South Downs National Park - Geography

Geography

The South Downs National Park stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) across southern England from St Catherine's Hill near Winchester in Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne in East Sussex in the east. In its western half, the southern boundary of the park lies up to 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) inland from the south coast; it thus excludes the major coastal towns and cities of Southampton, Portsmouth, Chichester, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. Further east, where the park's southern boundary lies much closer to the coast, it has been carefully drawn to exclude the urban areas of Worthing, Brighton and Hove, Newhaven, Seaford and Eastbourne, which had all made substantial encroachments onto the Downs during the 19th and 20th centuries. By contrast, the park includes a number of towns situated in the western Weald, including Petersfield, Liss, Midhurst and Petworth, and the two historic Sussex towns of Arundel and Lewes.

The total population living within the national park is approximately 108,000. Of these 42,000 live in Hampshire, 40,000 in West Sussex and 25,000 in East Sussex. East Hampshire District Council area and Chichester District each have around 30,000 residents in the area and Lewes District 22,000. Winchester has 11,500 residents in the park, with much smaller numbers for the other districts and boroughs. The area receives about 39 million visits each year, which is thought likely to increase as a result of the creation of the national park.

The national park has an area of 1,625 square kilometres (627 sq mi), of which 544 square kilometres (210 sq mi) is in Hampshire, 807 square kilometres (312 sq mi) in West Sussex and 237 square kilometres (92 sq mi) in East Sussex. Among the district council areas, Chichester District has the largest area at 544 square kilometres (210 sq mi), followed by East Hampshire District with 279 square kilometres (108 sq mi), Winchester with 265 square kilometres (102 sq mi), Lewes District with 159 square kilometres (61 sq mi) and Arun 102 square kilometres (39 sq mi). 93 square kilometres (36 sq mi) are in Horsham District and 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi) in Wealden District.

Apart from a number of boundary revisions, the park incorporates two areas previously designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the East Hampshire AONB and Sussex Downs AONB.

The South Downs National Park's chalk downland is a feature that sets it apart from other national parks in Britain. However, almost a quarter (23%) of the national park consists of a quite different and strongly contrasting physiographic region, the western Weald, whose densely wooded hills and vales are based on an older Wealden geology of resistant sandstones and softer clays. The highest point in the national park, Blackdown, at 280 metres (920 ft) above sea level, is in fact situated in the Weald, on the Greensand Ridge, whereas the highest point on the chalk escarpment of the South Downs, Butser Hill, has an elevation of 271 metres (889 ft) above sea level.