southern walks

Introduction

southern England
click to view a map of the walks

There are lots of websites about walking in the north of England, so I make no apology for the fact that this one is all about the south. I grew up there; and though I appreciate mountains and moorland the chalk downs are my favourite landscape. Force of habit, I suppose...

The descriptions of the various paths are not really intended as guides - they are the story of where I went and what I found there. If you need practical information about accomodation, transport and so on, there are a number of links in the "More Information" section. Check under the relevant walk.

I did some of these trails over ten years ago, and things change (revisiting the South Downs Way in May 2009 I noticed that a depressing number of pubs had closed). If you've walked any of them more recently, and can recommend places to stay or eat, please fill in the form on the Add a comment page, and I'll add your suggestion. I'd also like to hear from you if you have any comments about walking gear or routes - south of England only! - or know of any good walking websites (perhaps your own?) you think I should link to. If you are the owner of a walker-friendly B & B, campsite or pub on any of the routes, or offer other services such as luggage transport, you can include your email address and / or website details.

A schematic map of the walks can be viewed by clicking the image above, or visiting the maps page. If you require more detail, extracts of the 1:25000 and 1:50000 editions are available free from the Ordnance Survey, subject to their terms and conditions (right-clicking and saving the maps on this site doesn't always work: you may need to take a screen shot, paste the resulting image into something like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro and then crop the unneccessary bits). The aerial overviews of the South Downs Way and Two Moors Way were made using Google Earth, so their copyright rules will apply. You are welcome to use any of my own images for non-commercial purposes, but please either acknowledge or link to the source page.

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Other Walking Sites

A selection from the many walking sites out there, though by no means covering everything.

I found very few personal accounts of what it's actually like to follow a particular trail, which is a pity. If you've written one and I haven't included it, please let me know.

Organizations

General sites

Walkers and Hikers Webring
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The Long Distance Walkers Webring
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