South Downs Way Walking Holidays

The South Downs Way is an ideal choice for a first time walking holiday.

The South Downs Way’s blend of relatively easy walking, beautiful landscape and airy spacious scenery along the Downs of Sussex and Hampshire fulfils many clients’ expectation of a walking holiday in England.

Approximately 100 miles long the South Downs Way begins in the historic cathedral city Winchester and culminating on the dazzling cliffs of Beachy Head above the English Channel and seaside resort of Eastbourne.

The eastern section of the South Downs Way initially follows a ridge of chalk downland where you are surrounded by a landscape out of Constable; the lower hills a patchwork of grain crops, and clumps of English trees.

Several species of wild orchids can be found on the Downs, which also abound in butterflies. Moving higher up, cultivated fields give way to pastureland and acres of grassland quivering with poppies.

Wonderful views are seen across the Weald to the north and the Isle of Wight in the Solent Estuary.

You enter the West Sussex Downs through a delightful mixture of ancient woodlands and open areas, and as the Downs get progressively more open, the last stretch in East Sussex is classic downland with big skies and exhilarating sense of space on top of the landscape.

From high up on this chalk 'desert', it is possible to see how human habitation over 5,000 years has shaped the landscape ~ the huge Bronze Age barrows, the Devil's Jumps, among many long barrows, tumuli (3,000 year old burial mounds), earthwork circles and signs of prehistoric agricultural enclosures and cross dykes are carved across the hills of the South Downs Way.

The Trail mostly runs along the crest of the Downs, but also drops down through river valleys and charming villages with their fine old pubs, thatched cottages and village churches. ~ East Meon, Buriton, South Harting, Amberley ~ one of the most attractive villages in Sussex, Alfriston, its parish church, called the 'Cathedral of the Downs’, Lullington, a Norman village hiding the 'smallest church in England'

Your walk ends on a high note on what some consider being the most striking section of the South Downs Way, the walkers-only spectacular coastal route over the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head.

To speak to us about your holiday or information or advice on walking the South Downs Way, please call our walk team who will be delighted to help you.

Celtic Trails is one of Britain’s most experienced walking company providing bespoke walking itineraries for clients who appreciate high standards of service, comfort and organisation.

We will plan your ideal walking holiday, You simply choose when to go.

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