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At 160km (100 miles), the South Downs Way National Trail (SDW) is the longest continuous long distance path (LDP) open to mountain bikers in the UK. The entire route can be traversed on bridleways and byways and involves some 3,800m (12,600ft) of ascent.

The ancient chalk downlands of the South Downs roll gently out from Winchester in the west, through the ancient pastures and woodlands of East Hampshire, across the forested estates, heathlands and Kipling’s ‘bow-headed, whale-backed’ Sussex chalk hills, to the iconic cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Eastbourne in the east. The South Downs National Park contains two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and constitutes one of the UK’s best-known and most popular landscapes. The South Downs are located in the most densely populated area of the UK and record some 39 million visitor days every year.

Off-road unicycling!

The South Downs actually contain around 3200km of public rights of way, including the SDW. Many of these rights of way – including the SDW bridleway routes – are accessible to and very popular with horse riders and mountain bikers as well as walkers. At weekends, during school holidays and in the summer months in particular, the entire 160km length of the SDW and its subsidiary network of footpaths, bridleways and byways is alive with people enjoying the landscape on horseback and mountain bike as well as on foot.