The South Downs Way has been on my tohikelist ever since I moved to the UK. Partly because it is easily accessible from London by train. In the beginning of April 2023 I finally had a week off work to hike this trail.
This is part 1 of 2 of this adventure.

The South Downs Way guidebooks usually describe the route from Eastbourne to Winchester, but I walked it in the opposite direction because finishing the hike along the chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters is the most amazing and spectacular end to this 100 mile walk.

The scenery along the path is quite diverse but gentle with lots of pastures and barely any serious road walks/crossings. There were a few other hikers walking (parts of) the South Downs Way, but overall the route was very quiet and day hikers were generally only concentrated in certain popular sections.