If you want to see the best that the UK’s skies have to offer then this national park is the perfect spot for a weekend getaway or a day trip.

South Downs National Park offers some of the clearest night skies in Britain stretching from Winchester to Eastbourne through Hampshire, as well as West and East Sussex. It's also England’s newest national park, becoming designated in 2010.

Six years after opening it was granted an International Dark Skies Reserve and now holds an annual Dark Skies Festival between the 13th and 23rd of February.

Some of the best spots for stargazing in the park include Old Winchester Hill, Butser Hill, Birling Gap, and Bignor Hill.

The park has much more to offer than just star gazing however. Covering more than 1600 square kilometres there’s something for everyone including kayaking, fishing, nature walks, picnic spots and more.

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This park is known as one of Britain's breathing spaces and is perfect for a long leisurely walk through nature.

Once you’ve worked up an appetite by filling your lungs with crisp fresh autumn air, you can take the 167 Village Rider bus towards Lewes from Hassocks train station, stopping off in the chocolate-box village of Ditchling. This village boasts some of the best sparkling wine in all of England and not one but two gorgeous vineyards.

There’s also plenty of delicious food - one iconic location is the Ditchling Bull pub in the centre of the village. Winner of the Best Freehouse at the 2019 Great British Pub Awards, the Ditchling Bull serves up traditional British pub food with locally-sourced ingredients.

To get to the National Park and its surrounding villages you can hop on a train from London’s Victoria and travel to Hassocks Train Station. By rail the journey takes just under three hours.