South Downs National Park England Travel Briefkaart

The South Downs National Park, the newest of England’s national parks (established in 2010), stretches across Hampshire, West Sussex, and East Sussex, offering a quintessentially English landscape of rolling chalk hills, wooded valleys, and quaint villages. The park’s most iconic sights include the dramatic white cliffs at Seven Sisters and Beachy Head, as well as the long, undulating ridgeline of the South Downs Way — a popular route for walkers and cyclists. The park’s landscape has been shaped by millennia of human activity, and its chalk grasslands are rich in biodiversity, home to rare butterflies, orchids, and skylarks. Historic towns like Lewes and Arundel sit on its edges, blending medieval heritage with modern culture. The South Downs also has a Dark Sky Reserve designation, offering stargazers excellent conditions for observing the night sky. Its combination of natural beauty, proximity to London, and rich cultural landscape makes it a wonderful destination for day trips or longer explorations.