MOUNTAIN BIKING ON THE SOUTH DOWNS
by Peter Edwards
2 POLICE SQUARE, MILNTHORPE, CUMBRIA LA7 7PY
About the Author
Peter Edwards grew up in Sussex and nurtured a love of walking and mountain biking amid the ‘blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed’ hills of the South Downs. He has undertaken numerous walking and cycling expeditions in Europe and beyond and is particularly drawn to wild and remote landscapes. Mountain Biking on the South Downs is his second Cicerone guide. Peter also writes about his walking and cycling trips on his blog site www.writesofway.com.
Other Cicerone guides by the author
Mountain Biking on the North Downs
Walking on Jura, Islay and Colonsay
Walking on Rum and the Small Isles
© Peter Edwards 2011
First edition 2011
ISBN: 978 1 85284 645 9
Reprinted 2014 (with updates)
Printed in China on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All photographs are by the author except where otherwise stated.
Dedication
For Andy Dodd – his energy and enthusiasm know no bounds!
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Andy and Jen Dodd for accompanying me on many of this guidebook’s ‘research’ rides. Thanks to Sarah Blann, Finlay and Brodie McBride, Bill Parslow and Janice Britz for putting me up. Thanks to Matt and all the other lads at Rayment Cycles in Brighton for being so helpful. Thanks to Andy Rayment, cycle mechanic and osteopath, for fixing my broken bikes and my broken body and also for coining the term ‘jungle-biking’. Thanks to Craig Shuttlewood, Nick Miles, James Stevenson and Pat Doe for modelling and pictures. Special thanks to the lovely Fiona Rintoul for supporting and encouraging me through the writing of this guidebook.
Advice to Readers
While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. If we know of any, there will be an Updates tab on this book’s page on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.
Front cover: Climbing Barnsfarm Hill (Routes 14 and 16)
CONTENTS
About the routes in this guide
Getting there and getting around
Abbreviations
THE SOUTH DOWNS WAY NATIONAL TRAIL
The South Downs Way: Introduction
Route 1 The South Downs Way Day 1: Winchester to Cocking
Route 2 The South Downs Way Day 2: Cocking to Ditchling Beacon
Route 3 The South Downs Way Day 3: Ditchling Beacon to Eastbourne
Route 4 New Alresford – Warnford Circuit
Route 5 Winchester – Gander Down Circuit
Route 6 Winchester to Petersfield (and return variants)
ROUTES AROUND CHICHESTER AND PETERSFIELD
Route 7 Westdean Woods and Cocking Down
Route 8 Heyshott Down and Charlton Forest
Route 9 Petersfield – Beacon