Walk The Trail

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Route: From Winchester to Eastbourne

Overview

The South Downs Way gives you a taste of the extensive history and the geology of the South of England. Winchester, Hampshire on the edge of the South Downs National Park is your starting point. Once the county seat of the Wessex Kings, Winchester is home to many medieval sites, and may be worth an extra night to give you a chance to explore this historic city before setting off on your adventure. Once out on the path you have the chance to experience the wide skies and beautiful landscape, with a mixture of rolling hills, woodland and open patchwork fields knowing that this is a land well-trodden from the Bronze Age to the present day. Evidence of habitation abound, with barrows, Iron Age forts, the Roman trackways, Saxon and Norman churches and castles, windmills intermingle with ancient beacon points as you make your way through the pretty Downs villages of Cocking, Amberley and Alfriston on your way to the seaside town of Eastbourne.

INCLUDED

All our holiday packages include:

Overnight accommodation staying at carefully selected B&Bs, Inns and Hotels
A detailed holiday pack
Luggage transfers
Transport from path to accommodations if necessary
Maps
Guidebook
Emergency support.

NOT INCLUDED

Our holiday packages do not include:

Transport to and from the start and end of the holiday, unless stated. We can help you with your options.
Packed Lunches and Evening Meals
Travel Insurance

ROUTE PROFILE

Recommended dates to walk this route

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Itinerary & Costs

A spectacular 100 mile walk stretching across the chalky rolling hillsides of Southern England, from the historic cathedral city of Winchester the South Downs Way wends its way through picture postcard villages onwards to the seaside town of Eastbourne, Sussex. A picturesque and relaxing trek for walkers of all levels of experience.

Itinerary: Number in group:

The Daily Itinerary

Click on a day for further information.

Day 1: Arrive

Winchester

Day 2:

Winchester to East Meon

Distance: 18 miles Difficulty: Easy/Moderate

Day 3:

East Meon to Cocking

Distance: 21 miles Difficulty: Easy/Moderate

- Day 4:

Cocking to Washington

Distance: 18.5 miles Difficulty: Easy/Moderate

Due to a lack of accommodation in Washington, it may be necessary to accommodate you elsewhere and include transfers to and from the accommodation.

Day 5:

Washington to Clayton

Distance: 15.5 miles Difficulty: Easy/Moderate

Day 6:

Clayton to Alfriston

Distance: 21.5 miles Difficulty: Easy/Moderate

Day 7:

Alfriston to Eastbourne

Distance: 10.5 miles

Day 8: Depart

Eastbourne

What's Included

Accommodation for the length of your holiday including the night before you start walking and the evening after your final day's walking in good quality B&Bs, Inns and small hotels. This will be en-suite wherever possible.
Breakfast - This may be a full cooked or continental option depending on accommodation. Evening meals can be arranged with certain accommodations for an additional charge.
A Personalised Holiday Pack containing maps and addresses for accommodations, pick up points and daily mileage information.
Luggage transfers between each accommodation. 1 bag per person up to 20 kilograms. Additional bags can be added upon request.
Phone line support between the hours of 0900-1900, 7 days a week for the length of your holiday.
If required, path to accommodation or round river transfers.

Optional Extras

The following items are optional and can be removed to reduce the cost of your holiday.

A comprehensive guide book for the area in which you are walking. This will detail important information about each town and village you visit.
Map(s) for the area you are walking, specifically designed for walkers.
Your holiday pack posted to your home address. Unticking this box, indicates that you would prefer to print the pack yourself.

Not Quite Right?
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Important Information

Reviews

Elke Maldar

very helpful in every way, accommodation perfect, luggage transfer very good. Easy booking process. Information pack very good.

Scott Harradine, Canada

Will use Walk the Trail again and recommend them without hesitation. | My contact Linda was a treat to work with and owner Mike fixed an on-the-walk issue immediately and thoroughly.

Trusted Customer

The best for civilized walking. | The great benefit was their planning which enabled us to reach each B & B within our capabilities and in a reasonable time. Yes we would use them again.

Brian Davey

Concise clear info pack with all the detail I needed. Great accom. The only time I ever got into slight ‘trouble’ was not knowing which end of a village I had arrived at (my own fault- I refused to use Komoot :-) and only used cellphone GPS when completely baffled)