The South Downs Way

The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. The trail runs for 160 km from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Sussex. Being from East Sussex myself I’ve ridden every section of the trail on the Eastern side more times than I can remember but until this ride I had never actually ridden the full route!A last minute decision and with a bank holiday weekend and sunny forcast approaching me and Annabel decided to head to Winchester on Friday evening and start the route with the plan to finish on Sunday.2 days wild camping and sleeping under the stars was great fun and taking our time along the trail allowed us to take in sections and spots that could be easily missed. With over 4000m climbing it’s definitely not a flat route and with loaded bikes you definitely need a suitable gear ratio. However even with that ratio pushing on some climbs it still inevitable. Food along the route isn’t really and issue and there are many cafes directly on the trail or very close to. For this trip we did take a stove and food with us just so we could stop whenever we got hungry or maybe when a nice picnic spot was spotted. I’d definitely recommend doing the route over 2 or 3 days with either campsites, Bnbs or with your Bivvy. Just remember to Leave no trace.