The South Downs National Park is one of the UK's smallest National Parks in southern England and offer walkers and hikers around two hundred miles squared of grassland to explore.
The Park has only recently been classified as a National Park given that until recently the area has been used by farmers to grow cattle. The Park is located across the south-eastern side of England and stretches from the Itchen Valley in the west to Beachy Head in the east.
To the North it’s boundaries are around Weald and to the south, the South Downs. The area offers walkers fantastic conditions given that the land a almost all completely flat and the grassland is very dry due to the rolling chalk hills and form most of this area. This is an area that you don’t need your technical navigation or even your specialist walking equipment as the pathways are very dry and clearly marked out.
The area is steeped in history from the ancient hill-forts, barrows, a Roman roads to the deserted medieval villages. Over one-hundred thousand people live in the park with the key areas being towns of Petersfield, Midhurst and Lewes, however the majority of visitors are tourists visiting the area and thus it’s ideally suited for their needs and contains not only some of the best day-walking experiences from also other outdoor pursuits such as cycling and horse riding.
For walkers, the National Park offers a varied selection of landscapes from coastal to flat grassland walks that are suitable for even the most in-experienced of walkers. The area is generally dry which means that walking on a beautiful summers days offer both fantastic views and some great walking conditions. If you’re looking for a steep mountain climb, this is not the area for you as whilst there are some hills, the highest being Little Down is really only eight-hundred feet high and whilst is the highest point on the Sussex Downs, does not really offer challenge to even the most beginner of hikers.
If you want a walking location that can offer you slightly more of a challenge but still remain in the South Of England, then how about a walk in The New Forest National Park and this offers some amazing countryside and the opportunity to cover some real distance.