Mountain Biking on the South Downs. Peter Edwards

      

      MOUNTAIN BIKING ON THE SOUTH DOWNS

      by Peter Edwards

      2 POLICE SQUARE, MILNTHORPE, CUMBRIA LA7 7PY

      www.cicerone.co.uk

      About the Author

      Peter Edwards grew up in Sussex and nurtured a love of walking and mountain biking amid the ‘blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed’ hills of the South Downs. He has undertaken numerous walking and cycling expeditions in Europe and beyond and is particularly drawn to wild and remote landscapes. Mountain Biking on the South Downs is his second Cicerone guide. Peter also writes about his walking and cycling trips on his blog site www.writesofway.com.

      Other Cicerone guides by the author

      Mountain Biking on the North Downs

      Walking on Jura, Islay and Colonsay

      Walking on Rum and the Small Isles

      © Peter Edwards 2011

      First edition 2011

      ISBN: 978 1 85284 645 9

      Reprinted 2014 (with updates)

      Printed in China on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd.

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      All photographs are by the author except where otherwise stated.

      

This product includes mapping data licensed from Ordnance Survey® with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. © Crown copyright 2014. All rights reserved. Licence number PU100012932.

      Dedication

      For Andy Dodd – his energy and enthusiasm know no bounds!

      Acknowledgements

      Thanks are due to Andy and Jen Dodd for accompanying me on many of this guidebook’s ‘research’ rides. Thanks to Sarah Blann, Finlay and Brodie McBride, Bill Parslow and Janice Britz for putting me up. Thanks to Matt and all the other lads at Rayment Cycles in Brighton for being so helpful. Thanks to Andy Rayment, cycle mechanic and osteopath, for fixing my broken bikes and my broken body and also for coining the term ‘jungle-biking’. Thanks to Craig Shuttlewood, Nick Miles, James Stevenson and Pat Doe for modelling and pictures. Special thanks to the lovely Fiona Rintoul for supporting and encouraging me through the writing of this guidebook.

      Advice to Readers

      While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. If we know of any, there will be an Updates tab on this book’s page on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.

      Front cover: Climbing Barnsfarm Hill (Routes 14 and 16)

      CONTENTS

       Emergencies

       Map key

       Overview map

       Route summary table

       INTRODUCTION

       About the routes in this guide

       Getting there and getting around

       When to go

       Safety

       Equipment

       Navigation

       Hydration

       Food

       Rights of way and other users

       Maps

       How to use this guide

      Abbreviations

       THE SOUTH DOWNS WAY NATIONAL TRAIL

       The South Downs Way: Introduction

       Route 1 The South Downs Way Day 1: Winchester to Cocking

       Route 2 The South Downs Way Day 2: Cocking to Ditchling Beacon

       Route 3 The South Downs Way Day 3: Ditchling Beacon to Eastbourne

       ROUTES AROUND WINCHESTER

       Route 4 New Alresford – Warnford Circuit

       Route 5 Winchester – Gander Down Circuit

       Route 6 Winchester to Petersfield (and return variants)

       ROUTES AROUND CHICHESTER AND PETERSFIELD

       Route 7 Westdean Woods and Cocking Down

       Route 8 Heyshott Down and Charlton Forest

       Route 9 Petersfield – Beacon