How difficult is the South Downs Way?

Leaves Winchester on farm tracks and country lanes across gently rolling downland, arable fields, hedgerows, beech hangers, building steadily rather than climbing hard. Cheesefoot Head and Beacon Hill give the first proper high views, and the walking stays on undulating high ground with no steep pitches. This opening stretch sets the pattern for the whole trail: the path itself passes no village directly, so food, water and beds all mean a detour off the ridge. Quiet and rural rather than dramatic, a settling-in day before Butser Hill and Queen Elizabeth Country Park raise the stakes.

Navigation: Well waymarked on farm tracks and lanes; easy underfoot and easy to follow, with no technical navigation on this opening stretch.

In poor weather: High, open downland with little shelter, wind and rain are felt fully, though nothing here is as exposed as the ridge sections further east.

Escape options: Cheriton and Exton both sit just off the trail with road access; otherwise this is quiet farmland with no realistic transport links directly on the path.

The longest section on the trail, and it packs in the most climbing: East Meon, then a real high point at Queen Elizabeth Country Park and Butser Hill (270m, the highest ground on the whole Way), before the ridge continues past Harting Down's dry chalk valleys and through the trail's most wooded stretch beyond Cocking. QECP has the best facilities directly on the route anywhere on the trail, café and visitor centre right on the path, a rare exception to the pattern of villages sitting off it. Long, steady, undulating rather than dramatic, but the cumulative climbing adds up over 45km.

Navigation: Waymarking is reliable throughout; the dry chalk valleys around Harting Down have several similar-looking paths, so it's worth checking the acorn markers rather than following the most obvious track.

In poor weather: Butser Hill and the open ridge either side are fully exposed; the wooded stretch beyond Cocking is the only real shelter on this section.

Escape options: Buriton and Petersfield (both a short detour off the ridge) and South Harting further on are the realistic options; otherwise this is committed ridge walking.

Bignor Hill and the climb over it lead down to the Arun valley at Amberley, the lowest, most abrupt dip on the trail so far, before climbing back onto the ridge past Storrington toward Washington. Villages cluster closer to the trail here than elsewhere, even if not directly on it, but the walking itself is still ridge-and-valley: down to cross the river, straight back up the other side. A shorter section than those either side of it, and a natural place to break after the long climbing of the previous stretch.

Navigation: Straightforward waymarked ridge-and-valley walking; the descent to and climb from Amberley is the only place requiring real attention to the gradient.

In poor weather: Exposed on the ridge sections either side of Amberley; the river valley itself is more sheltered but low-lying and can be muddy after rain.

Escape options: Amberley has a railway station right by the trail, the easiest transport link on this whole stretch; Storrington and Washington also have road access.

Short and almost entirely flat, the one genuinely easy stretch on the whole trail. Chanctonbury Ring's hilltop clump of trees is visible for miles either side, then the ridge holds height past Steyning before a gentle drop to the River Adur at Upper Beeding. Barely any climbing at all here, in sharp contrast to the sections either side; treat it as a chance to make fast time before Truleigh Hill and Devil's Dyke start the next big push.

Navigation: Easy, obvious ridge-top walking with no technical navigation; Chanctonbury Ring is a clear landmark to aim for.

In poor weather: Still exposed ridge walking despite the flat profile. Wind is felt even without much climbing.

Escape options: Steyning, a short detour off the ridge, and the Adur valley road at Upper Beeding are the main options.

The trail's central set-piece: Truleigh Hill, then Devil's Dyke, the longest, deepest dry chalk valley in the country, then Pyecombe and a last big pull up to Ditchling Beacon, the highest point in this part of Sussex at 248m with views back to Chanctonbury and out to sea. Three real climbs in quick succession make this the most sustained up-and-down stretch on the trail. Devil's Dyke has a pub right by the path, a rare exception to the usual pattern of nothing directly on the route. Busy with day walkers around the Dyke and Beacon; quieter again beyond.

Navigation: Well waymarked and busy with other walkers around the Dyke and Ditchling Beacon, making the line easy to follow; care is needed only in picking the right one of several converging paths near the Dyke itself.

In poor weather: Three consecutive exposed high points, Truleigh Hill, Devil's Dyke and Ditchling Beacon, catch full wind and rain with nothing to break it between them.

Escape options: Upper Beeding, Fulking (below the Dyke) and Pyecombe all give road access; Ditchling Beacon has a car park and is well used by day visitors.

A short, gentle drop off the ridge to the River Ouse at Southease, the trail's lowest point since the Arun crossing, and one of the easiest stretches on the whole route. Lewes sits close by for anyone wanting a full town stop, though it's a detour rather than on the line itself. After the sustained climbing around Devil's Dyke and Ditchling Beacon, this reads as a deliberate breather before Firle Beacon and the climb back onto the ridge for the final push to the coast.

Navigation: Easy, low-level walking with reliable waymarking; the only real decision is whether to detour into Lewes or stay on the direct line to Southease.

In poor weather: Sheltered by comparison with the ridge either side. The Ouse valley is the calmest ground on the trail's second half.

Escape options: Southease has a railway station right by the trail; Lewes, just off-route, has full services and transport links.

Firle Beacon starts the climb back onto open ridge, then Alfriston is the last real village before the coast, after that the character changes completely. Beyond Litlington and Seven Sisters Country Park the trail meets the sea and turns into a genuine switchback: the Seven Sisters cliffs, one steep dip and climb after another, exposed and exhilarating in good weather, hard work in wind. Birling Gap and Beachy Head, Britain's highest chalk cliff, keep the climbing going almost to the end. Eastbourne's seafront promenade is a properly different, urban finish after 100 miles of downland and cliff.

Navigation: Easy to follow along the cliff edge, but the constant steep dips and climbs are more tiring than technical; low cloud can hide the edge itself, so care is needed in poor visibility.

In poor weather: Fully exposed clifftop walking for the whole second half of this section. Wind is the dominant factor, and the switchback climbs are markedly harder into a headwind.

Escape options: Alfriston and Litlington early on, then the Seven Sisters Country Park visitor centre; after Birling Gap there's little until Eastbourne itself.