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68-738: The etymology of the name is uncertain and probably of local origin. It is found in exposure on the south side of the North Downs and the north side of the South Downs . It is also to be found beneath the scarp of the Berkshire Downs , in the Vale of White Horse , in Oxfordshire , England, and on the Isle of Wight where it is known as Blue Slipper. Gault underlies the chalk beneath

136-531: A shallow sea which extended across much of northwest Europe. The rock is composed of the microscopic skeletons of plankton which lived in the sea, hence its colour. The chalk has many fossils , and bands of flint occur throughout the formation. The Chalk is divided into the Lower, Middle and Upper Chalk, a thin band of cream-coloured nodular chalk known as the Melbourn Rock marking the boundary between

204-692: A lowland grassland on the west and south facing scarp slopes of the Meon valley; and Beacon Hill, a high quality chalk grassland 5 km west of Old Winchester Hill. In 1923 the Society of Sussex Downsmen (now the South Downs Society) was formed with the aim of protecting the area's unique landscape. The South Downs are a popular area for ramblers with a network of over 2,000 mi (3,200 km) of well-managed, well-signed and easily accessible trails. The principal bridleway, and longest of them,

272-508: A more gentle north-facing dip slope . Its southern boundary is defined by the low-lying Vale of Holmesdale at the foot of the escarpment, in which the underlying stratum is primarily gault clay . The northern boundary is less apparent but occurs where the chalk submerges below the more recent Paleocene deposits. The Downs are highest near the Kent–Surrey border, often reaching heights in excess of 200 m (660 ft) above sea level at

340-530: A more sedentary and communal lifestyle that relied upon the keeping of livestock and the growing of crops. There is substantial evidence of Neolithic activity within the North Downs, notably the long barrows concentrated in the Medway and Stour valleys. The Medway long barrows , which include Kit's Coty House and Coldrum Stones , are constructed of sarsen stone , locally found on Blue Bell Hill and in

408-406: A number of different ways. It is porous, absorbing up to 20% of its dry weight in water, and is therefore highly susceptible to weathering by freeze-thaw action , which may occur over repeated annual or diurnal cycles. This frost weathering produces a mix of rubble and viscous mud, which may be washed downhill, further eroding the landscape (a process known as solifluction ). Since chalk contains

476-736: A poem "On the South Downs". The South Downs have been home to several writers, including Jane Austen who lived at Chawton on the edge of the Downs in Hampshire. The Bloomsbury Group often visited Monk's House in Rodmell , the home of Virginia Woolf in the Ouse valley. Alfred, Lord Tennyson , had a second home at Aldworth, on Blackdown ; geologically part of the Weald , Blackdown lies north of

544-759: A ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent . Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs . The North Downs Way National Trail runs along the North Downs from Farnham to Dover . The highest point in the North Downs is Botley Hill , Surrey (270 m (890 ft) above sea level). The County Top of Kent

612-447: A similar range of hills – the South Downs – which runs roughly parallel to them but some 50 km (31 mi) to the south. The narrow spine of the Hog's Back between Farnham and Guildford forms the western extremity of the North Downs, whilst the cliffs between Folkestone and Deal terminate the ridge in the east. The North Downs cuesta has a steep south-facing scarp slope and

680-604: A very high percentage of calcium carbonate , it can be dissolved by both groundwater and rainwater. Across much of the North Downs, the chalk dips below the London Clay at a relatively shallow angle (c. 18° near Dorking), however at the far west of the range, local faulting has produced a much steeper angle (up to 55°), resulting in the distinctive Hog's Back between Farnham and Guildford. The North Downs support several important habitats including chalk grassland , scrub , woodland and chalk heath . Chalk grassland

748-459: A whole, although there has been large-scale urban encroachment onto the chalk downland by major seaside resorts, including most notably Brighton and Hove . The South Downs have been inhabited since ancient times and at periods the area has supported a large population, particularly during Romano-British times. There is a rich heritage of historical features and archaeological remains, including defensive sites, burial mounds and field boundaries. Within

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816-488: Is Betsom's Hill (251 m (823 ft) above sea level), which is less than 1 km from Westerham Heights , Bromley , the highest point in Greater London at an elevation of 245 m (804 ft). 'Downs' is from Old English dun , meaning, amongst other things, "hill". The word acquired the sense of "elevated rolling grassland" around the 14th century. The name contains "North" to distinguish them from

884-589: Is 271 m (889 ft) above sea level. The plateau-like top of this irregularly shaped hill, which lies just south of Petersfield, Hampshire , was in regular use through prehistory. It has been designated as a national nature reserve . Within the boundary of the South Downs National Park, which includes parts of the western Weald to the north of the South Downs, the highest point is Blackdown , West Sussex, which rises to 280 m (919 ft) above sea level. However, Blackdown geologically

952-459: Is a list of summits on the North Downs which are more than 180 metres in height with 30 metres of topographic prominence (a commonly used threshold in Britain). The summits are arranged in order along the range, from west to east. 51°16′N 0°30′W  /  51.267°N 0.500°W  / 51.267; -0.500 South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in

1020-466: Is about a case that Holmes solves whilst living there. The author Graham Greene 's first published novel, The Man Within (1929), is set largely on and around the South Downs. The book's principal character, Andrews, travels by foot across the Downs to reach Lewes and attend the Assizes. Greene provides a detailed description of both the landscape and its 'feel'. The author H. G. Wells published

1088-664: Is also a war memorial , The Chattri , dedicated to Indian soldiers who died in the Brighton area, having been brought there for treatment after being injured fighting on the Western Front in the First World War . Rudyard Kipling who lived in Rottingdean described the South Downs as "Our blunt, bow-headed whale-backed Downs". Writing in 1920 in his poem The South Country , poet Hilaire Belloc describes

1156-495: Is close to the surface. These conditions are most often found on the escarpment of the North Downs and on valley slopes, but may also occur on the plateau of the dip slope . Calcareous woodland is typically dominated by beech , hornbeam , yew and ash . Box Hill has one of the largest areas of native box woodland in England. One notable species characteristic of calcareous woodland is the nationally scarce lady orchid , which

1224-614: Is found in more than 100 sites on the Kent stretch of the North Downs, but is confined to just two sites elsewhere in the UK. Although its spread is often considered undesirable, scrub provides valuable habitat for a range of invertebrates, including the Roman snail , rufous grasshopper and the dark green fritillary . In Surrey, superficial deposits from the Quaternary are found overlying

1292-472: Is found on the steep south-facing scarp slopes and the more gently graded north-facing dip slopes, where woodland is absent. The alkaline soils are thin and nutrient poor, which prevents deeper-rooted lush grasses (with a high water demand) from dominating. Each square metre of chalk downland may support up to 40 different species. This semi-natural habitat is maintained through sheep, cattle and rabbit grazing which prevents scrub encroachment. Chalk grassland to

1360-531: Is limited within the British Isles to chalk grassland between Folkestone and Wye . One of the two native British sites for the nationally rare monkey orchid is on the North Downs. The nationally scarce man orchid is not uncommon on chalk grassland on the Downs in Surrey and Kent. Other scarce plant species such as early gentian , dwarf milkwort and bedstraw broomrape also occur on chalk grassland in

1428-472: Is not part of the South Downs but instead forms part of the Greensand Ridge on the Weald 's western margins. A list of those points on the South Downs above 700 ft (210 m), going from west to east, is given below. Archaeological evidence has revealed that the Downs have been inhabited and utilised for thousands of years. Neolithic flint mines such as Cissbury , burial mounds such as

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1496-595: Is the South Downs Way . The Monarch's Way , having originated at Worcester , crosses the South Downs and ends at Shoreham-by-Sea . Sports undertaken on the Downs include paragliding , mountain-biking , horse riding and walking . The popular Beachy Head Marathon (formerly Seven Sisters Marathon ), a hilly cross-country marathon, takes place each autumn on the eastern Downs, starting and finishing in Eastbourne. The South Downs Trail Marathon starts in

1564-464: The Devil's Jumps and Devil's Humps , and hill forts like Chanctonbury Ring are strong features in the landscape. It has been estimated that the tree cover of the Downs was cleared over 3000 years ago, and the present closely grazed turf is the result of continual grazing by sheep. Proposals to create a national park for the South Downs date back to the 1940s. However, it was not until 1999 that

1632-635: The English Channel to the Artois region of northern France. Initially an island, this dome-like structure was drained by the ancestors of the rivers which today cut through the North and South Downs. The dome was eroded away over the course of the Cenozoic , exposing the strata beneath and resulting in the escarpments of the Downs. Chalk is a relatively soft rock that may be eroded or weathered in

1700-673: The Isle of Thanet . The ridge of the North Downs is intersected by the valleys of a series of rivers: the Wey , Mole , Darent , Medway and Stour . These drain much of the Weald to the south. The western rivers are tributaries of the Thames ; they have carved steep valleys through the chalk and provide natural corridor routes. In addition to existing rivers, the Downs are crossed by a number of wind gaps – prehistoric river valleys no longer occupied by rivers – including those at Farnham , Betchworth , Caterham , Lyminge and Hawkinge . Except for

1768-681: The London Basin , generally overlying eroded rocks of Jurassic and Devonian age; lower gault is present only below the outer parts of the basin and is absent under central London. The Gault Formation represents a marine transgression following erosion of the Lower Greensand. It is subdivided into two sections, the Upper Gault and the Lower Gault. The Upper Gault onlaps onto the Lower Gault. The Gault Formation thins across

1836-652: The London Platform and then terminates against the Red Chalk just to the south of The Wash in East Anglia . The Gault exposure at Copt Point, which is the type locality for the formation, is 40 m in thickness. The clay has been used in several locations for making bricks, notably near Dunton Green and Wye in Kent . Gault often contains numerous phosphatic nodules, some thought to be coprolites , and may also contain sand as well as small grains of

1904-565: The Lower Paleolithic , about 400,000 years ago, were discovered at Barnfield Pit near Swanscombe ; this provides the earliest evidence of human occupation in the North Downs. It is suggested that human activity at that time coincided with intermittent warm phases during the last glacial period and that continuous occupation of the Downs did not occur until warming after the glaciation. Flint axes have also been found on river terraces at Farnham, on Walton and Banstead Heaths and on

1972-486: The North Downs as its counterpart on the northern side, as shown on the diagram. Between these two escarpments the anticline has been subject to differential erosion so that geologically distinct areas of hills and vales lie in roughly concentric circles towards the centre; these comprise the Greensand Ridge , most prominent on the north side of the Weald, where it includes Leith Hill , the highest hill in south-east England,

2040-504: The Second World War to increase domestic food production – which continued into the 1950s - much grassland was ploughed up for arable farming, fundamentally changing the landscape and ecology, with the loss of much biodiversity. As a result, while old chalk grassland accounted for 40-50% of the eastern Downs before the war, only 3-4% survives. This and development pressures from the surrounding population centres ultimately led to

2108-751: The Sussex Downs . The Western Downs, lying west of the River Arun , are much more wooded, particularly on the scarp face, than the Eastern Downs. The bare Eastern Downs – the only part of the chalk escarpment to which, until the late 19th century, the term "South Downs" was usually applied – have come to epitomise, in literature and art, the South Downs as a whole and which have been the subject matter of such celebrated writers and artists as Rudyard Kipling (the "blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed downs") and Eric Ravilious . Four river valleys cut through

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2176-502: The Weald . The South Downs National Park forms a much larger area than the chalk range of the South Downs, and includes large parts of the Weald. The South Downs are characterised by rolling chalk downland with close-cropped turf and dry valleys , and are recognised as one of the most important chalk landscapes in England. The range is one of the four main areas of chalk downland in southern England . The South Downs are relatively less populated compared to South East England as

2244-443: The crab Notopocorystes ). Terrestrial fossils that have been found at Gault include fossil wood, a dinosaur ( cf. Acanthopholis ), and pterosaurs , including azhdarchoids , ornithocheirids , and the indeterminate pterodactyloid "Pterodactylus" daviesii . Several pterosaur fossil remains from the overlying Cambridge Greensand may have been reworked from the underlying Gault. North Downs The North Downs are

2312-646: The straw belle moth . On the summit of the cliffs between Deal and Folkestone the early spider orchid occurs in large numbers, as well as the rare oxtongue broomrape . Naturally exposed chalk is rare inland with the exception of the river cliffs formed by the River Mole on the west face of Box Hill and at Ham Bank in Norbury Park . However, quarry lakes within chalk pits provide habitats for great crested newt . The scarce musk orchid has colonised disused chalk pits near Hollingbourne in Kent. Woodland

2380-458: The Downs has provided a natural transport route for centuries. Much of the historic Pilgrims' Way still survives at the foot of the scarp slope, and this has been joined much more recently by the M20 motorway . The scarp slope has also been used for fortification; many examples of this still exist, such as Thurnham Castle and on Castle Hill, Folkestone Castle Hill near Folkestone. Many beauty spots on

2448-461: The Downs, a network of narrow lanes and minor roads has developed. This has resulted in a landscape similar to that found in Normandy known as bocage . The predominant type of farming on the Downs is arable farming; this increased greatly during the 20th century. Pastoral farming also occurs but to a lesser extent. Human settlements within the Downs have generally formed in sheltered valleys and at

2516-428: The Downs, particularly along the scarp slope. Oil has been drilled at the foot of the Downs in several locations in Surrey. The Kent Coalfield was established in the late 19th century after coal was found in 1890. Four successful collieries continued to be worked through much of the 20th century: Betteshanger , Snowdown , Tilmanstone and Chislet ; Bettershanger was the last to close in 1989. The east to west ridge of

2584-596: The Lower and Middle units. The strata of southeast England, including the Chalk, were gently folded during a phase of the Alpine Orogeny to produce the Weald-Artois Anticline , a dome-like structure with a long east-west axis. Erosion has removed the central part of the dome, leaving the north-facing escarpment of the South Downs along its southern margin with the south-facing chalk escarpment of

2652-527: The North Downs are owned by the National Trust , for instance Box Hill and Langdon Cliffs . Other areas of interest are Newland's Corner , Wye Downs and the Hog's Back . Much chalk grassland and ancient woodland on the Downs is open-access, and there are also many historic sites such as Kit's Coty House (near Maidstone) and Dover Castle . The topography of the North Downs means there are relatively few summits with topographic prominence . Below

2720-557: The North Downs consists of distinct lithostratigraphic units (the types of strata, the names of which are always capitalised): Following the Cretaceous, the sea covering the south of England began to retreat and the land was pushed higher. The Weald (the area covering modern day south Surrey, south Kent and north Sussex) was lifted by the same geological processes that created the Alps , resulting in an anticline which stretched across

2788-475: The North Downs. Chalk grassland also supports a rich fauna, particularly insects. Notable butterfly species include Adonis blue and silver-spotted skipper , which may be found on warm, sheltered, south-facing slopes. The chalk downland above the Stour Valley is the only British site for the black-veined moth . Other notable moth species that occur on the North Downs include the fiery clearwing moth and

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2856-504: The South Downs Environmentally Sensitive Area there are thirty-seven Sites of Special Scientific Interest , including large areas of chalk grassland. The grazing of sheep on the thin, well-drained chalk soils of the Downs over many centuries, and browsing by rabbits, resulted in the fine, short, springy turf, known as old chalk grassland , that has come to epitomise the South Downs today. Until

2924-516: The South Downs as "the great hills of the South Country". In On The South Coast , poet Algernon Charles Swinburne describes the South Downs as "the green smooth-swelling unending downs". The naturalist-writer William Henry Hudson wrote that "during the whole fifty-three mile length from Beachy Head to Harting the ground never rises above a height of 850 feet, but we feel on top of the world". Poet Francis William Bourdillon also wrote

2992-405: The South Downs but is included in the South Downs National Park. In the introduction to Arthur Conan Doyle 's short story collection His Last Bow , Dr. Watson states that Sherlock Holmes has retired to a small farm upon the Downs near Eastbourne. In the story "His Last Bow" itself, Holmes states that he "lives and keeps bees upon the South Downs". Furthermore, the short story " The Lion's Mane "

3060-509: The South Downs presents itself as a steep wall that bounds the horizon, with its grassland heights punctuated with clumps of trees (such as Chanctonbury Ring ). In the west, the chalk ridge of the South Downs merges with the North Downs to form the Hampshire Downs . In the east, the escarpment terminates at the English Channel coast between Seaford and Eastbourne , where it produces the spectacular white cliffs of Seaford Head ,

3128-414: The South Downs, namely those of the rivers Arun, Adur , Ouse and Cuckmere , providing a contrasting landscape. Chalk aquifers and to a lesser extent winterbourne streams supply much of the water required by the surrounding settlements. Dew ponds , artificial ponds for watering livestock, are a characteristic feature on the downland. The highest point on the South Downs is Butser Hill , whose summit

3196-426: The chalk. These sands and gravels indicate the position of a former sea shore. Where these deposits occur, they are thin and the chalk also comes to the surface in the same areas (e.g. Headley Heath on the north east side of Box Hill), allowing acid-loving plants to thrive alongside those that prefer alkaline conditions , producing the rare chalk heath habitat. Worked flints and human and animal remains dating from

3264-520: The crest of the escarpment above Folkestone. There is considerable evidence of Mesolithic activity in the Surrey Downs through the discovery of pit-dwellings at Weston Woods near Albury and the quantity of discarded tools, microliths and other implements discovered. In about 3000 BC the emergence of Neolithic culture saw the lifestyle of the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers shift to

3332-553: The crest of the escarpment. The highest point is Botley Hill in Surrey at 269 m (883 ft). The County top of Kent at Betsom's Hill , with a height of 251 m (823 ft), is nearby, and the highest point in Greater London , Westerham Heights , at 245 m (804 ft), is on the northern side of the same hill. East of the Medway Valley the Downs become broader and flatter, extending as far as

3400-725: The cross-section of dry valleys known as the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head , the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain at 162 m (531 ft) above sea level. The South Downs may be said to have three main component parts: the East Hampshire Downs, the Western Downs and the Eastern Downs, together with the river valleys that cut across them and the land immediately below them, the scarpfoot . The Western and Eastern Downs are often collectively referred to as

3468-768: The decision to create the South Downs National Park , which came into full operation on 1 April 2011, to protect and restore the Downs. The South Downs have also been designated as a National Character Area (NCA 125) by Natural England . It is bordered by the Hampshire Downs , the Wealden Greensand , the Low Weald and the Pevensey Levels to the north and the South Hampshire Lowlands and South Coast Plain to

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3536-604: The enquiry process a number of boundary questions were considered, so that the National Park contains areas not in the former AONBs, and vice versa. The South Downs contain a number of national nature reserves (NNRs). The NNRs on the Sussex Downs comprise Kingley Vale , near Chichester , said by Natural England to contain one of the finest yew forests in Europe, including a grove of ancient trees which are among

3604-532: The foot of the scarp slope (known as spring line settlements). In recent years vineyards have been planted along the southern slopes of the Downs, in particular the Denbies Wine Estate , Dorking , which is the largest vineyard in the country, accounting for 10% of the country's vines. The chalky soils are similar to those of the Champagne region. There is plenty of evidence of chalk extraction on

3672-588: The idea received firm government support. After a public enquiry that took place between 2003 and 2009, the government announced its decision to make the South Downs a national park on 31 March 2009. The South Downs National Park finally came into operation on 1 April 2011. Within its boundary are included not only the South Downs proper but also part of the western Weald , a geologically and ecologically quite different district. The South Downs National Park has replaced two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)s : East Hampshire AONB and Sussex Downs AONB . During

3740-599: The low-lying clay vales of the Low Weald, formed of less resistant Weald Clay , and finally the more highly resistant sandstones of the High Weald at the centre of the anticline, whose elevated forest ridge includes most notably Ashdown Forest . The chalk, being porous, allows water to soak through; as a result there are many winterbournes along the northern edge. The South Downs are a long chalk escarpment that stretches for over 110 km (68 mi), rising from

3808-473: The middle of the 20th century, an agricultural system operated by downland farmers known as 'sheep-and-corn farming' underpinned this: the sheep (most famously the Southdown breed) of villagers would be systematically confined to certain corn fields to improve their fertility with their droppings and then they would be let out onto the downland to graze. However, starting in 1940 with government measures during

3876-510: The mineral glauconite . Crystals of the mineral selenite are fairly common in places, as are nodules of pyrite . Gault yields abundant marine fossils , including ammonites (such as Hoplites , Hamites , Euhoplites , Anahoplites , and Dimorphoplites ), belemnites (such as Neohibolites ), bivalves (such as Birostrina and Pectinucula ), gastropods (such as Anchura ), solitary corals , fish remains (including shark teeth), scattered crinoid remains, and crustaceans (such as

3944-431: The northern fringe of Friston Forest north-west of Eastbourne, one of the largest areas of chalk heath in Britain. The NNRs on the East Hampshire Downs comprise Butser Hill , near Petersfield, a large area of chalk grassland on the highest point in the South Downs (a large area is also designated as a scheduled monument reflecting its historical significance, particularly in the Bronze and Iron Ages); Old Winchester Hill ,

4012-406: The oldest living things in Britain (the reserve is also one of the most important archaeological sites in southern England, with 14 scheduled monuments ); Castle Hill , between Brighton and Lewes, an important example of ancient, traditionally managed grassland; Lewes Downs ( Mount Caburn ), a traditionally managed chalk downland (and also an important archaeological site); and Lullington Heath , on

4080-474: The river valleys and wind gaps, the crest of the escarpment is almost continuous along its length. The dip slope is dissected by many small dry valleys , and in the broad eastern part in Kent, by further river valleys such as that of the Little Stour . Leith Hill (the highest point in Surrey) is sometimes incorrectly referred to as part of the North Downs, but it is located on the parallel Greensand Ridge and does not consist of chalk. The Downland of

4148-429: The sense of 'elevated rolling grassland' around the 14th century. These hills are prefixed 'south' to distinguish them from another chalk escarpment , the North Downs , which runs roughly parallel to them about 30 mi (48 km) away on the northern edge of the Weald. The South Downs are formed from a thick band of chalk which was deposited during the Cretaceous Period between 100 and 66 million years ago within

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4216-419: The south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about 260 sq mi (670 km ) across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head , in the Eastbourne Downland Estate , East Sussex, in the east. The Downs are bounded on the northern side by a steep escarpment , from whose crest there are extensive views northwards across

4284-426: The south. The downland is a highly popular recreational destination, particularly for walkers, horseriders and mountain bikers. A long distance footpath and bridleway , the South Downs Way , follows the entire length of the chalk ridge from Winchester to Eastbourne, complemented by many interconnecting public footpaths and bridleways. The term 'downs' is from Old English dūn , meaning 'hill'. The word acquired

4352-405: The valley of the River Itchen near Winchester, Hampshire , in the west to Beachy Head near Eastbourne , East Sussex , in the east. Behind the steep north-facing scarp slope, the gently inclined dip slope of undulating chalk downland extends for a distance of up to 7 mi (11 km) southwards. Viewed from high points further north in the High Weald and on the North Downs, the scarp of

4420-440: The valleys of the dip slope, whilst the Stour Valley long barrows are constructed of earth. The landscape of the Downs has been greatly shaped by man. There has been deforestation of the Downs for centuries. The woodland that remains today is largely located where deforestation has been inhibited by steep slopes or by the layer of clay with flints, which is difficult to plough. Because of the many small farms that have survived on

4488-469: The village of Slindon (near Arundel) and ends at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park (to the south of Petersfield.) Longer events that take in the South Downs Way include a 100-mile running 'ultramarathon' and mountain biking 75 mile night time race from Beachy Head to Queen Elizabeth Country Park. Three of the landmarks on the Downs are the Long Man of Wilmington and the Litlington White Horse being chalk carved hill figures , and Clayton Windmills . There

4556-418: The west of the Medway Valley is dominated by upright brome and fescue , whilst grassland to the east is dominated by tor-grass . Owing to the close proximity of the North Downs to the European continent, the warm climate and the south-facing escarpment, several plant species survive on the chalk grassland which are scarce or not found elsewhere in the British Isles. The nationally rare late spider orchid

4624-416: Was far more extensive on the North Downs prior to human clearance 5000 to 4000 years ago. Fragments still remain particularly where the layer of clay-with-flints overlying the chalk has inhibited clearance. Where this is the case species such as pedunculate oak predominate, although much woodland has been replanted with conifer and sweet chestnut . Calcareous woodland occurs on thin soils where chalk

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