England’s dreaming

THE RIVER CUCKMERE shimmered under broad sunlight as it swerved through grassy fields out to the English Channel. Just visible through glare from a sea as flat and bright as tin, ships drifted along the skyline under a scatter of cumulus clouds drawing grey veils of rain across the water. Ahead and to my left lay towering white cliffs, rolling hills and neat lighthouses; behind me, 90 miles of chalk downs, autumn forests and one of the finest hikes in Britain: the South Downs Way.

In all honesty, I had my doubts about the South Downs Way: it looks too easy, I thought; not as remote or challenging as ‘real’ hikes. The 100-mile footpath runs across the South Downs National Park from Winchester to Eastbourne – barely wild, let alone wilderness. At its highest point, below the summit of Butser Hill, the footpath reaches just 240 metres in elevation, with not a bog or fell