It’s a Tuesday when I realise the weather has warmed up again. When I sit at my desk in the evening, I decide I need a break. The government has shut down my industry and as such I have no work, no income, and lots of time for my own projects. I check the weather forecast, which looks good for another week and decide I’ll go for a little hike somewhere near. Taste the freedom of endless walking, and sleep underneath the stars below a tree.
Apart from a weekend in the Cairngorms in Scotland, I haven’t actually done any hiking in the UK. While I appreciate the English rolling fields, mountains are significantly more dramatic so my ventures have been farther-fetched. But during the summer of Coronavirus I don’t have many options, so England it is. There are quite a few short trails in the country, some less than 100 miles, some more than a few hundred. But which do I choose?
There are a few considerations:
• Trail conditions. I’m in an unfortunate position of not having any of my gear in the country. This means I need a trail that’s not too taxing, with weather conditions to match. I can’t get too cold, or get stuck in a storm somewhere remote. I do have some random items I can use: the backpack I made, a windbreaker, my synthetic jacket and lots of old stuff sacks. I have nothing to sleep on: no quilt or sleeping pad, but I do have my old Big Agnes Fly Creek tent – just not the stakes.
• Cost. Without any income I can’t spend a lot of money, and the trail will have to be nearby so the train fees aren’t too high. This puts me somewhere close to London, which also means I have the option of bailing out should all this go bad.
• Time. Considering the above, I don’t want to be gone for too long. Should I be uncomfortable due to lack of gear, I still want a chance of finishing the trail.
That evening, I look at the Cotswolds Way, the Ridgeway and the South and North Downs Ways. The South Downs is a nice 100 miles, and I figure I can hike the supposed 8-9 day trail in 4-5 days. Brits like to calculate trails like this by ambling through a few fields before it’s time to go to the pub, so my estimate shouldn’t be too far off. After considering the weather forecast, I plan to leave on Friday.
When I wake the next morning, I have two days to get ready.
• The Trail
• Route + Navigation
• People
• Wild Camping
• Water + Resupply
• Gear
• Getting There
• Day to Day Route
The Trail
The South Downs Way national trail is a 100 mile walk through English countryside, farm land, some forests and country roads. It doesn’t really go through any villages, although it skirts some, allowing access to a pub or a farm cafe. The hills roll but it’s an easy walk. You can do long days if you decide to stealth camp – and have to wait for sundown to set up camp, and be gone for sunrise. The route runs between Winchester and Eastborne, the latter being a nice end point, walking by the white Seven Sisters cliffs at sea. If you can, plan to reach this part first thing in the morning – sunrise will be glorious and the crowd will be non-existent.
Route + Navigation
Winchester to Eastbourne. I downloaded the KLM file for my maps.me app and I was good to go. Maps.me downloads maps for offline use so you don’t have to worry about not having service (saying that, I think I had service throughout.) It also includes all sorts of trails, which Google Maps doesn’t. So switch to Maps.me, unless you’re looking for transportation services (or of course if you have something far superior, like Gaia). The trail is well sign posted so there’s no need for anything else. I saw people walk around with guidebooks, but unless you’re interested in any cultural information, you won’t need it to find your way around.
People
The trail is for hikers, equestrians and cyclists. I didn’t see any horses but I did see lots of cyclists. I said ‘hi’ many times a day, especially in the mornings, when it was obvious we were all there for the South Downs Way, and not just enjoying a little stroll. On that point, the weekends get quite busy, as the trail passes some popular areas. I have a low tolerance for crowded places, but I was never too overwhelmed.
I did expect to meet more people though – and I mean to actually chat with other walkers. But I didn’t. Aside from the few hundred ‘hello’s’, I didn’t talk to anyone. I did see others walking the trail, mostly couples or groups. Perhaps everyone was as reserved as me. Perhaps it’s easier to make bonds when you’re staying in accommodation or campsites in town.
Wild Camping
Technically not allowed in the UK, but considered sort of okay if you’re careful about where you set up, don’t leave a trace of you ever having been there, set up once it’s dark and be gone by light. This was my approach for the trail and one I managed, although I had a tough time finding a campsite the second day, when I couldn’t find anything for some 10 kilometres around Amberley. I walked into a pitch-black night for hours.
Water + Resupply
The official website has an interactive map which notes the water points (and accommodation, and food & drink…). There are outside taps along the way. Taps! I decided to forgo any water filtration and count on those. They are every 10 or 20 kilometres, so well spaced out. I manually copied them onto my map. (And Maps.me actually shows the exact location of almost all the water taps.)
For food many people venture into the nearby towns (often accessible by bus as the trail intersects highways) or take advantage of the pubs or cafes the trail passes. But I wanted to get away from things, and not spend a lot of money, so I relied on my own resupplies.
I checked for stores and decided there’s only one shop in Upper Beeding that was close enough to the trail to walk to. I would hit it at the end of day three (although I got there much earlier in the day). It was a Sunday, but the shop was open till late.
So my initial resupply was for three days. The day before I started I ended up at a big Asda and found flavoured couscous and chia seeds to add to it, tuna packets, cheese, some plum tomatoes, wraps, chocolate spread and a variety of bars. I bought some electrolytes (wishing more places in the UK carried Nuun) and vitamin tablets to add flavour to water.
Gear
I ran all over town to find cheap replacements for all the gear I had waiting restlessly in my parents’ attic. Icebreaker shorts, merino tops, all the good stuff. Instead, I picked up relatively cheap clothes at Decathlon – running shorts and a long sleeve shirt, and am embarrassed to say that I was embarrassed to go off walking around in a Decathlon outfit. I bought a thin fleece blanket from IKEA for £1.75, a silver and gold foil emergency blanket and some blister plasters.
Just one item was missing. The day before leaving, I spent the morning making a fanny pack. I made my own backpack not long before, and it didn’t have big hip belt pockets, so I needed the additional space for my camera. I used leftover backpack fabrics I never used and a cheap zipper, making it big enough to hold my camera and tripod. It wasn’t the prettiest thing I’ve ever made, but for a last minute sewing job, it served its purpose.
I didn’t weigh my gear until I got back (the batteries for my scales got stuck in an old Petzl e-lite headlamp, which is now destroyed after fruitlessly trying to force them out) but I was surprised to find my base weight only around 3.7 kg, and I carried no more than 6.5 kg with food and water. I get why I was so comfortable now. I thought lightweight hiking was good – ultralight is better. Doing a short hike in a good weather window is definitely a welcome luxury.
If you fancy reading more about the worst gear list for the South Downs Way, go here.
Getting There
The night before setting off I remembered to buy a train ticket. It’s this annoying thing in the UK that I still can’t get on board with. Having to buy tickets in advance to get cheaper rates, and the inconsistent prices between destinations, times of travel, singles or returns, sigh. Anyways. I planned to leave later in the morning, to avoid the expensive peak hours, but almost all of the cheap tickets had gone. Surely I’d seen singles for less than £20 two days before, but now the cheapest was £23.50. The earliest train I could get from London Waterloo was 12:09pm, all the other tickets were £40. Goodness. I got the ticket and went to sleep. I was ready.
Day to Day Route
Day 1 : Winchester – near Old Winchester Hill (24.9 km / 15.5 mi)
Day 2 : near Old Winchester Hill – Rackham Hill (57.2 km / 35.5 mi)
Day 3 : Rackham Hill – after Saddlescombe Road (27.8 km / 17.3 mi)
Day 4 : after Saddlescombe Road – Exceat / Seven Sisters (42.1 km / 26.1 mi)
Day 5 : Exceat / Seven Sisters – Eastbourne (10.5 km / 6.5 mi)
You can read my day to day report in my upcoming blog post, and more fun facts on the overview page I created for the South Downs Way.
