South Downs Way
A walk of 164km between Eastbourne and Winchester.
There are variant routes for cyclists and equestrians. These may be used by walkers, though path quality will be diminished in places due to the depredations from hooves and (particularly) from tyres.
Public transport links (21 locations) are available throughout, but those at Meonstoke are of the one-bus-a-day variety, and this contributes to the long distance between useful bus services at Winchester and Buriton. For this reason, the South Downs Way today does not qualify as a Green Walk, though the original route between Buriton and Eastbourne does. Brighton makes a good case as a base station for the eastern part, while the western area is rather fractured, as the route crosses traffic flows rather than paralleling them.
There are stations on the South Downs Way at Winchester, Amberley, Southease and Eastbourne. Other stations contribute bus links. Here is the full list, with jump-links to the trail connections for each station.
- Winchester — western terminus of the route
- Havant — bus link with Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Buriton
- Petersfield — bus links with Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Buriton and with Uppark
- Chichester — bus links with Uppark, and with Cocking Hill
- Amberley — on the route
- Worthing — bus link with Washington
- Horsham — bus link with Washington
- Shoreham-by-Sea — bus link with Upper Beeding
- Brighton — bus link with Pyecombe; also (weekends only) with Devil’s Dyke
- Falmer — bus link with Housedean Farm
- Lewes — bus links with Plumpton, Housedean Farm, and Rodmell
- Southease — on the route
- Seaford — bus link with Exceat
- Eastbourne — eastern terminus of the route; bus link with Exceat
Note that each station header below has a link to the station details, and that each bus route number has a link to its timetable.
Stations
Winchester
Winchester station lies 1km north-west of the western terminus of the route, via Westgate. There is no useful bus link with points east on the route.
Havant
Havant has a bus link (37, not Sundays) with the route at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, south of Buriton.
Havant bus station lies 300m south of the railway station, via Market Parade.
Petersfield
Petersfield has a bus link (37, not Sundays) with the route at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, south of Buriton (though the connection with Havant is shorter). Petersfield also has a bus link (54, not Sundays) with the route as it crosses the B2146: the bus stop lies 300m south of the route at the entrance to Uppark. You should stand opposite the bus stop sign for Petersfield, but (for safety reasons) wait at the sign until the bus is due..
Chichester
Chichester has a bus link (54, not Sundays) with the route as it crosses the B2146, though the connection with Petersfield is shorter. The bus stop lies 300m south of the route at the entrance to Uppark (wait at the bus stop sign for Chichester). Chichester also has a bus link (60, daily) with the route at Cocking Hill, where the bus stop is adjacent to the route (use the stop across the road from the car park for Chichester).
Amberley
Amberley station is on the route.
Worthing
Worthing has a bus link (23, daily) with the route at Washington Bostal, just south of Washington: the bus stop for Worthing is on the A24 to the south of the junction. Walkers may prefer the safer crossing of the A24 by bridge at Washington village (an official alternative to the route): the bus stop at Stocks Mead will be more convenient, and is safer for the southbound service.
The Lennox Road bus stop in Worthing lies 450m south-east of the main entrance to the railway station, via Oxford Street, Teville Road and Chapel Road. Use the bus stop after a right turn off Teville Road for Washington; on arrival at Worthing, cross Chapel Road by the pedestrian crossing before turning into Teville Road.
Horsham
Horsham station has a bus link (23, daily) with the route at Washington: the bus stop at Stocks Mead is generally the most convenient. Walkers may prefer the safer crossing of the A24 by bridge at Washington village (an official alternative to the route): this route lies just to the north of the bus stop.
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea station has a bus link (2, daily) with the route to the south of Upper Beeding. For Shoreham, use the bus stop on the east side of the road (the side with the footway).
Brighton
Brighton station has a bus link with the top of the Downs at Devil’s Dyke (77, weekends only). The main bus link from Brighton is with Pyecombe Garage (270, daily; 271, daily; 272, not Sundays; 273, not Sundays). Note that at Pyecombe, the bus stop for Brighton is opposite the petrol station, but the alighting-point on buses from Brighton is on the A273 to the north. In Brighton the St Peter’s Church bus stops are 450m east of the railway station, along Trafalgar Street (passing through the tunnel). The stop for buses to Pyecombe lies just south of Trafalgar Street; on alighting southbound from Pyecombe, cross the road to reach Trafalgar Street.
Falmer
Falmer station has a bus link with the route at Housedean Farm (28/29, daily). The alighting point at Falmer is at the station; for Housedean Farm, go under the main road and turn right to reach the bus stop.
Lewes
Lewes has a bus link to Plumpton (166, Mondays to Fridays only): the Plumpton Lane stop is at the foot of Plumpton Bostall. There is also a link with Housedean Farm (28/29, daily). The bus stop in Lewes is on High Street (alighting point at the Law Courts, departure point a short distance to the west).
Southease
Southease station is on the route.
Seaford
Seaford station has a bus link (12a, daily) with the coastal route at Exceat.
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is the eastern terminus of the route. The station has a bus link (12a, daily) with the coastal route at Exceat. The station is 1km inland from the end of the route at Eastbourne Pier, via Terminus Road.
Link-points for buses
The table below gives the walking distances between the link-points, including any walk-in/out distances.
| Western location | Distance | Eastern location |
| Winchester | 37.5km | Buriton (QECP) |
| Buriton (QECP) | 7.8km | Uppark |
| Uppark | 12.7km | Cocking Hill |
| Cocking Hill | 18.7km | Amberley |
| Amberley | 10.5km | Washington |
| Washington | 10.9km | Upper Beeding |
| Upper Beeding | 11.4km | Pyecombe |
| Pyecombe | 13.3km | Housedean Farm |
| Housedean Farm | 9.9km | Plumpton Bostall |
| Plumpton Bostall | 14.7km | Southease |
| Southease | 12.4km | Exceat |
| Exceat | 14.8km | Eastbourne |
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