The South Downs National Park came into being on 31 March 2010 and covers 628 square miles across Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. It is a landscape of rolling chalk hills, chalk grassland, heathland, ancient woodland and dark skies, and it has the largest rights of way network of any National Park.
Six National Trust places sit inside the South Downs National Park boundary, from Selborne Common in the north to Monk's House in the south. Three of them are within four miles of a mainline railway station, and four have a café.
Around Selborne
Selborne Common: Beech woods and flower-rich meadows associated with naturalist Gilbert White. Hinton Ampner House: Ralph Dutton rebuilt Hinton Ampner twice to match his Georgian ideal. National Trust house and garden near Alresford, Hampshire. Winchester City Mill: An ancient watermill with café, island garden and wildlife habitat in central Winchester. The three are about 16 miles apart from first to last, so they fit into one day.
Around Petworth
Petworth House: Petworth House: Grade I listed 1688 country house with Turner paintings and Grinling Gibbons carvings. Uppark: A 17th-century house within a garden of lawns, borders and wildflower meadow overlooking the South Downs. Monk's House: Leonard and Virginia Woolf's 17th-century country retreat in the Sussex village of Rodmell. The three are about 53 miles apart from first to last, so they fit into one day.
By train
Winchester City Mill is 0.7 miles from Winchester and Monk's House is 0.6 miles from Southease - Piddinghoe Road. Distances are in a straight line, so allow longer on foot or by taxi or bus.
Before you go
Many places open fewer days or close for part of the winter, so check opening times before you travel.