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The Great Britain Guide

National parks · South East England

South Downs National Park

Free admission♿ Wheelchair: limited

South Downs National Park is a National park in South East England.

South Downs National Park — The original uploader was Escowles at English Wikipedia .

Photo by The original uploader was Escowles at English Wikipedia . (Wikimedia Commons, CC SA 1.0) licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
4 h–8 h
Best time of year
Spring – autumn (Apr–Oct)
Nearest railway station
Lancing · 9.8 km
  • Free entry
  • Family-friendly
  • Dog-friendly
  • Limited wheelchair access

About

South Downs National Park is a national park in the United Kingdom. It covers approximately 1627 km². Designated in 2010. According to Wikipedia: "The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010.". It is one of fifteen designated national parks across England, Scotland, and Wales, protected for its landscape and recreation value.

Photo gallery

From the Wikipedia article

The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east, through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers the chalk hills of the South Downs (which on the English Channel coast form the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head) and a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

The idea of a South Downs National Park originated in the 1920s, when public concern was mounting about increasing threats to the beauty of the downland environment, particularly the impact of indiscriminate speculative housing development on the eastern Sussex Downs (Peacehaven was an example of this). In 1929, the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, led by campaigners including the geographer Vaughan Cornish, submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister urging the case for national parks, including a national park on part of the South Downs. When however, towards the end of World War II, John Dower was asked to report on how a system of national parks in England and Wales might…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
50.9110, -0.3670
County
West Sussex
District
Horsham
Parish
Wiston
Postcode
BN44 3DD
Parliamentary constituency
Arundel and South Downs
Established
2010
Nearest railway station
Lancing9.8 km

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is South Downs National Park?
South Downs National Park is in West Sussex, South-East England, United Kingdom (postcode BN44 3DD), in the parish of Wiston.
When was South Downs National Park built?
Built or established in 2010.
Who owns South Downs National Park?
South Downs National Park is owned by | website = {{URL|https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/}}.
Is South Downs National Park free to visit?
Yes, South Downs National Park is free to enter.
How do I get to South Downs National Park?
Drivers can navigate to postcode BN44 3DD. It sits within the Arundel and South Downs parliamentary constituency.