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  • Cycling Weekly

    SOUTHERN BELLE

    Mar 26, 2020 6 minutes
    Photos Andy Jones, Phil O’Connor

    “The South Downs are a critical green lung for the South-East, providing millions of people with unparalleled access to open countryside in a way that has incalculable benefits for their health, well-being and their appreciation of why the natural environment matters,” said Poul Christensen, the acting chairman of Natural England, when the Downs were awarded National Park status in 2009.

    If you’ve ever cycled round the Downs, you’ll know it’s virtually impossible to disagree with this sentiment. The National Park was established the following year, 10 years ago now, though the bureaucracy behind the park was only fully operational from 2011. Covering 627 square miles, it has hosted top-level races and holds in its palm the enduring off-road challenge of the South Downs Way. While the Downs are best known for the climbs, it’s a varied terrain that changes as you travel along it from exposed hilltop traverses, to wooded lanes and arteries through open farmland.

    “Sampling all the climbs seemed more like punishment than fun”

    Ten years of all that being officially

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