We hope this section of our website provides you with some useful information about the South Downs National Park. If you have a particular question which isn't answered, please let us know by emailing learning@southdowns.gov.uk
(Data sourced from from best available information. This information will be updated as part of the SDNPA ongoing programme of data and evidence research)
Area of South Downs National Park:1648 square kilometres(Natural England calculation Feb 2010)
Comparison with other National Parks:
New Forest: 571 sq km
Exmoor: 693 sq km
Dartmoor: 954 sq km
Northumberland: 1,049 sq km
North Yorks Moors 1,436 sq km
Peak District: 1,437 sq km
Yorkshire Dales: 1,762 sq km
Lake District: 2,292 sq km
(source: Office for National Statistics, Mid 2007 estimate)
Comparison with other National Parks:
Lake District: 42 (000’s)
Peak District: 38
New Forest: 34
Dartmoor: 33
North Yorks Moors 25
Yorkshire Dales: 20
Exmoor: 11
Northumberland: 2
(based on census results)
(source: Economic Impact of Visits on the South Downs, Tourism SE, 2003)
Comparison with other National Parks:
New Forest:13.5 million day visits per year (2005)
North Yorks Moors: 9.3 million visitor days (2005)
Lake District: 8.3 million visitors per year (2008)
Yorkshire Dales: 8.3 million visitor days per year (1994)
Dartmoor: 4.53 million day visits per year (2003)
Peak District: no current figure
Exmoor: 2 million day visits per year (2008)
Northumberland: 1.4 million visitors per year (1994)
Largest settlements: The largest settlements in South Downs National Park are: Lewes (16,000), Petersfield (13,300), Midhurst and Liss (4,900) and Petworth (4,500)
(source: Agricultural Land Use Classification)
Key habitats:Key habitats within the South Downs National Park include chalk grassland (6,617ha or 4% of the National Park area, and 76% of the resource in the region), lowland heath (1,595ha or 1% of the National Park area), and floodplain grazing marsh (2431.07ha or 1.5% of the National Park area).(source: Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre & Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre 2010)
Woodland:Woodland covers 20% of the South Downs– approximately half of this is ancient woodland (17,427 hectares (ha) or 10.5% of the South Downs)(source: Local Accord between FC and SDJC, 2006)
This can be broken down by woodland type (ha) (data from Forestry Commission):
Broadleaved: 16,752.95
Coniferous: 4,521.33
Coppice: 1,231.00
Coppice with standards: 331.33
Felled: 2,490.13
Ground prepared for planting: 13.10
Mixed: 6,630.67
Shrub: 1,021.86
Young trees: 1,024.59
Highest point: The highest point in South Downs National Park is Blackdown in Sussex at 280 metres. In Hampshire, the highest point in the National Park is Butser Hill at 270 metres.
Rights of Way: There is approximately 3,282 km of public rights of way within the South Downs: 1813 km of footpath; 1213km of bridleway; 53km of restricted byways; 77km of byways open to all traffic (BOATS); and 176km of road used as a public path
River:There is 321km of main river within the South Downs National Park.(source: Environment Agency 2010)
Historic Environment:(source: English Heritage 2010)
Number of Scheduled Monuments 600
Number of Listed Buildings
grade I 150
grade II* 220
grade II 4783
Total 5153
Number of Parks and Gardens
grade I 2
grade II* 14
grade II 14
Total 30
Number of Registered Battlefields 2
Number of Conservation Areas 165
Farm Types in South Downs National Park:
44 Dairy Farms, 2.5% of the total
37 General Cropping Farms, 2.1% of the total
333 Grazing Livestock Farms (Lowland) 19.1% of the total
66 Horticulture Farms (3.7% of the total)
97 Mixed Farms (5.5% of the total)
842 Other Types (48.3% of the total)
Grazing Livestock (Lowland)
16 Specialist Pigs Farms (0.9% of the total)
54 Specialist Poultry Farms (3% of the total)
Farms which have their centroids within the National Park
1,742 - Taken from the 2007 June Agricultural Census
© South Downs National Park Authority - Copyright 2011