South Downs Way - Amberley to Queen Elizabeth Country Park (★★★★☆)

Today is my fourth (and final day) spent walking along the South Downs Way, having walked from Shoreham to Amberley on the previous day. Today the plan is to walk on to Queen Elizabeth Country Park. This leaves behind a final day of walking from Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Winchester, but that I will do later in the year.

On the previous night I had opted to stay over in Chichester, and so today the first task of the day was to hop on the train, and to briefly join the London commuters - before hopping off at Amberley train station.

From here the day starts with a walk across the first properly wet fields I have encountered on this walk - as we head out, cross over the River Arun, and then climb up to drier ground on the far side.

River Arun

Back up to higher ground

Once again it is a misty start to the day, but there is no rain - and it looks like the sky should clear up as the day goes on.

And from here the path climbs up, passing by Westburton Hill, and heads round to Bignor Hill.

Passing Westburton Hill

Now beyond Bignor Hill

Legend has it that a dragon once had it's lair upon this hill - and that the remains of the dragon can be seen in the folds of the ground - but personally I can't see any real dragon shapes in the scenery, but it is pretty enough countryside to look at all the same.

But as we continue on, we do soon hit some genuine history, as we pass over the route of Stane Street, and head past Barkhale Camp.

Barkhale Camp is a Neolithic Causeway Enclosure - and this is a type of earthwork that features an enclosure marked out by ditches and banks. 

These typically date between 3700 and 3500 BCE, which makes this a particularly old site that likely dates back to the early Neolithic period. And the site also features two bowl barrows, which date back to the Bronze Age (2500-2000 BCE).

In addition we meet up with Stane Street, which was an old Roman Road that connected Chichester and London.

Unlike many Roman Roads, this one is not entirely straight, and instead bends to pass through the Mole Gap at Dorking, east of Leith Hill, and then tends to use the flatter ground around the River Arun, before being forced to pass over the hills here.

That said, within this span the road never runs more than 6 miles out from the most direct possible route between London and Chichester (Roman Roads were designed for speed after all).

Very briefly following Stane Street

Here you could divert off and walk a longer section of Stane Street - but our path only follows it for a small distance, before we cross over, and continues on past Gatting Beacon (home to some more bowl barrows) to Burton Down (home to more bowl barrows).

From here we head down off the ridge to Littleton Farm, where we must cross over the A285.

Dropping down to the farm

The way down to the farm proves to be slightly slippery on the chalk road, but here you will find both a cafe and the next drinking tap along the trail.

But once across the road, the path climbs back up the ridge on the far side, and now we are heading up to Woolavington Down - which is a more wooded section of the trail (in stark contrast to the very open sections further east on the trail).

Now with trees and some sunshine

And things get even woodier as we head on across Graffham Down (which is more forest than downs really), and here there continue to be an ample supply of barrows within close reach of the footpath.

Heading through trees

Through a clearing among the trees

And some bluebells

Eventually, we break out of the trees and cross Manorfarm Down - which sees us drop off the ridge, and past the village of Cocking (which sits to the north).

Manorfarm Down

Here there is once again both a drinking tap (this one I used), and another cafe sits on the far side of the road that must be crossed.

Saw Mill and Manor Farm (and home of a drinking tap)

Just before reaching this cafe, the trail also passes over the former route of an old railway, which was one of the three branch lines that connected into Midhurst - but none of these lines were ever particularly busy, with this line to Chichester closing in 1935.

You can still walk or cycle some of this old line, between Chichester and West Dean (a few miles south of here), but here you barely notice it's passage - and instead the focus is on getting up the next ridge, with the views opening up behind as you go.

Starting to climb the next ridge

From slightly higher up

Looking forward this time

Soon you reach the top at Linch Hill - and from here continue on towards Didling Hill, through a wide gap between woods on either side.

With woods on either side (just out of view)

Here the path turns before reaching Treyford Hill, and then turns once again - before I take the time to head off the main trail to take a look at Devil's Jumps.

Devil's Jumps

These are a group of five particularly large bell barrows, which are set out in a line - with traces of a sixth mound slightly off to the side.

These date back to the Bronze Age, and the main line of five barrows are aligned with sunset of Midsummer Day (the longest day of the year).

The name suggests some sort of exciting legend, but in reality the legend is fairly dull - and goes that Thor used to sit on Treyford Hill. Then one day the Devil saw the five barrows and started to jump from one to the next to amuse himself, before Thor threw a stone at the Devil, forcing him to flee.

But from here we can cut back to the trail, and next we start to head round to Beacon Hill.

Through woods near Devil's Jumps

Climbing up towards Beacon Hill

Here the South Downs Way turns to head around Beacon Hill, but here I opt for the slightly more exciting route over the top, making the most of what is now the highlight of the day so far.

Starting to head up Beacon Hill

Further up the hill

I'm not entirely sure why the trail skips the hill, as it is a nice view on the climb and from the top - and this was also the site of a Bronze Age fort that was reinforced during the Iron Age. The area of this fort also includes a much later Anglo-Saxon burial mound, plus the foundations of a late 18th century telegraph station.

From here the path heading down the hill is a bit steeper, but not too bad - and soon we find ourselves on the far side of this hill.

Looking back from the far side

From here we continue on across Harting Downs, with great views out across both East Harting and South Harting.

View towards South Harting

From here the trail gets a bit less exciting, dropping down the ridge on a slightly muddy path that closely follows the B2141, before following a farm track that turns into a road at Sunwood Farm.

From here we follow a road that turns back into a track, and then back into a road again - as we pass to the south of Buriton - but although you have to endure a bit of road walking, it is at least quiet roads with some decent views.

View from the road

Soon you reach a car park - and here I did think about cutting up to a bus stop just to the east of Buriton - but due to bus timings I decide to head on, and try and catch the bus from Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

This means walking on to a car park, where the South Downs Way heads into Queen Elizabeth Country Park - and after a climb the path heads on through the woods, as it bends round to the south, before eventually getting round to the main visitor centre (where the next drinking tap can be found).

Queen Elizabeth Country Park

Having reached the visitor centre, the attractive side of the Country Park comes to an end, and what remains is the business of finding the bus stop, which is well sign posted from the centre.

That said, although it is well sign posted, the bus stop does sit on the slip road onto the A3, and it is quite a precarious position next to a very busy road - and from here it is possible to watch just how close cars drive to each other on our roads (often barely a cars length away).

The bus stop as on Google Street View

Here I wait in my little wooden shack for the bus to arrive - and although I'm out front and giving the driver a good wave, in the end he only just spots me at the last minute, and I have a bit of a trek down the slip road to get through before I can get on the bus.

Really it's not the best bus stop - and I do have sympathy for the driver's trying to spot you from the busy road, before turning into a slip road that is normally only used to get onto the dual carriageway - but it's a very quick trip by bus up to Petersfield, and certainly an interesting way to end this trip.

But in all honesty it is a bit of a weak excuse for a bus stop. Still if you miss the bus here, there is at least a safety net in the form of an off-road cycle route that heads up to Petersfield from here.

Total Distance: 23.7 miles

Total Ascent: 3,520 feet

Note that this assumes you go over Beacon Hill rather than round it (I personally don't see the point in going round a perfectly good hill).

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 197 OS Landranger map - while there is also a South Downs Way guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in well way-marked.