PlanetSKI is Back on The South Downs Way – Part 1

24th July 2024 | James Cove, The South Downs Way

In 2022 we set out to walk the South Downs Way in preparation for summer hiking trip in the Alps. We ran out of time to complete the last couple of sections so now we are back. NEW

We were not ticking boxes when we started the walk – we set off on day trips from London planning to complete sections of the 90-mile route at will – it may take us two weeks, two months or two years.

It now appears to be the latter and we are now back to finish off the job.

We hiked from Eastbourne to Amberley (60 miles) before heading out the Alps and other mountain ranges.

We posted at the time:

Last summer was either too hot, too wet, too cold or when it wasn’t any of them we were away in the mountains of Europe.

PlanetSKI visits the Tirol in the summer

Now it’s Summer 2024: Amberley to Winchester (45 miles).

It was 24-months ago almost to the day that I last stood in this spot.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

It felt good to be back.

The first section from Amberley is superb as one steps off the train and joins the South Downs Way almost immediately – we followed banks of the River Arun and then crossed it.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

Within 5-minutes we were back deep into the South Downs National Park.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

I was lucky enough to do quite a bit of ski touring at the end of last winter so my legs and body remain vaguely in-tune to the pace of hiking.

Walking up hills when hiking has much in common with walking up slopes when ski touring.

Axamer Lizum, the Tirol. Image © PlanetSKI

We thought we had time on our side, so we took it gently as we soaked up the views and the nature in this picturesque part of Southern England.

Like ski touring I think hiking should be enjoyed in a slow and methodical way – it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

The stretch in West Sussex from Amberley to Cocking is 12-miles, but after an hour of taking it easy and chatting to other people on the route we noticed we had done precisely 1.2 miles.

At this rate we would be arriving in at our overnight stop in Cocking, The Blue Bird Inn, as darkness approached.

We needed to go up a gear or two and we duly did.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

Though some views en route had to be savoured.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

Within an hour we had made good time and were back on track – five miles done, with seven to go.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

Time for lunch.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

To the south we could see the English Channel and its wind farms.

In the opposite direction was the North Downs.

The next section was hard underfoot with 90% of the route on flint and chalk – even across a ploughed field.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

Deep down underfoot are natural reservoirs as rain water seeps through the chalk, purifying it before collecting in vast underground lakes.

The lakes underfoot supply water to around one million residents of Sussex.

At the top we passed by one of the highest points on the South Downs – Crown Tegleaze at 253m.

Not quite the altitude of our alpine hikes, but it was time for a well-deserved rest.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

Thoughts of grass skiing popped into our heads as we are in an area popular for grass skiing, no more so than Butser Hill in nearby Petersfield.

It was all the rage back in the ’70s.

Talking of the past there were still signs of the Great Storm of 1987 with the uprooted trees left to decay at their leisure.

South Downs Way. Image © PlanetSKI

Like hiking in the Alps it is best not to have a summit or end as the sole objective as then you can miss out on treasures en-route.

So too on the South Downs Way.

The six Graffam Down Reserves are worth stopping for.

Flower-rich chalk downland reserves that are managed for the native wildlife.

Dimmer
Parish
Bowley’s Field
Long Meadow
Scott’s Corner
Paterson

This time we have decided on an overnight stop and there is no better stay on this part of the route than The Blue Bell in the village of Cocking.

In many ways it resembles and is run like an alpine mountain hut.

It is not owned by a large brewery or pub chain, but by the local community.

It was due to be sold to a housing development company but the locals wanted none of it.

They clubbed together and bought it in order to keep the heart of their village alive.

In the mountains the huts are not owned by large hotel groups and the like.

More often than not they are owned and run by alpine clubs or the local community.

“The locals wanted to keep the heart and soul of their village rather than see yet another housing and the development and we are making it work,” said the manager of The Blue Bell, Simon Maynard.