North / South Downs bivvy spots?

[InspiredRamblings]

Hey All,

My first post here. I registered for the WRT last year but due to a variety of valid and poor excuses, didn't make it and then failed to do any decent bike trips last year. I did a ride / camp trip down to Switzerland in 2011, including a decent amount off road, though this was with panniers and racks and so there was a fair bit of pushing and a lot of sweating. Anyway, I've seen the light and am set up now for some much lighter weight overnight trips, and will be coming over for WRT2013.

I live in London and whilst I've ridden on parts of the South and North Downs and know that people do wild camp overnight there, I've yet to get out and do it (previous wild camping trips have been limited to Scotland and Wales). I'm probably a little nervous about how populated it is in the Downs, though I know its possible to wild camp without any problems, and I'm sure after the first couple of trips, I'd be less worried.

So, I wondered if anyone had any recommendations of some good North / South Downs wild camping spots that would make a good overnight foray into the area? I'm thinking train out of London, few hours ride, camp, few hours ride in the morning, train back. Nothing too epic, just a manageable trip to test out some gear and get into the swing of things.

Any thoughts??

Cheers, Chris

[Dan_K]

Most spots feel more like "hiding in the woods" so there's nothing I can really recommend but if you want some company, give me a shout.
I live in Croydon but am happy to travel. Drive too so if you want to share transport to any events (such as the WRT) let me know.

[InspiredRamblings]

Yes - thats how I thought it would feel! I have seen a bunch of locations for the South Downs Way posted on a walking forum, and on a ride I did think I'd identified one of them that looked decent for an overnight stop (woods on top of a hill) - but that was about 7 months ago and now I've picked up the map again I can't *quite* remember which stretch it was on...

I'm not far away from you - just up the road in Streatham. I know some mountain bikers in London but no-one who seems particularly keen to sleep in a hole in the ground in the rain and then put sweaty clothes back on the next day, so joining forces for some rides would be good, especially in these dark months in the city where its all too easy to put off a ride "just until next weekend"...

[Dan_K]

Yeah, unfortunately whilst London is good for sensible things like jobs, it's pretty lame for bikepacking and you're never that far away from civilisation to the point where bikepacking feels a bit eccentric. I've ridden a fair bit of the local North Downs and the SDW from Hassocks to Eastbourne. There are places where you can stop if you pitch up late enough but there's always that nagging doubt that you'll get stumbled upon by a dog walker. It's nothing like when I've been in Wales or the Peak District.
Keep me posted on any ideas you might have and I'll do the same. Company's always hard to find as most mountain bikers I know are happy with just riding the Surrey Hills.

[InspiredRamblings]

I've ridden the SDW from Eastbourne to Hassocks and am sure the spot I found was in a small copse just off the top of the ridge towards the Hassocks end; I just can't quite remember where. It felt remote enough and off the track that you might avoid folk, you'd just need to be up and off early I guess.

I do have a mate who is keen to do the WRT with me but he's living in Cambridgeshire at the moment which isn't that handy for south London trips in the meantime. I very nearly did the Trans Cambrian last autumn but had to postpone it at the last minute, so I'd be keen to do that at some point. Have the maps and everything!

[Kumquat]

Will happily tag along on a south downs ride. Have ridden all of it (not all at once). Will agree with previous comments-just a matter of being up and away bfore the doggers turn up. Woods on a hill sounds like chanctonbury ring maybe. Anyway there must be countless spots on the sdw suitable for an overnighter.

[InspiredRamblings]

Cool - we should definitely sort something out. I don't think it was Chanctonbury - it was on a ride from Eastbourne to Hassocks so I didn't make it that far.

I kept the list of locations I'd found on a walking forum but just can't quite match it up with what I thought I'd recce'd - the only place that rings a bell is Itford Hill (just east of Southease) but Google maps shows what looks like a tiny set of trees, and I was sure it was much nearer Hassocks - it was months ago though so I may well be wrong. There are a few sections of wood further east of Southease but also as you mention, around Chanctonbury Ring. Maybe not this weekend though - it looks a bit parky out!

[Bigface0_0]

I did the SDW in 2 days last year and found the best option was to just ride until about 10 then ended up being tucked in the corner of one of the many fields a long the way. We stopped just after amberley heading from Winchester) which is about half wayish.
Left our spot about 6am and cracked on. I was hung up about having a great view from the Bivi spot but in real life most of those places have a steady stream of people or near some kind of life so we avoided them.
This was my first bivi and I LOVED it... bring on the WRT this year :D