Carry food from East Meon.

   Example stay Manor Farm Campsite and B&B (opens in a new tab)

3. Day 3

   Cocking to Amberley

   5–6 h 12.3 mi (19.8 km) ↑ 380 m (1,250 ft) ↓ 440 m (1,450 ft)

   The wooded stretch, and the pause between longer days. Charlton Forest leads to Bignor Hill, where a Roman road shows in the turf. The villa is a detour. You drop to the Arun. Amberley is the halfway point, with a train, and it stays a night so Amberley Mount starts tomorrow instead of riding inside an even longer day. Eat here. Steyning is lunch tomorrow, not a bed tonight.

   Example stay Amberley Castle (opens in a new tab)

4. Day 4

   Amberley to Pyecombe

   9–10 h 19.4 mi (31.3 km) ↑ 740 m (2,450 ft) ↓ 680 m (2,250 ft)

   A long day that starts with the steep pull up Amberley Mount. Washington has the pub and the shop. Chanctonbury Ring is the circle of beeches. Steyning, below the hills, is lunch, not the night. You go on across the Adur to Devil's Dyke, the largest dry chalk valley in the county, and stop at Pyecombe on the path. Ditchling Beacon is not today. It opens the longest day, tomorrow. Carry food past Steyning.

   Example stay The Stables at The Forge (opens in a new tab)

5. Day 5 Longest

   Pyecombe to Alfriston

   9–10 h 21.4 mi (34.5 km) ↑ 700 m (2,300 ft) ↓ 710 m (2,350 ft)

   This is the longest day. The Jack and Jill windmills lead to Ditchling Beacon, the high point of the Sussex Downs. The path then skirts Lewes. The town is about 3 miles (5 km) below, and it is not a night, so do not drop in unless you can climb back out. You cross the Ouse, look for seals, and climb Itford Hill. From there to Alfriston there is barely a tree, and Firle Beacon is where paragliders launch. The cliffs are tomorrow. Carry water.

   Example stay The Alfriston Hotel (opens in a new tab)

6. Day 6

   Alfriston to Eastbourne

   5–6 h 11.4 mi (18.3 km) ↑ 580 m (1,900 ft) ↓ 620 m (2,050 ft)

   The cliffs stay their own day, which even this express plan keeps. Walkers take the Cuckmere footpath and the rise and fall of the Seven Sisters, not the bridleway by Jevington. Between Cuckmere Haven and Beachy Head the edge is unprotected and undercut. Stay off it. Birling Gap has a cafe. Beachy Head, Britain's highest chalk cliff, is the last climb, then the promenade at Eastbourne. Yesterday was the long inland day. This one is the edge.

   Finish South Downs Way Finish

Cross-check: National Trails . Most people take 8 or 9 days to walk the 100 miles (160 km). Distances on the cards are measured on the imported line. The climb printed for cyclists is not the walk.

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