I have spent the last few weeks planning my walk along the South Downs Way National Trail. I doubt if Captain Scott spent as much time planning his trip to the Antarctica. The first challenge was to sort accommodation. I foolishly assumed that walking the trail towards the end of September would mean I would be spoilt for choice.
I intend tackling the 100-mile walk over six days so initially I plotted the route in sixteen-mile sections. However, I soon realised this would leave me between towns or villages and that the 100-miles trail equates to starting at Winchester and following the path, without detour, to Eastbourne. So I started adding in the additional miles to leave the trail for bed and breakfast and an evening meal.
Having recalculated my route I then found that the Bluebell Inn at Cocking had closed, I had identified this village as a location to stay but without a guarantee of an evening meal this had to be scrubbed.
Eventually after days of studying the map and identifying suitable bed and breakfast stopovers I managed to break the walk up into reasonable chunks with the shortest day being 17 miles and the longest 24.
My planned route is:
Day 1 – Winchester to East Meon (19 miles) staying at Pound Orchard B&B.
Day 2 – East Meon to Elsted (17 miles) staying at The Elsted Inn
Day 3 – Elstead to Amberley (24 miles) staying at The Sportsman Inn
Day 4 – Amberley to Bramber (17 miles) staying at the Castle Inn Hotel.
Day 5 – Bamber to Rodmell (23 miles) staying at Sunnyside Cottage B&B.
Day 6 – Rodmell to Eastbourne (21 miles) staying at the Cavendish Hotel.
I plotted the route through a combination of using the OS Maps and the OS Map App. I still prefer to carry a hard copy map, but increasingly use the OS App when I am out walking. The South Downs Way travels over six OS Explorer Maps:
OL32 Winchester;
OL 3 East Meon Valley;
OL8 Chichester;
OL 10 Arundel & Pulborough;
OL 11 Brighton & Hove; and
OL25 Eastbourne & Beachy Head.
Using these maps to check the route was one thing but they proved too bulky to warrant space in the rucksack so I have opted for Harvey’s South Downs Way map this covers the whole trail on one map and has the added benefit of being waterproof!
I spent hours looking for a suitable guide to the trail, there are plenty of options but in the end I went for the Trailblazer South Downs Way guide . This turned out to be a good choice.
Simultaneously to planning the route I was sorting equipment. In my view there are some key bits of kit: a comfortable rucksack and good boots being right at the top of the list. For years I have used a Low Alpine Airzone 25 as my daypack. Clearly this wasn’t going to be large enough for a weeks kit and my older Berghaus 35 litre bag is pretty heavy. So after plenty of research I opted for the Low Alpine Airzone Trek+ 35:45 from Cotswold Outdooors.
Initially I planned to wear my Scarpa R-Evo GTX boots, however a month ago I noticed the soles were wearing through on the heel. They would be fine for a few days but I am not sure they will last the week. So off to the Salisbury branch of Cotswold Outdoor I head again and end up with a pair of Meindl Bhutan boots.
The final item I need, or more accurately want, is a new waterproof coat. I am a man of many walking coats, in my opinion, not shared by Lynnie, you can never have too many coats, hats or boots. So another trip to Cotswold and I am the owner of a Rab Mantra Jacket.
Now fully kitted and all the planning complete I am ready to embark on my walk!
17th September 2018
© Two Dogs and an Awning (2018)
All information on this site is provided free of charge and in good faith and no liability is accepted in respect of damage, loss or injury which might result from it. To the best of my knowledge the routes are entirely on public rights of way or within areas that are open for public access.
Walking can be hazardous and is done entirely at your own risk. It is your responsibility to check your route and navigate using a map and compass.