Product Description

Years of experience have gone into a new walking guide to the Downs - a book which fills its author with confidence. Of the 42 walks, 21 are within the West Sussex area, the area to the north of Chichester being a particular favourite of Martin's. Ten years of walking the Downs has gone into this book. Every walk has an element of wow! factor, many using paths that don't appear in other guides. It really is the Rolls Royce of South Downs walking. --West Sussex Gazette February 2 2006 Book Description A staggeringly beautiful and varied landscape, changing with the seasons, the South Downs offers formidable scarp slopes, towering cliffs, flowing contours, river valleys, and a wealth of woodland. Rich in history: prehistoric burial mounds, Iron Age hill forts, ancient tucked away churches, attractive villages and inns, all set in a backdrop of rolling undulating hills. With challenging climbs, the rewards are, at times, jaw-dropping! Nearly 2000 miles of footpaths and bridleways crisscross the Downs, as well as new paths across access land and nature reserves, stretching the 80 miles from Eastbourne to Winchester. On many of the walks you may hardly see a soul, for despite the proximity of large populations, getting away from it all is a welcome reality. All 42 walking routes include: walking route summary, ratings for Effort Time Distance Ascents/Descents Refreshments and Vertigo risk, fully detailed walk description including frequent timings to aid navigation and check your progress, GPS waypoints at every key point on every route, full colour 1:40,000 scale Ordnance Survey licenced mapping for each route, short walk and stroll alternatives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75829 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• 160 pages

Review
Years of experience have gone into a new walking guide to the Downs - a book which fills its author with confidence. Of the 42 walks, 21 are within the West Sussex area, the area to the north of Chichester being a particular favourite of Martin's. Ten years of walking the Downs has gone into this book. Every walk has an element of wow! factor, many using paths that don't appear in other guides. It really is the Rolls Royce of South Downs walking. --West Sussex Gazette February 2 2006

Customer Reviews

The best way to explore the South Downs.........
I have just returned from the Kingston Spectacular, and it was just that....Spectacular!! If all the walks in this book are as impressive as this one then this is the best walking book around!!
Its great for experienced walkers, but also brilliant if you just want to explore the fantastic scenery the South Downs has to offer, and sample a few of the pubs/restaurants on the way that are all pointed out in the book!! The maps and photos in the book are great and really give a you a feel about what to expect. The information given on the different areas of the South Downs are also very interesting, its not just walking but like a mini history lesson!!!
Id recommend this book to anyone who likes spectacular scenary and want to explore some of the most beautiful areas in and around Sussex, for experienced and novice walkers alike!

"SELF-Discovery Walking Guide"
I note that I’m not the first reader to review this book in glowing terms – and that doesn’t surprise me!

The publishers have clearly hit on a winning formula – the professional presentation, the attention to detail, the symbols rating guide, ordnance survey mapping etc. are all excellent, and in Martin Simons they have found an author to complement these high standards.

Martin’s knowledge of the Downs is clearly matched by his enthusiasm for their history and beauty. It’s all VERY infectious indeed. No sooner have you completed one walk than you find yourself desperate to start another! In fact, the customary visit to the pub at the end of each walk provides the perfect opportunity to plan the next venture!

The photographs and the background information contribute a great deal to the whole, but it is the clarity and precision of the description of the routes that appeals to me most. As a woman who occasionally walks alone, with absolutely NO sense of direction, and a marked disinclination to pore over maps or get clever with GPS contraptions, I feel entirely confident in trusting this Guide as my sole companion.

I’ve lived within a stone’s throw of the South Downs for years and Martin’s book has awakened in me not only a deep appreciation of the landscape itself, its past and its present, but also a passion for the simple pleasure of walking. A “SELF-Discovery Walking Guide”, you might say!! Thank you!

The Rolls Royce of Walking Books
I bought "Walk the South Downs" after reading the glowing recommendations of this guide book, and I can happily say it has lived up to my expectations.
It is very well written, with quirky comments here and there and it certainly guided me succesfully on my first few walks.

This must surely be the Rolls Royce of walking books!