In 1935 a journalist by the name of H. J. Massingham wandered on foot over the chalk hills of southern England. He described his journey in 'The English Downland'.
For several years after reading the book I thought of doing the same thing. However there were difficulties. Massingham was a professional writer, while the rest of us have to pay our own way! I had a route in mind, but I couldn't afford to do it in one go. So I decided to break it up, starting each new stage where I finished the previous one.
From Bath I walked through the Vale of Pewsey, across Hampshire and along the South Downs Way to Eastbourne. From Eastbourne I moved to Dover, following the North Downs Way to Farnham, and on to Winchester, Salisbury and Dorchester. A brief diversion across the Isles of Wight and Purbeck brought me back to Dorchester.
The first of the two images is a relief map of southern and eastern England, with the route so far marked in red.
The second shows the main areas of chalk, outlined in grey.
The largest area of chalk downland lies in Wiltshire, spilling across the border into Hampshire. From the main body a broad ridge runs south-west down into Dorset. Two longer arms, the North Downs and the South Downs, embrace the Weald.
There's another upland just to the north: the Marlborough Downs, bounded by the Vale of Pewsey and the Vale of the White Horse. Across the Thames this becomes the Chilterns, running north-east to Norfolk.
The maps here don't cover remoter outcrops, such as the Yorkshire Wolds. I'll add these if I ever get there!