20 Attractions to Explore Near South Downs National Park

Cowdray Park is a country house at the centre of the 16,500-acre Cowdray Estate in Midhurst, West Sussex. The estate is home to the Cowdray Park Polo Club, one of the leading polo clubs in the United Kingdom. The park lies in the South Downs National Park. The estate belongs to Viscount Cowdray, whose family have owned it since 1908. It has a golf course, and it offers clay pigeon shooting and corporate activity days, as well as the more traditional activities of agriculture, forestry and prope

Woolbeding Gardens is a National Trust property at the heart of the Rother Valley and in the middle of the South Downs Dark Sky Reserve. Wild and open hills and commons make for fantastic walks during the day and the dark skies mean this is an ideal stargazing location. It was Nestled in a quiet corner of West Sussex lies a true horticultural haven bursting with colourful planting, sensational views and a whole host of surprises.

Hollycombe Steam in the Country, situated on the Hampshire and Sussex border, is home to Britain's largest collection of working steam, with two working steam railways. It has some of the oldest and most thrilling fairground rides of their day including the world's first white-knuckle ride, the 'Razzle Dazzle'. The collection also includes the beautiful Golden Gallopers with an original Gaviolli Fairground Organ, steam-powered Chair-o-planes and a Big Wheel.

The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1991. It is also one of the highest points in the south east of England, exceeded by Walbury Hill and Leith Hill. Blackdown is protected as part of the South Downs National Park.

Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Salvin. It contains intricate wood-carvings by Grinling Gibbons. It is the manor house of the manor of Petworth. For centuries it was the southern home for the Percy family, Earls of Northumberland.

The Weald and Downland Living Museum is an open-air museum in Singleton, West Sussex, which covers 40 acres, with over 50 historic buildings dating from 950AD to the 19th century, along with gardens, farm animals, walks and a mill pond. The museum principally promotes the retention of buildings on their original sites unless there is no alternative, and encourages an informed and sympathetic approach to their preservation and continuing use.

West Dean House is a large flint-faced manor house situated in West Dean, West Sussex, near the historic City of Chichester. This country estate has approximately 6,350 acres of land and dates back to 1086, with various royal connections throughout the years. In 1971 the Estate became the home of West Dean College, a centre of study of conservation, arts, crafts, writing, gardening, and music.

Harting Downs is a 336.3-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Midhurst in West Sussex. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and an area of 206.6 hectares. This site consists of several parallel valleys on the steep slope of the South Downs. Habitats are chalk grassland, which is being invaded by scrub, together with areas of long-established woodland Oneof the beautiful trekking areas and also you can spend some peaceful time here.

Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in late July and early August, which is one of the highlights of the British flat racing calendar, and is home to three of the UK's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the Sussex Stakes, the Goodwood Cup and the Nassau Stakes.

Haslemere Educational Museum was founded in 1888 by the eminent surgeon Sir Jonathan Hutchinson to display his growing collection of natural history specimens. The museum holds diverse collections relating to Geology, Natural History and Human History, as well as being a resource of local history. It has three permanent galleries, education room, two temporary exhibition rooms, library, archive, lecture hall and garden and so more.

Uppark is a 17th-century house in South Harting, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade I listed building and a National Trust property. It was one of the iconic attractions in this area and is famous for its architecture and history. The house is open to the public most days of the year other than Christmas.

Bignor Roman Villa is the stunning remains of a Roman home with world-class mosaic floors in a spectacular Downland setting. One of the largest villas open to the public in Great Britain, with some of the finest mosaics all in-situ and all undercover. The rooms on display today are mostly located at the west end of the north wing, including a summer and winter dining room. The bathhouse is to the southeast. The rooms contain some of the best Roman mosaics to be found in Great Britain, both in te

Goodwood is a traditional country estate of 12,000 acres. Its natural beauty, set amongst rolling Downland and legendary hospitality are perfect reasons to visit Chichester. It has drawn people to it throughout three centuries of ownership by the Dukes of Richmond. The house and its grounds are the site of the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, whilst elsewhere on the estate the Goodwood Circuit motorsport track at Chichester/Goodwood Airport hosts the annual Goodwood Revival, and the airfield

A beautiful woodland garden of over 25 acres renowned for its captivating beauty and tranquillity. Famous for its stunning collection of rhododendrons and azaleas, the garden was established in the 1900s with influences from the Japanese gardens, it now stretches over twenty acres. The house and grounds are also available for private hire for weddings and events.

Kingley Vale is a 204.4-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Chichester in West Sussex. It is also a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. An area of 147.9 hectares is a national nature reserve. The site is managed by Natural England. It has an information centre and a nature trail. There is a large area of grass downland and shrubland with a number of old yew trees. From the top there are views over Sussex and the south coast. Th

The Devil’s Punchbowl is a unique 1,310 acre geological wonder where visitors can walk, hike or take a horseback ride on a 7.5 mile round-trip trail through a deep canyon formed by the runoff of large quantities of water from the higher San Gabriel Mountains. The Punch Bowl is a large natural amphitheatre and is the source of many stories about the area. The London to Portsmouth road skirted the rim of the site before the Hindhead Tunnel was built in 2011.

Boxgrove Priory is a ruined priory in the village of Boxgrove in Sussex. It was founded in the 12th century. In a beautiful setting at the foot of the South Downs, the principal remains include a fine two-storey guest house, roofless but standing to its full height at the gable ends. The priory church became Boxgrove’s parish church after the Suppression of the Monasteries and is still in use.

Slindon Estate is 3500 acres of Sussex woodland, farmland, downland and pretty village all divided by paths, hedges, lanes and tracks. You can explore the estate by 25 miles of public footpaths and bridleways as well as over 900 acres of open access woodland. Springtime is the perfect time to visit to see lambing at Gaston Farm, and to take a beautiful bluebell walk through the woodlands of Nore Hill.

Denmans is a superb 20th century garden of about 1.5 ha, planted for all year interest. It was once the food production part of the Denmans Estate, started as a market garden in 1946 under the ownership of Joyce Robinson and her husband who grew vegetables and cut flowers for the Covent Garden Market in London. Mrs. Robinson began gardening and writing about plants for her own pleasure in the 1950’s and became an extremely knowledgeable plantswoman, on par with Margery Fish and Beth Chatto thou

The Tangmere Military Aviation Museum is a museum located on the former site of RAF Tangmere, West Sussex. Its exhibits depicting 70 years of military aviation in Sussex, with special emphasis on the RAF at Tangmere and the air war over southern England from 1939 to 1945. Many aerospace exhibits covering the First World War to the Cold War are on display including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and aircraft engines.