My GPS tells me that the last bit M is flat. Is that right?" I was sheltering under trees while a heavy shower passed over when this question was asked me by a fellow dampened hiker. The last bit' he was referring to was the Seven Sisters, the South Downs Way's final spectacular thigh-crunching hurrah before it drops at last into Eastbourne.
As a coastal roller-coaster, it has no equal in Britain. I thus explained to my questioner that his GPS might be labouring under an illusion.
The South Downs Way is not a route for the hill-phobic. Opened in 1972 and extended westward 15 years later, it spends the vast majority of its 100-mile journey across Hampshire and Sussex either climbing a hill, descending a hill, or surfing the grassy waves of exposed high ridges, which can make it rather bracing in winter. The path runs the length of the sumptuous South Downs National Park and, after leaving Winchester, avoids civilisation as much as possible.
However, from time to time, it will deign to pass through a small village or dozing hamlet in the Weald below, whenever the mighty chalk ridge is interrupted by one of the rivers that have patiently carved a path across it over the millennia.
In all, there's a challenging 4,150m of ascents - the equivalent of climbing Scafell Pike four and a half times. However, since the highest point is the relatively modest peak of Butser Hill (270m), the route is accessible to any walker with a reasonable level of fitness, and takes between six and eight days to complete. I walked end-to-end eastwards in two three-day trips, with the prevailing wind at my back. However, the following itinerary could also work as six separate walks, three weekenders or a single 100-mile hike.
DAY 1 WINCHESTER TO LEYDENE PARK, 19 MILES
Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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We Are an Island Nation - So Let's Protect Our Seas - Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it.
Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it. We live inside thousands of miles of coastline, in a nation whose borders were created by nature and made us what we are.
Discover Jurassic Coast - With its towering cliffs, sweeping beaches and pretty seaside towns, the shoreline of Dorset and east Devon is spectacular.
With its towering cliffs, sweeping beaches and pretty seaside towns, the shoreline of Dorset and east Devon is spectacular. Jo Caird fossicks for fossils and dramatic rock formations. It's an auspicious start to my journey along the Jurassic Coast. This 95-mile stretch of shore mostly in Dorset, but nudging just into east Devon - is blessed with awe-inspiring geological formations and fossil deposits that have garnered it recognition as England's only natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. Snaking east from Orcombe Point near Exmouth to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage, it's studded with monumental rock arches, seemingly endless shingle beaches and fossil beds from which treasures were prised that altered our understanding of prehistory.
Viking shores
We picture Vikings marauding coastal settlements, looting and raiding. But what was life really like in the Viking Age? Historian Eleanor Barraclough reveals what the ancient artefacts found on Britain's shores tell us about our formidable forebears
Sea horses
On Cornwall's coastal clifftops, Melanie O'Shea meets the hardy grazing ponies that are helping to restore the land, so nature can flourish once more
A wing and a prayer
From their desks at Boulmer, 1,000 RAF personnel watch the skies for airborne threats to the country. Yet beyond the concrete of the base, vulnerable birdlife flourishes - thanks to the hard work of a small team
Cast in bone
Cuttlefish bones washed up on our shores have been used to make jewellery since ancient times. Jo Caird meets a craftswoman who's keeping the art alive on the Kent coast
EDIBLE SEAWEEDS
An ancient food harvested by humans for millennia, seaweeds bring an intense and rich flavour of the sea to a wide range of dishes, as well as essential mind-and-body-boosting nutrients
Spines and sulky faces
Watch where you put your feet at the beach - a weever fish could be lurking
Sea stars
The playful performances of Britain's bottlenose dolphins attract avid fans - but they deserve personal space
Harris's wildly beautiful beach
Cornwall may pull in the crowds, but one Hebridean strand stuns visitors