South Downs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The South Downs is one of the four areas of chalk downland in southern England.[1] They extend from the eastern side of Hampshire through Sussex, culminating in the cliffs at Beachy Head.
The South Downs is England's newest National Park, its designation taking effect on March 31, 2010 [2]. There are many Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the park.
The area is relatively unpopulated, although along its southern periphery there is an almost uninterrupted ribbon of seaside towns: it is extremely popular with walkers, having one principal long distance footpath, the South Downs Way, and many interconnecting ones. There are three principal gaps in the upland through which rivers flow; and there are also many dry valleys along its length.
The South Downs have a long history; there are archaeological remains from Neolithic times. Until the middle of the 20th century, sheep-rearing was the main occupation of those living on the Downs.[3]
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[edit] Etymology
'Downs' is from Old English dun meaning, amongst other things, 'hill'. The word acquired the sense of 'elevated rolling grassland' around the fourteenth century. [4] These hills are prefixed 'south' to distinguish them from the morphologically similar range of hills - the North Downs - which run roughly parallel to them but some 50km to the north.
[edit] Geology
The South Downs are formed from a thick band of chalk which was deposited during the Cretaceous Period around sixty million years ago within 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.[5] 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 the Lower and Middle units. The strata of southeast England, including the Chalk was 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 North Downs as its counterpart, as shown on the diagram. The softer underlying rocks form the vale beneath the Downs with Ashdown Forest upstanding centrally within the Weald between the North and South Downs.[6]
The chalk, being porous, allows water to soak through; as a result there are many winterbournes along the northern edge.
[edit] Geography
The South Downs extend about 70 miles (112 km) from west to east, and seven miles (11.2 km) wide, north to south. Both the North and South Downs come together at the Wessex Downs, just inside the Hampshire border at the River Meon valley. The eastern end, where it reaches the coast between Seaford and Beachy Head, produces the spectacular scenery of the Seven Sisters, the undulating cliffs which are the remnants of dry valleys being eroded by the sea.
There are four river valleys which cut through the Downs: from west to east they are the Rivers Arun, Adur, Ouse and Cuckmere. Chalk acquifers and winterbourne streams supply much of the water required by the surrounding settlements. Dew ponds are a characteristic feature on the hillside: artificial ponds for watering livestock.
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. A list of those points on the South Downs above 700ft (213m) follows, in a west to east direction:
| Name of hill | Nearest settlement | Height | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butser Hill | Petersfield | 270m (886ft) | Highest point in the South Downs National Park |
| West Harting Down | South Harting | 215m (707ft) | |
| Beacon Hill | South Harting | 242m (793ft) | |
| Linch Down | Bepton | 248m (814ft) | |
| Littleton Down | East Lavington | 255m (836ft) | Summit is ‘’Crown Tegleaze’’: the highest point on the South Downs in Sussex [7] |
| Glatting Beacon | Sutton | 245m (803ft) | |
| Chanctonbury Hill | Washington | 238m (782ft) | Site of Chanctonbury Ring hill fort |
| Truleigh Hill | Upper Beeding | 216m (708ft) | |
| Ditchling Beacon | Ditchling | 248m (814ft) | |
| Firle Beacon | Firle | 217m (713ft) |
[edit] History
Archaeological evidence has revealed that the Downs have been inhabited and utilised for thousands of years. Neolithic flint mines such as Cissbury, burial mounds and hill forts like Chanctonbury Ring are strong features in the landscape.[8].
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.
[edit] National Park
The proposal to set up the South Downs National Park first received governmental support in 1999. After a public enquiry between 2003-2005, and various legal objections, the enquiry re-opened in February 2008. On the 31st March 2009, it was announced that the South Downs would become a national park, after 60 years on the shortlist.[9]
The park replace two areas designated AONB: East Hampshire and Sussex Downs AONBs. During the enquiry process a number of boundary questions were examined, so that the National Park contains areas not in the former AONBs, and vice versa.
Among the National Nature Reserves (NNR) within the park is Kingley Vale NNR, near Chichester.
[edit] Tourism, leisure and sport
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 is a popular area for ramblers with a network of over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of well-managed, well-signed and easily accessible trails. The principal bridleway, and longest of them, is the South Downs Way. [10]. The Monarch's Way, having originated at Worcester, crosses the South Downs and ends at Shoreham-by-Sea.[11]
Sports undertaken on the Downs include paragliding, mountain-biking, horse riding and walking.[12]
[edit] Landmarks
Two of the landmarks on the Downs are the Long Man of Wilmington, a chalk carved figure, and Clayton Windmills. There 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.
[edit] South Downs in literature
Rudyard Kipling who lived at Rottingdean described the South Downs as "Our blunt, bow-headed whale-backed Downs".[13] Writing in 1920 in his poem The South Country, poet Hilaire Belloc describes the South Downs as "the great hills of the South Country".[14] In On The South Coast, poet Algernon Charles Swinburne describes the South Downs as "the green smooth-swelling unending downs".[15]
The naturalist-writer William Henry Hudson wrote that "during the whole 53-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".[16]
Poet Francis William Bourdillon also wrote a poem "On the South Downs".[17] 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. Alfred, Lord Tennyson had a second home at Aldworth on the edge of the Downs at Blackdown. Geologically part of the Weald, Blackdown lies close to the chalk downland and is part of the South Downs National Park.
[edit] Suggested reading
Roundabout to Canterbury Charles S. Brooks 1926 copyright
[edit] Gallery
 Part of the Downs near Devil's Dyke, Sussex |
 South Downs close to Beachy Head |
 Flowers on the South Downs |
 Flowers on the South Downs |
[edit] References
- ^ The others being the North Downs of Kent and Surrey; the Chilterns to the north-west of London; and the Wessex Downs of Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Berkshire
- ^ "South Downs National Park". Campaign for National Parks. http://www.cnp.org.uk/3_Campaigns--2_South_Downs_National_Park.html. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
- ^ British Limestone Grasslands ‘’Wikibook‘’
- ^ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=d&p=17
- ^ Chalk formation fossils
- ^ British Geological Survey 1:50K map sheet 318/333 Brighton & Worthing
- ^ The … Marilyns of England
- ^ English Heritage: ‘’South Downs’’
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7973417.stm
- ^ South Downs Way: description of the route
- ^ Ramblers Association
- ^ Walking in the South Downs accessed 1 January 2008
- ^ http://www.southdownssociety.org.uk/visiting.html
- ^ http://www.bartleby.com/103/72.html
- ^ http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/14095/
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-wild-serene-downs-fight-against-protection-735190.html
- ^ http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/on-the-south-downs/
[edit] External links
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Coordinates: 50°55′N 0°30′W / 50.917°N 0.5°W
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