9-day South Downs Way itinerary

1. Day 1

   Winchester to Exton

   5–6 h 12.4 mi (20.0 km) ↑ 330 m (1,100 ft) ↓ 300 m (1,000 ft)

   The same first night as the usual walk. Cheesefoot Head looks toward the Solent, and Chilcomb is where you may hear the ranges. Walkers drop steeply off Beacon Hill into Exton. Meonstoke is the next village, and a slower plan sleeps there. This one does not. The extra night on these nine days is Pyecombe, after Devil's Dyke, not here. When Exton is full, the bed may be in Warnford. Book the village before you worry about the dyke.

   Example stay Crossways B&B (opens in a new tab)

2. Day 2

   Exton to Buriton

   6–7 h 13.0 mi (20.9 km) ↑ 480 m (1,550 ft) ↓ 390 m (1,300 ft)

   Butser Hill stays its own day on this plan. The faster week folds it into the walk to Cocking. You leave the Meon, cross Old Winchester Hill, and pass the cafe at the Sustainability Centre without sleeping there. The ridge looks down on East Meon, then Butser, the highest point on the Way, and the Queen Elizabeth Country Park. Buriton is below the chalk pits. Book it. Petersfield, off the path, is the fallback when the village is full.

   Example stay The Nest Hotel & Restaurant (opens in a new tab)

3. Day 3

   Buriton to Cocking

   4–5 h 10.6 mi (17.1 km) ↑ 370 m (1,200 ft) ↓ 420 m (1,400 ft)

   The ridge runs on from Buriton, the Weald to the north and the Channel to the south. Harting Down is a dry chalk valley. South Harting is lunch, not the night. The Devil's Jumps are the burial mounds before Cocking Hill. Cocking has few beds. Book it with Exton and Buriton. When it is full, the night may be a taxi to Midhurst. This is not the long day. That is the open crest into Alfriston, near the end of the week.

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

4. Day 4

   Cocking to Amberley

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

   A wooded day between two village nights. The climb runs into Charlton Forest and over Bignor Hill, where a Roman road still shows in the turf. The villa at Bignor is a short detour. You drop to the River Arun. Amberley is the halfway point, with a train to London. Stop. The Sussex ridge is split later, at Pyecombe, so there is no reason to push past Amberley. Eat in the village. Tomorrow starts with Amberley Mount.

   Example stay Amberley Castle (opens in a new tab)

5. Day 5

   Amberley to Steyning

   4–5 h 8.9 mi (14.3 km) ↑ 340 m (1,100 ft) ↓ 200 m (650 ft)

   Steep ground first, up Amberley Mount, then chalk grassland and the pub at Washington. Chanctonbury Ring is the circle of beeches on the fort. Steyning is the night below the hills. Tomorrow stops at Pyecombe, after Devil's Dyke, and does not go on to Ditchling Beacon. That split is the point of these nine days. Eat in Steyning. Do not wander down to the River Adur tonight.

   Example stay Hill View Bed & Breakfast (opens in a new tab)

6. Day 6

   Steyning to Pyecombe

   4–5 h 10.6 mi (17.0 km) ↑ 400 m (1,300 ft) ↓ 480 m (1,550 ft)

   This is the night the eight-day does not take. You rejoin the ridge, cross the Adur, and reach Devil's Dyke, the largest dry chalk valley in the county. Pyecombe is on the path just beyond it. Stop there. Ditchling Beacon is the next morning, not this afternoon. Poynings, the village under the dyke, is a different plan. Carry a little food. The dyke is the view, and the beacon can wait.

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

7. Day 7

   Pyecombe to Lewes

   3–4 h 7.1 mi (11.4 km) ↑ 190 m (600 ft) ↓ 200 m (650 ft)

   The short ridge walk that the split buys you. The Jack and Jill windmills come first, then Ditchling Beacon, the highest point on the Sussex Downs. A bus at the beacon runs down to Brighton. You are not also crossing Devil's Dyke today. That was yesterday. Lewes is the old town below, about 3 miles (5 km) off the path, so leave time for the drop. Book it. The long walk on this plan is tomorrow, over Firle Beacon.

   Example stay Premier Inn Lewes (opens in a new tab)

8. Day 8 Longest

   Lewes to Alfriston

   6–7 h 14.3 mi (23.1 km) ↑ 510 m (1,650 ft) ↓ 510 m (1,650 ft)

   This is the longest day on these nine days, and it is inland, not the cliffs. You climb back to the ridge, cross the Greenwich Meridian, and drop to the Ouse. Look for seals before Itford Hill. From there to Alfriston there is barely a tree, and Firle Beacon is a launch for paragliders. The Seven Sisters are tomorrow. Do not add them. Eat in Alfriston, and leave the cliff edge for the morning.

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

9. Day 9

   Alfriston to Eastbourne

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

   The cliffs are their own day, after the long crest from Lewes. Walkers take the Cuckmere footpath and the Seven Sisters, not the bridleway through 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. The night at Pyecombe was so this finish stays the cliff walk.

   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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