Walking and Climbing

Hi folks,

Any recommendations for decent day hikes anywhere in Southern England.

Does not have to be very high once its a bit wild.

Cheers,

Stephen

the south. wild. you'll be lucky until you get to the vicinity of dartmoor.

a few off the top of me head

if you want a longish walk with around 900m of ascent then a circular around lewes in sussex is a good one. you can make this as long or as short as you like using southease station.

1 - head out of lewes up to the golf club then across a bumpy bit to glynde. from glynde head due south and up onto the south downs way (the aerials guide you). follow the sdw along and down to southease (where you can get a train back or walk aside the river back to lewes.

continue to follow the sdw up and coninue upon it until you reach mount harry (at the northern edge of the escarpment) where you turn right and head back to lewes. en route you may choose a shorter way back via kingston.

i think clockwise is the best way to do this overall.

2 - from southease eastwards along the sdw down to exceat is a very pleasant walk. (if the wind is from the north you can watch the paragliders) bus back to eastbourne/brighton/seaford

3 - the last section of the vanguard way from berwick to seaford is an excellent and picturesque walk.

4 - the seven sisters from exceat to eastbourne along the sdw

5 - from wye to dover on the north downs way is a cracker too - especially the approaches to Folkestone.

6-Kent sections of the Greensand Way are nice

7 - from holmwood station to dorking station going up to leith hill (highest point in south east england) and the head north to the north downs way and follow that to dorking. if you're feeling athletic you can take in box hill, down through juniper bottom and up the other side to mickleham and continue north to leatherhead.

it may not be wild about these parts but it' scertainly quiet. on a week day you'll be lucky to meet anyone and on weekends once away from car parks or the "honey" routes (e.g. sdw) you'll have little or no company aside from dog walkers.

the chilterns have some very nice walks indeed and that area seems to have more paths than you'd think possible so a 25k map is essential. station to station is very do-able.

Hi Parky,

Thanks very much for reply, I am in that neck of the woods often so will give it a go.

Cheers,

Stephen

Not much height or truly wild places in southern England, I fear.

What about walking sections of the Ridgeway? It crosses a lot of chalk upland downs and there are some very fine sections in the Chilterns - not exactly wilderness but not unduly crowded either. 

Google for The Ridgeway long distance path.

For day walks, Ashdown Forest or the northern half of the New Forest are great if you like sandy heaths and woodland but not so good if you're seeking solitude.

Nice one SB

I hear you thats there are no true wild places in the South of England.

I am based in Belgium at the moment and get the train or drive over to Wales and the Lakes but was looking for somewhere I could stop off on the way for a day hike.

Cheers,

Stephen

Cheers for that Major, they will definitley be worth looking at.

I will be traveling by car.

Chiltern escarpment: M40, junction 5 or junction 6.

Man on stilts wrote (see)

Chiltern escarpment: M40, junction 5 or junction 6.

Ah! That's red kite country!

If you are driving from the ferry ports towards either Wales or the Lakes then the M40 is taking you in the right direction (and it's usually less congested than the M1).

Leave the M40 at either Stokenchurch (J5) or Lewknor (J6) and drive along the A40 between the junctions. Look out for signs to Aston Rowant nature reserve on the south side of the A40. The reserve sits over the M40 and there is an info point about the re-introduction of red kites to the Chiltern scarp.

The re-introduction has been a big success so you should see plenty of these magnificent birds between High Wycombe and Thame if you keep your eyes peeled.

The Ridgeway path runs along the scarp here too although it's a fairly populous area.

Hi guys,

Thanks very much for all the information,

Stephen

What Parky says...and from Dover to Deal and back will get your heart pumping. Sections of the Saxon shore way are good.

If you mix up a walk with visiting interesting places, Romney marsh is good if you like very old Churches. The area around Dover for 2nd World war stuff etc.