South Downs to the Sea

This area was completely new to us and we were pleasantly surprised by the variety of scenery and terrain we passed through, and the wonderful views we were treated to each day. Every day was different and there were lots of interesting features and places to explore en route. We were glad we added an extra night at Bosham as this gave us the opportunity to take the bus into Chichester and explore the cathedral, Roman walls and the interesting shops.

Another great walking holiday from Inntravel with plenty of variety ranging from country walks to standing in the mud near Bosham waving to attract the ferry. Accommodation and food were good with the star being the White Horse. From the outside it is an unpreposessing pub but inside it is a modern hotel with an excellent restaurant. We added an extra day and did both the A and B options at Bosham. Certainly A option is the one to do if only there for the day but the B option added the frisson of achieving the walk without being cut off by the high tide. This was the first time we had used the GPX tracks on an Inntravel walk and if (like me) you find yourself occassionally puzzled by the directions then this is definitely recommended. Downloaded into a Garmin, they faultlessly kept us on the route.

Very enjoyable holiday. Some of the descents were somewhat difficult for me as I walk with two sticks and the ground was slippery but this was my problem! Had very good walking weather. Hotels were very nice. Some of the routes involved a little walking along roads with fast moving traffic which was unpleasant.

This was a new area for us and this combined with the variety of scenery made for an excellent holiday. A visit to Chichester using the local bus is worth finding time for whilst staying in Bosham.

We enjoyed this holiday enormously. The autumnal sunshine caused the Downs to look beautiful and the sea sparkled. We didn't know this area and enjoyed the variety of scenery and walking. The three places of accommodation were interesting and of a good standard.

This was a lovely holiday with some excellent walking which was helped by the fact we had excellent weather. The White Horse is in a nice, quiet setting and the food was excellent and the staff were lovely. We weren't entirely happy with our upgraded room, as there were no shower faciliies, and we would recommend that, if you want a room with a shower, that you specify this when booking. We enjoyed both of the walks there and included a visit to Chichester on the walk to Bosham and found this to be an interesting City to visit.

We absolutely loved Bosham and the Millstream is a lovely hotel and everything there was absolutely top class. Again some lovely walking although we didn't do one of the walks and instead just pottered around Bosham which we found very enjoyable and relaxing. On one of the nights there we ate at the Anchor Bleu where the food was excellent.

Overall we would certainly recommend this holiday.

This is the second UK holiday we have done with Inntravel and it is nice to know that we can communicate with the locals without a problem and there is English beer! Could you put together some more stretching walks? eg Grade 2? We did The Dales before and we live very near the Shropshire Hills walk so it doesn't leave that many Grade 2s to try. We find that walking on the flat for too long can get very wearing: the legs need variety!

The walk from Chilgrove to East Lavant was our hightlight - gorgeous scenery and amazing yew trees.  We added a bit, which we enjoyed.  We went across towards St Roche's hill instead of coming straight down the Literary Trail.  And came down Chalkpit Lane.  When we got to the Royal Oak we had a very nice welcome.

All the staff at all  hotels on this tour were great, they were friendly helpful and jolly.The rooms were quite small so it may be worth requesting an upgrade if you like a bit more space. The food was good at all the hotels, which is just as well as there are few options to eat elsewhere. 

The walks were varied and for the first two days you almost completely avoid any roads and even any villages or hamlets.

The routes of the walks were excellent. Some of the scenery was stunning. The walks were a perfect length and challenging enough. We thoroughly enjoyed the holiday.

There was a lovely variety to this holiday - from walks in the South Downs and through the interesting Kingley Vale Nature Reserve to an exploration of Chichester and then on to the gentle coastline around Chichester Harbour. We loved the bird-watching opportunities, and our extra day out at the Weald and Downland Museum and West Dean Gardens.

We booked this holiday as a post-Covid alternative to a planned Inntravel walk in Provence, and didn't have particularly high expectations of the walking (or the weather!). Both were fantastic. The walks were all varied, interesting and with lots of points of interest, in beautiful countryside. Each of the places we stayed was clearly struggling a bit with Covid/Brexit-induced staff shortages, but everyone worked very hard to provide a good experience and excellent food.

We have a suggested addition to the options for the circular walk around Chichester Harbour on the final day of walking. We noticed that the last stretch was a repeat of the previous day's walk from Lavant to Bosham, and decided instead to walk from Fishbourne into Chichester to have a look round (having not done that on the previous day) and have an early dinner in Chichester, then take a taxi back to the Millstream. This was partly because it was a Sunday and there were very few other dinner options in Bosham itself.

The quiet trails and away from it all feel were a welcome escape from the normal daily pace of life. The excellent hotel at the end was a nice surprise. Chichester was a highlight and the options to visit the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum and/or West Dean Gardens provided a 'day off' and a change from walking.

This is a fascinating walk with varied scenery.  We enjoyed all parts of it - from the exertion of the South Downs to the gentle meandering in the wetlands at Bosham.  We loved the yews at Kingley Vale and were very pleased to have visited Fishbourne Roman Palace.  The mosaic floors are fabulous and the visit was an enriching experience.

We thoroughly enjoyed our walking holiday and would recommend this area of the UK and Inntravel to everyone.  We loved exploring new places and the excitment of moving on.  We had not travelled with Inntravel before, but would seriously consider doing so again as your level of service during booking and the slight problem we had was very good.  Plus the travel information/documents and walking notes were excellent and you supplied an OS map (which not all travel companies do). 

There were highlights every day - particular ones include: all the woodland walking, Kingley Vale, the views from all th ehigh points (especially The Trundle), Bosham, walking around Chicester Channel, and lots of trig points (some hidden that we had to search for!).

We visited West Dean Gardens on Day 3 and thought that worked well, as we had ~2 hours in the gardens and time to continue the walk (we even extended it to walk up the far side of Goodwood Race Course (which is an option you may wish to add - walk on to Charlton from Singleton and then up)).  We visited Weald and Downland Museum after we had finished walking and spent 4 - 5 hours there, so it would not have been an option for a walking day for us.

We ate at the Royal Oak and Earl of March in East Lavant and enjoyed having different places to go each night.  We would recommend the Anchor Bleu in Bosham - lovely harbour side setting and good food.  In hindsight we might have tried to visit the Royal Oak in Hooksway for a meal as it looked so pretty.

We thoroughly enjoyed this holiday in a part of the world we weren't familiar with previously. As ever Inntravel's arrangements were first rate. Bosham in particular was a stunning place with a relaxed holiday atmosphere. We particularly recommend the Anchor Bleu pub for drinks or an alternative to the hotel for dinner. Our only suggestion would be a stronger steer on early booking of a table for dinner at the Earl of March in East Lavant (which was excellent.) We did this but we know that they were full on the evenings we attended and the Royal Oak had variable opening due to staffing issues and there is nowhere else to eat in the village.

Excellent route and walks. We enjoyed the variety of the scenery and the additional notes re the history of the areas we walked. Overall the accommodation was good, it was let down by the last hotel at Millstream which felt dated and very formal for a walking holiday. The route planning was second to none - we never got lost. Transfers from the taxis were always on time and of good service. Thank you for a nice holiday.

A thoroughly enjoyable holiday with some glorious walks, and wonderful views and scenery. The White Horse Inn we found disappointing with a small room and quirky bathroom, but the rooms at East Lavant and Bosham were lovely.

Excellent walking holiday, perfect for the family. Each walk felt different from rural into Chichester and down to the sea! Each walk being 7-10 miles and felt like a real escape! Well looked after along the way! If you are a family looking for a well balanced walking holiday, this is it (our children are 13 and 11)

Loved the walks and the three inns/hotels were perfect. Friendly, comfortable and excellent food and drink. A great way to start my retirement.

The countryside around was lovely with rolling hills and some fabulous wild flower meadows, particularly Harting Down which was a highlight. We also enjoyed the Kingley Vale Nature Reserve with the spooky yew groves.

Our first UK holiday with Inntravel but it had all the features which we have enjoyed abroad previously ie the wonderful hotels we would never have discovered on our own, the variety of well planned walks and excellent notes. There is always some feature on Inntravel holidays which surprises us. This time it was the yew tree groves which we had never heard of but were spectacular: truly Tolkienesque with all the gnarled roots forbidding in places and beautifully peaceful in others. We also enjoyed watching the tide rush in at Bosham taking some unfortunate car drivers by surprise!

Our personal highlights were the ancient yew forest, West Dean gardens and seeing bee orchids as well as all the other orchids which were every where. The food at Millstream was 5 star.

Highlights: long views, orchids, a glass of Tokay at The White Horse, the yews, the smells, sights and sounds of estuary life. 

We suggest the Open Air Museum merits three hours on a separate day.

Yet another excellent Inntravel holiday. The hotels were all up to Inntravel's usual high standards, the food was excellent and the walks really interesting and varied.

Highlights include the copper beech avenue near Telegraph House, the views from Beacon Hill & St Roche's Hill (excellent mobile phone reception here too, unlike in the hotels) as well as the Devil's Jumps on Day 1, which weren't rated very highly in the notes, but which provided comfortable seating for our picnic.

The Devil's Humps on the following day's walk were also impressive, but what really amazed us were the yew groves in Kingley Vale. Wow! Unlike anywhere we've been before - scarily magical. Since The Royal Oak at Lavant was closed the day we arrived, we had booked dinner at The Earl of March and weren't disappointed. Lovely food, excellent service and an easy walk from The Royal Oak.

The pre-booked visit to West Dean Gardens was well worth the break and still left plenty of time to continue the walk up to St Roche's Hill & The Trundle, watching kites and skylarks soaring above us. Wild flowers everywhere, including lots of foxgloves and orchids, and sweeping views with no sign of habitation at all - apart from Goodwood race course, and the vintage planes from the airfield.

The walk to Bosham was different again. No more hills! Since we'd already been to Fishbourne Palace on the way to Chilgrove, we walked into Chichester to see the city walls and cathedral and to sit in the Bishop's Palace Garden for a picnic lunch before heading off through the reed beds to The Millstream - yet another excellent hotel with spacious rooms, pretty gardens, attentive, professional staff and really good food. The final day's walk to Chidham Peninsula included a welcome break in the beer garden at The Old House at Home in Chidham. Back in Bosham it was worth walking down to the end of the street to see the waves lapping, covering the road, and to puzzle over the 'No Vehicular Access except for Access' notice.

There's great variety in the setting of these lovely walks, from rolling hills to woodland, salt marshes and beaches. It's generally quiet. The other walkers we met were universally friendly - never had so many Good Mornings. The option to visit West Dean Gardens was welcome, we really enjoyed that. There was a lack of benches so if it's wet stopping for lunch might be an issue. Great for flora and fauna.

All the walks were fine but the Chilgrove to East Lavant via Kingley Vale was perhaps the highlight - the yews were extraordinary, the scenery was nicely varied and attractive and the bird life was most interesting.  The view from Beacon Hill was stunning.  During lunch by the Fishbourne pond, waiting for the tide to recede, we were entertained by swans, ducks, moorhens and coots, all with young, and the subsequent walk to Bosham was interesting.  Bosham proved an attractive place to stay and explore.

Although none of these walks were difficult, it is highly recommended to wear boots as you never know how the weather will pan out as we found out during this previous week. Where's time allows a visit to Chichester Cathedral is well worth a visit.

Really enjoyed the trip. Scenery and walking excellent. Pleased with the first two hotels but a little disappointed with The Millstream. Bathroom a bit tired and dining experience too formal although food good.

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. The first highlight was the walk from the White Horse at Chilgrove, on our walk up to Beacon Hill was a section of the path which (out-Halnakered) Halnaker.

2. We had brilliant weather so sitting outside the White Horse for dinner was very special.

3. A visit to West Dean gardens and the walk up to the Trundle and its panoramic views.

4. Revisiting Bosham was the icing on the cake of these lovely walks. The meal at the Millstream was delicious. 

A very well organised holiday especially in the current pandemic circumstances, the perfect way to get away.

Everything felt very safe with all accommodation adhering to best practices.

A recommendation for picnic lunches - and we appreciated the individual choice at The White Horse in Chilgrove - water now comes in glass bottles, which of course is preferable in most contexts. Walkers should be advised in advance to provide their own (lighter) containers.

Highlights: Petworth, the Royal Oak at Hooksway (from Chilgrove) is worth a visit, view from Beacon Hill, Kingley Vale and the earlier part of that day.

Excellent introduction to walking holidays. Our 9 and 12 year old kids managed the daily dose of walk just fine. The notes are excellent, almost never used the maps. The accommodations are great with very good food options. The walk provides splendid vistas and is overall very pleasant and enjoyable. The packed picnics are very good as usually there were no pubs or food options along the way.

This was a glorious holiday on some of the hottest days of the year. We were delighted at the surprisingly quiet and unspoilt countryside. On our first day we completed the entire walk without encountering another soul, apart from in Petworth itself. We loved following the twisting white ribbon, the South Downs Way, with its wild flowers, clouds of butterflies and skylarks soaring above. The Weald and Downland Museum kept us fascinated for 4 and a half hours. Many encounters will stay in the memory: the guide at Petworth House who gave us an insight into the history behind some of the paintings; the German family with whom we had a mutually enlightening discussion on Brexit and the locals in the Black Horse at Byworth who during a long and happy evening filled us in on ‘Testicle Ted’, the notorious former landlord of the Welldiggers.

A really excellent holiday, which took us to a part of the country we didn't know and provided an enjoyable and interesting introduction. Thank you

Despite some inclement weather we enjoyed our visit to the South Downs National Park. On our last day we visited the Weald and Downland living museum, well worth a visit in its own right but made more special by turning out to be the location of BBCs Repair Shop and they were filming the day we were there!

Lovely area, interesting routes. The yew trees at Kingley Vale were truely impressive! Don’t miss West Dean Gardens as they are beautiful.