Day 1 - Winchester to The Milbury's, 8.6m, 3.5h

Hazel dropped us off at Winchester cathedral, the official start of the South Downs Way at about 9am.  We wandered out of Winchester, passing the statue of King Alfred the Great and alongside the River Itchen before crossing the river and climbing steadily out of Winchester and across the very busy and noisy M3.

 

Somewhere along the route, Glynis offered the 'interesting' fact she'd found in the guide book, which is that there are 13,000ft of ascent along the SD Way.   Hmmm.  Here's a positive spin on that - since Eastbourne is at sea level, it doesn't matter how high Winchester is as the route must be downhill overall and all the ups and downs must more than cancel each other out!

 

The 8.6 miles passed fairly easily, with some spectacular views across the recently-harvested landscape.

By 12.30 we were at The Milbury's, an amazing old pub with a 300ft well and a treadmill windlass inside the pub.  Time for a well-earned drink, I think!