Autumn in the South Downs: walks and photo spots

If you are based in Portsmouth and want to swap the coast for some autumn colour, the South Downs National Park is the obvious choice. It is the most wooded National Park in Britain, with nearly a quarter of its area covered in trees, and it runs across Hampshire and East Sussex. For a day out, Queen Elizabeth Country Park at Gravel Hill in Horndean is the most convenient starting point, with over 2,000 acres of open-access woodland and downland. Entry is free, though you will pay for parking, and the Visitor Centre and Beechwood Kitchen café open daily from 10:00 to 16:00 on weekdays and 09:00 to 16:00 at weekends over winter. There are three waymarked walking trails, two permissive bike trails, a play area and barbecue areas.

Within the park, Butser Hill is the one to aim for. At 271 metres, it is the highest point in Hampshire and the second-highest in the National Park after Black Down, which reaches 280 metres. The name comes from the Old English Bryttes Oran, meaning Briht's slope, and the hill is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, a National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation, supporting more than 30 butterfly species including the Duke of Burgundy and the Silver-spotted Skipper. Hampshire County Council bought it in 1966 and announced a £240,000 restoration programme in December 2021.

Autumn is a good time to be out here. September and October bring cooler days and spectacular sunsets, and the National Park Authority is running a photography competition around it, with entries closing on 31 October 2026 and a prize of £250. The theme is Serene South Downs: Back to Nature, with categories for wildlife, youth and a new monochrome category supported by f11 Workshops of Rachael Talibart, judged by Finn Hopson of Brighton and Carlotta Luke of Lewes. If you are walking through the woods, fungi spotting is part of the seasonal appeal, though it is worth remembering that many UK fungi are toxic.

Beyond the woods, the park is a network of paths. There are over 3,300 kilometres of footpaths, bridleways and byways, including the South Downs Way, a 100-mile National Trail that opened in 1972 and runs from Winchester to Eastbourne across historic villages, ancient routes and chalk hills, with a maximum height of 245 metres. Closer to home, the Hangers Way runs 21 miles from Alton to Queen Elizabeth Country Park, and there are Miles without Stiles trails for wheelchair access. If you want to combine a walk with something to see, the Weald and Downland Living Museum holds over 50 historic buildings showing rural life up to 950 years ago, and Bignor Roman Villa has 3rd-century mosaics. And when it gets dark, the park is one of only 16 International Dark Skies Reserves in the world, so October is a good month to look up and catch Saturn at its most visible, with the Andromeda galaxy and the constellations Hercules and Perseus also out.