“Down” is a southern English term for low to medium-sized hills. Downland is one of the characteristic landscapes of southern England, and is usually composed of chalk, but can also be sandy. The landscape is generally softly rolling, with many ridges and some steeper escarpments, though the peaks rarely exceed 200 metres in height. Apart from the South Downs, downland can also be found in the Chilterns (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire), the North Downs (East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex) and the North Wessex Downs (Berkshire, Hampshire and Wiltshire).

The South Downs are the remnants of the former Wealden Anticline, which stretched across Sussex, The chalk was laid down between 100 and 65 million years ago, on top of the weaker Greensand and Sandstone which makes up much of the Weald, the beds were then folded from 30 to 1 million years ago, the top of the chalk was then eroded, leaving two nearly parallel ridges, which is why the Downs form a long ridge. They are mirrored in the north by the North Downs.

The Downs have undergoing inhabitation since the Stone Age, with Britain’s earliest human remains dating from 500,000 years ago found at Boxgrove. The South Downs are home to some of Britain’s earliest mines, numerous camps, barrows, hill forts and figures on the hills. There are remains dating from the Bronze Age to the Second World War; the Battle of Lewes was fought on the Downs and in the Elizabethan times their height was used for beacons (this is preserved within names, such as Firle Beacon).

The South Downs extend about 70 miles (100 km) through East Sussex, West Sussex, and part of Hampshire. The South Downs Way is a bridleway that follows the South Downs. The Downs are penetrated by several rivers, such as the Cuckmere (its lower reaches form the famous meanders), the Ouse, the Adur, the Arun (passing through Arundel). The Views from the Downs take in some of the most beautiful countryside in the South East of England.