Downs

 

South Downs, parallel ranges of chalk hills, SE England. They rise to 965 ft (294 m) at Leith Hill, Surrey. The North Downs range, extending c.100 mi (160 km) from near Farnham, Surrey, to Dover, Kent, is cut by the Wey, Mole, Darent, Medway, and Stour rivers. The South Downs (c.65 mi/100 km long) extend from near Winchester, Hampshire, to Beachy Head, East Sussex, and are cut by the Arun, Adur, and Ouse rivers. The Weald lies between the two ranges in West Sussex and East Sussex (S) and Surrey and Kent (N). The Downs provide excellent pasturage for sheep; Southdown sheep are well known.

South Downs
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Near Beachy Head
Country	England
Counties	East Sussex West Sussex Hampshire
Location	south-east England
Highest point
- location	Butser Hill,
- elevation	m ( ft)
Geology	chalk downland

The South Downs is one of the two areas of chalk downland in southern England. The North and South Downs run parallel to each other, and would once have formed part of the same dome-shaped chalk outcrop. (See Southern England Chalk Formation.) Erosion, however, has removed the chalk between the two ridges, forming an area called the Weald.

The South Downs extend about 70 miles (100 km) through East Sussex, West Sussex, and part of Hampshire. The South Downs Way is a bridleway that follows the South Downs. Settlements include Eastbourne with its 164 m high headland Beachy Head, Lewes, Ditchling, Clayton and the nearby Clayton Windmills, Hassocks, Hurstpierpoint and the nearby Wolstonbury Hill, Brighton, Hove, Portslade, Shoreham-by-Sea, Washington, Arundel, and Midhurst.

The most famous cliffs of the South Downs, apart from Beachy Head, are the Seven Sisters, between Eastbourne and Seaford. The highest point on the South Downs is Butser Hill, just south of Petersfield, Hampshire. At 270 m (886 ft) high, it qualifies as one of England's Marilyns.

Special status

Many parts of the South Downs have been designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England.

A national park in the South Downs is proposed, and received support from the government in September 1999. As of 2004, a public inquiry is being held to decide the boundaries of the proposed national park. The designation process is expected to take another two to three years.

In 1923 the Society of Sussex Downsmen (now the South Downs Society) was formed with the aim of protecting the area's unique landscape.

Etymology

Downs is from Old English dun "hill".

See also

• Beachy Head
• Clayton Windmills
• Kingley Vale

Gallery

Part of the Downs near Devil's Dyke, Sussex

External links

• South Downs Virtual Information Centre
• South Downs Information website

National parks of England and Wales
Current: Brecon Beacons • The Broads • Dartmoor • Exmoor • Lake District • New Forest • North York Moors • Northumberland • Peak District • Pembrokeshire Coast • Snowdonia • Yorkshire Dales Proposed: South Downs

Coordinates: 50°55′N, 0°30′W

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