South Downs Way, UK: Solo Hiking Guide

The South Downs Way (SDW) is a 160km long distance trail from Winchester to Eastbourne (or vice versa) on the UK’s south-eastern coast. It was my first thru-hike and I walked the majority solo with two days accompanied by my mother.

I did a fair amount of research for South Downs Way advice before the trip but still learned plenty while on the trail. If you’re considering walking the South Downs Way yourself, here’s a head start for your trip planning.

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South Downs Way trail details

The South Downs Way is a 100 mile (160km) National Trust maintained trail with no fees directly associated with walking sections or the entirety of it.

South Downs Way trail difficulty 

The SDW is a low difficulty trail. There are plenty of hills but there is nothing technically difficult about walking up and down them.

The main thing I was surprised about was the number of times I had to ascend 300m or so metres to a hilltop, just to immediately descend again on the other side.

I had (wrongly!) believed that the majority of the Way would be walking along the top of a fairly flat ridge.

This is mostly true for the section from Bramber all the way to the A27 and a few other short sections (e.g. Harting Down to Cocking) but not for the rest of the Way.

South Downs Way maps and navigation

The trail is well maintained with excellent signage along the route. The South Downs Way symbol (an acorn inside a blue arrow) was well used on gates and fences in addition to regular wooden directional signs at junctions.

One in every ten of these signs would have the distance to and from the nearest locations on it (I wish there had been more!)

There were only a handful of occasions when I was confused about where to go next but was able to use my book and South Downs Way map to deduce the route.

The South Downs Way map I used, by the way, was the Harvey’s South Downs Way: National Trail guide and it was really useful. I especially loved that it was waterproof and durable.

South Downs Way trail condition

One important factor to note about the actual condition of the trail; a substantial amount of the surface is made up of sharp rocks.

For this reason, one of my other top South Downs way advice to hikers would be to wear a shoe with a thick sole (or substantial lugs).

Those stones can be such a foot killer after hours of walking; it was such a relief to reach sections with grass or dirt instead of rock. Also notable alongside the sharp rocks, are sections with exposed chalk, which can be slippery in the morning and after rain.

Facilities and services on the South Downs Way

There are around 20 places to get water along the South Downs Way. I carried around 2l of water and then topped up during the day as needed. There are more water taps and toilet facilities at the Eastbourne end of the trail, especially on and around the Seven Sisters section.

Alfriston is the only town of any size that the Way actually travels through so a detour is required if any extra items are needed. Do not expect small villages close to the SDW to have many shops if any at all.

I was surprised how limited these settlements were, usually only containing houses, a church and maybe a couple of B&Bs or pub. The one item I wish I’d had more stock of was plasters/band-aids like these Nexcare Blister Bandages. They stick and cushion really well.

How long should you spend walking the South Downs Way?

The recommended time to walk the South Downs Way is 8 days, with an average of 12.5miles/20km a day.

Of course, this figure is trail distance only as most walkers stay in accommodation located another few miles away from the Way. I personally walked 114miles/182km in the end.

8 days is a reasonable target for most people with reasonable fitness due to the low difficulty and excellent condition of the trail. I met a few people on the SDW who were stopping for pub lunches most days (usually off-trail) but they were particularly speedy.

My South Downs Way itinerary

My original South Downs Way itinerary looked like this –

Day 1: Winchester to East Meon – 20 miles (Camping at Sustainability Centre)

Day 2: East Meon to Cocking – 20 miles (Camping at Malthouse B&B)

Day 3: Cocking to Amberley – 12 miles (B&B)

Day 4: Amberley to Bramber – 12 miles (Pub)

Day 5: Bramber to Kingston-near-Lewes – 20 miles (Camping at Spring Barn Farm)

Day 6: Kingston-near-Lewes to Seaford- 18 miles (At friend’s house)

Day 7: Seaford to Eastbourne – 12 miles

= 114 miles / 182km

What I actually did was – 

Day 1: Winchester to East Meon – 20 miles

Day 2: East Meon to Harting Down (NT) – 14 miles

Day 3: Littleton Farm to Amberley – 6 miles

Day 4: Amberley to Bramber – 12 miles

Day 5: Bramber to Kingston-near-Lewes – 20 miles

Day 6: Kingston-near-Lewes to Seaford – 18 miles

Day 7: Seaford to Eastbourne – 12 miles

Day 8: Littleton Farm to Harting Down (NT) – 12 miles, completing previously missed section

= 114 miles / 182km

South Downs Way safety

As a solo female hiker for the majority of the time on trail, I felt safe 99% of the time on the South Downs Way. 

Road walking

The main occurrence of feeling remotely uncomfortable was when walking on roads. There were few unavoidable 200-300m sections on my first day (Winchester to East Meon) that required walking directly on rural, single lane roads with no footpath.

With the speed limit being 60mph/100km and with the presence of several blind corners, I really disliked walking these sections. I tried to get them over and done with as soon as possible. 

Crossing major roads

Aside from this, there were a couple of busy road crossings that were a bit intimidating, specifically the A29 near Amberley, the A24 south of Washington, the A283 south of Bramber and the A273 just north of Pyecombe. I managed to cross all of these safely but they required some patience.

Other people on the trail

The South Downs Way is a well worn multi-use path and, as such, it was unusual not to see other people at least every few hours. Traffic was, however, inconsistent; sometimes I would see dozens of people all at once and then no-one for a long time.

On one specific day I saw less than five people the whole time I was walking. In comparison, the last day of my hike was a sunny and warm Saturday with seemingly hundreds of people exploring the Seven Sisters portion of the trail (arguably the most popular section).

Communication

Mobile signal was patchy throughout the Way. There were maybe a dozen times I noticed no connection at all on my phone. For the most part, I usually had one or two bars of signal.

Finding civilisation on the South Downs Way

There are opportunities to leave the Way and head for a nearby town every 4 or so miles. Civilisation is only two or three hours walk away at maximum. The trail winds its way directly through a number of farms and settlements and well as across some busy roads.

Accommodation options on the South Downs Way

Most people who walk the South Downs Way stay in hotels or B&Bs located just off the path. I did a combination of camping, staying with a friend, one B&B and a pub hotel.

B&Bs and Hotels

Walking between B&Bs is a very comfortable way to complete the South Downs Way as hikers do not need to carry much in the way of supplies or food.

The downside is obviously cost, with the average B&B charging around £70-100 a night. While this price does include a substantial breakfast every morning, it means the total cost for a South Downs walk via B&Bs is in the region of £700.

I stayed at the Two Farm Cottages in Amberley and the Castle Inn in Bramber. The former was a short walk outside of the town but was run by very, very friendly owners and featured spacious accommodation with lots of privacy.

Looking to book a stay in Winchester at the start or end of your South Downs Way hike?

Mercure Winchester Wessex Hotel – Amazing city centre location

Saskia’s Rooms (B&B) – Great value

King Alfred Pub – Highly rated on Booking.com

Camping on the South Downs Way Long Distance Hike

Camping is a much cheaper option but comes with its own challenges. For one thing, there are few official campsites directly on the SDW (the Sustainability Centre, Housedean Farm, Saddlescombe Farm). Other campsites involve the same 1-2 mile (minimum) detour off the trail as B&Bs and hotels.

In addition, I discovered that finding campsites at reasonable intervals along the trail was difficult. It is certainly not as easy for campers (at least, those who want to use official campsites) to keep even mileage every day as much as walkers staying in B&Bs can.

Wild/free camping

I did see some potential for wild camping on the trail but it was not something I wanted to do on my own. I only met one other party attempting to camp during my week on the trail, so there wasn’t even much opportunity to join with others.

Accommodation tip – Avoid starting on a weekend

While at first glance there appears to be many B&B and hotel options around the trail, demand is actually quite close to supply at certain times.

With many walkers setting out on Saturday with an 8-day itinerary, there are inevitable bottlenecks. Starting on a Sunday and aiming for 7 days, I caught up the large numbers of ‘Saturday starters’ on Tuesday.

It was difficult to book B&Bs at the two locations my mother and I had picked for overnight stays due to the amount of these ‘Saturday starters.’ The number one piece of South Downs Way advice I could give you is to not start on a Saturday or Sunday!

If you need any more South Downs Way advice, ask below!

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