Route 3 The South Downs Way Day 3: Ditchling Beacon to Eastbourne
Route 4 New Alresford – Warnford Circuit
Route 5 Winchester – Gander Down Circuit
Route 6 Winchester to Petersfield (and return variants)
ROUTES AROUND CHICHESTER AND PETERSFIELD
Route 7 Westdean Woods and Cocking Down
Route 8 Heyshott Down and Charlton Forest
Route 9 Petersfield – Beacon Hill Circuit
Route 10 Chichester – Charlton Forest Circuit
Route 11 Petersfield – Singleton Forest Circuit
ROUTES AROUND ARUNDEL AND WORTHING
Route 12 Amberley and Houghton Forest
Route 13 Worthing – Chanctonbury Ring Circuit
Route 14 Worthing – Springhead Hill Circuit
Route 15 Arundel – Graffham Down Circuit (and Amberley alternative)
Route 16 Lancing – Amberley Mount Circuit
ROUTES AROUND BRIGHTON AND LEWES
Route 17 Castle Hill Circuit
Route 18 Brighton – Lewes Circuit
Route 19 Brighton – Truleigh Hill Circuit
Route 20 Devil’s Dyke – Blackcap Circuit
Route 21 Brighton to Eastbourne
Route 22 Brighton – Ouse Valley Circuit
Route 23 Friston Forest Circuit
Route 24 Seaford – Firle Beacon Circuit
Route 25 Eastbourne – Cuckmere Valley Circuit
Route 26 Eastbourne – Firle Beacon Circuit
Appendix A: Camping and accommodation
Appendix B: Water points along the South Downs Way
Appendix C: Bike shops/mechanics
Appendix D: Useful contacts
The sweeping descent from Swanborough Hill (Route 21)
INTRODUCTION
The South Downs are a mountain biker’s paradise. Some of the finest off-road routes to be found anywhere are available in abundance amid the green, rolling chalk hills that comprise some of the UK’s most subtly beautiful countryside. The Downs are criss-crossed by thousands of kilometres of well-maintained rights of way, including an estimated 1,473km (915 miles) of byways and bridleways open to mountain bikers. This vast network of trails can be mixed and matched to create a seemingly inexhaustible supply of route combinations. There is almost no end to the possibilities available to the adventurous mountain biker on the South Downs.
At 160km (100 miles), the South Downs Way National Trail (SDW) is the longest continuous long distance path (LDP) open to mountain bikers in the UK. The entire route can be traversed on bridleways and byways and involves some 3,800m (12,600ft) of ascent.
The ancient chalk downlands of the South Downs roll gently out from Winchester in the west, through the ancient pastures and woodlands of East Hampshire, across the forested estates, heathlands and Kipling’s ‘bow-headed, whale-backed’ Sussex chalk hills, to the iconic cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Eastbourne in the east. The South Downs National Park contains two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and constitutes one of the UK’s best-known and most popular landscapes. The South Downs are located in the most densely populated area of the UK and record some 39 million visitor days every year.
Off-road unicycling!
The South Downs actually contain around 3200km of public rights of way, including the SDW. Many of these rights of way – including the SDW bridleway routes – are accessible to and very popular with horse riders and mountain bikers as well as walkers. At weekends, during school holidays and in the summer months in particular, the entire 160km length of the SDW and its subsidiary network of footpaths, bridleways and byways is alive with people enjoying the landscape on horseback and mountain bike as well as on foot.
The Channel coast from Cissbury Ring (Routes 13 and 14)
Many of the Downs’ bridleways and byways traverse chalk downland, which is well-drained and provides superlative off-road riding conditions for much of the year. However, the South Downs is a diverse landscape comprising many types of terrain, including woodland, pasture and heathland, which makes for a varied off-road experience, whether you’re out for an hour or two, or all day.
When you’re out on your bike among the rolling Downland scenery, it can feel like you’re a very long way from the south east’s densely populated urban landscape of towns, cities, motorways and shopping centres, but in reality you’re never too far from civilisation and there are good transport links to the Downs from all over the south east (see below).
As well as assembling an exemplary collection of graded mountain biking routes with maps and route profiles, this guide includes extensive information on facilities and services available to mountain bikers, including pubs, cafés and water points along the routes as well as bike shops, accommodation and transport links. Biking-specific information on equipment and preparation is also included.
About the routes in this guide
The 160km South
