83-533: The Sussex Border Path is a long-distance footpath around the borders of Sussex , a historic county and former medieval kingdom in southern England . The main path is 150 miles (240 km) long and stays close to Sussex's borders with Hampshire , Surrey and Kent , connecting Thorney Island ( 50°49′16″N 0°55′16″W / 50.821°N 0.921°W / 50.821; -0.921 ) to Rye ( 50°56′56″N 0°43′44″E / 50.949°N 0.729°E / 50.949; 0.729 ). There
166-515: A Country Park. The Country Park is well known for its spring time display of Bluebells. The southern half, south of Folders Lane East, is managed by the Commoners Association, and there you can still see great egg yellow sheets of dyer's greenweed in early summer. The area has lost much of its wild beauty due to the mismanagement by a few farmers and neglect, but there is hope that the area can be restored if adequate resources are provided. It
249-453: A chapel (now called The Old Meeting House ) was built on the side of a late 17th-century house off East End Lane. It is now used by the Unitarian community and is full of polished woodwork. Emmanuel Chapel, used by an Evangelical congregation, was built in the early 20th century but may have had a predecessor elsewhere in the village. The Quaker community have a modern meeting house near
332-419: A frontier area disputed by various kingdoms until it later became part of Wessex. In 1974 the area of Sussex was divided into two ceremonial counties , East and West Sussex , and Sussex continues to formally exist as a historic county . The Mid Sussex Link follows the boundary between the current ceremonial counties of East and West Sussex. The Sussex Border Path begins at Thorney Island , now effectively
415-899: A large number of trekkers ( backpackers ). Typical trekking regions in Nepal are Annapurna , Dolpo , Langtang , Manaslu , Kangchenjunga and Mount Everest . In India, the Kashmir Valley is home to several trekking routes that traverse western sections of the Himalayas. Vishansar Lake , Gangabal Lake and Tarsar Lakes are accessible only through different trekking routes. Other popular trekking routes in India include Chandra Taal , Dzongri, Goechala, Gomukh , Hemkund , Kafni Glacier , Kailash - Manasarovar , Kedarnath , Kedartal , Milam Glacier , Nanda Devi Sanctuary , Pindari Glacier , Richenpong , Roopkund , Sar Pass , Satopanth Tal , Saurkundi Pass and
498-509: A long-distance route will be at least 50 km (30 mi) long, but many run for several hundred miles, or longer. Many routes are waymarked and may cross public or private land and/or follow existing rights of way . Generally, the surface is not specially prepared, and the ground can be rough and uneven in areas, except in places such as converted rail tracks or popular walking routes where stone-pitching and slabs have been laid to prevent erosion. In some places, official trails will have
581-830: A network of officially sanctioned footpaths in the United Kingdom which are well maintained and well waymarked across England and Wales. Examples are the Pennine Way and the South West Coast Path . The equivalent routes in Scotland are styled as Scotland's Great Trails ; they include the West Highland Way and the Speyside Way . The success of the Welsh government's 870-mile Wales Coast Path prompted an ongoing project of create
664-734: A peninsula that juts into Chichester Harbour . The path forms a 9-mile (14 km) circuit around the island; it then extends across the South Coast Plain to Emsworth on the Hampshire side of the River Ems, the river which forms the Sussex-Hampshire border at this location. The path continues over the chalk ridge of the South Downs and onto the Greensand Ridge of the western Weald . Here
747-644: A safe and easy hike in any season, as well as raising awareness of the importance of protecting natural spaces and adopting sustainable behaviors. Long Distance Nature Trails in Japan : In Brazil, long-distance trails are regulated by two Federal Government decrees, and implemented and managed by government agencies in partnership with many NGOs, such as the Brazilian Trails Network Association ( Associação Rede Brasileira de Trilhas in Portuguese) and
830-587: A series of connected pre-existing rights of way, roads and open country with some informal links between them. There is also a coast-to-coast mountain-bike route in northern England that has the same trailheads as the walkers' path. GR 10 is a French GR footpath that runs the length of the Pyrenees Mountains , roughly paralleling the French–Spanish border on the French side. It runs west to east, from Hendaye on
913-445: A similar geology to those of Stonehenge . Some of these have been removed from their original spot and put in the private garden of Standean Farmhouse. However, one cluster survives by Rocky Pond ( TQ 315 120 ) on the high slope north of Lower Standean. There are some beautiful old flint barns, including New Barn and its two hovels up on the eastern hillside. The old flint farmhouse and cottages were destroyed by Canadian forces during
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#1732847977052996-584: A similar route for England. When completed, the King Charles III England Coast Path will be around 2,700 miles long. There are many other recognised, sometimes waymarked, long-distance footpaths in the UK which do not have National Trail status. The Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) has the most comprehensive online database of long-distance paths in the UK, and members are able to download GPX files of routes. The association also maintains
1079-495: A small dairy farm call East End Farm, but the landowner has converted it and sensitively preserved the local landscape character and wildlife whist doing so. It is much loved park with many animals and camping. The field has meadow vetchling , oval and false fox sedge and are surrounded by ditches full of fleabane , meadowsweet and rushes, important archaic local plants. Eric Gill , the sculptor and letter cutter, came to Ditchling in 1907 with his apprentice Joseph Cribb and
1162-473: A stream just inside their entrance from the Haywards Heath Road ( TQ 336 192 ) that in spring host an extraordinary display of green winged orchids , with occasional cowslips and spring sedge . Other herbs and grasses of archaic clay meadows flower such as more wild orchids, oxeye daisy , yellow oat grass and common cat's ear . Stoneywish Country Park is a paying country park. It was originally
1245-453: A unitary cover of ancient flowery chalk grassland. They were broken up by agri-business farmers in the 1950s. Many areas of species-rich ancient grassland do survive, however, both on the scarp and in the dip slope 'Bottoms', though they carry too great a cover of invasive thorn scrub. The area is known for the endangered and rare birds, which come from southern climes to breed here. At 813 ft (248 metres) Ditchling Beacon ( TQ 331 130 )
1328-475: Is Ditchling Beacon . This whole scarp site is of biological importance due to its rare chalk grassland habitat. Unlike its neighbouring parishes, the natural world in this countryside is much more threatened by development. Much of its natural and historic cultural assets have been minimised in the face of this wave of regional overdevelopment. Ditchling Common is the very best of these assets and still holds an extraordinary assemblage of wildlife which thrive on
1411-550: Is Point Reyes , on the northern California coast at the Pacific Ocean. The Iditarod Trail connects the coastal cities of Seward and Nome, Alaska : a distance of around 1,600 kilometres (990 mi). The European long-distance paths (E-paths) traverse Europe, passing through many different countries. Among the longest are European walking route E8 and the Iron Curtain Trail (also known as EuroVelo 13). The latter
1494-475: Is a cognate of inge, an ethnonym for the Ingaevones said variously to mean "of Yngvi ," "family, people or followers of" or a genitive plural form of an inhabitant appellation. The place has been inhabited in some way or other for thousands of years. Above the village to the west is Lodge Hill ( TQ 324 155 ) there is evidence of Mesolithic people in the form of their flint tools. The terrace of
1577-545: Is a 250-acre farmed estate that run downs the Ditchling Common boundary. Their extensive grounds includes a big retirement village which squeezes the common and brings the urban world that little bit closer. It was once part of Shortfrith Chase, a baronial hunting ground, which was enclosed between 1622 and 1666. The area still maintains some important wild areas. The Retreat has preserved an amazing and now far too rare resource: four unimproved brook meadows on either side of
1660-577: Is a partially complete long-distance cycling route which will run along the entire length of the former Iron Curtain . During the period of the Cold War (c. 1947–1991), the Iron Curtain delineated the border between the Communist East and the capitalist West. Some of the longest walking routes worldwide: Long-distance mountain trails are of two broad kinds: linear trails and loop trails. In Europe
1743-605: Is also an additional 33-mile (53 km) spur known as the Mid Sussex Link, which links East Grinstead with Fishersgate and Mile Oak on the western boundary of the city of Brighton and Hove . The Sussex Border Path is not a National Trail , but when the England Coast Path National Trail is completed, its Sussex stretch will in combination with the Border Path make a route allowing a complete walk around
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#17328479770521826-419: Is also at the top of the slope top with the tormentil flower. In spring the hillside is tinted with early purple orchids and cowslips. There are many butterflies in summer too and dark green fritillary can be present. Bangs describes the view, "Dry grass bends before the breeze and betony , harebell , rampion and hawkbit colour-up the ground like a Turkish carpet". Dencher Bottom ( TQ 317 125 )
1909-494: Is an important area for wildlife including now rare plants, butterflies and moths. One hundred metres or so to the west from the bottom of the main Ditchling Bostals is Burnhouse Bostal which ascends the scarp from Underhill Lane and reaches the top above the velvety turf of the old quarries of Keymer Down. Along Burnhouse Bostal, the red listed birds of high conservation concern, spotted flycatcher , bred in 2021 indicating
1992-543: Is applicable to other rail trails that exist throughout the world: Following the route of the railways, they cut through hills, under roads, over embankments and across gullies and creeks. Apart from being great places to walk, cycle or horse ride, rail trails are linear conservation corridors protecting native plants and animals. They often link remnant vegetation in farming areas and contain valuable flora and fauna habitat. Wineries and other attractions are near many trails as well as B&B's and other great places to stay. In
2075-457: Is dry with colourful gorse. Chalkhill blue and brown argus butterflies bob and dance. In autumn, it has fungi such as boletes and amanitas which grow symbiotically with the sun-loving rockrose . The cooler, western slope is better for old meadow waxcap fungi. Across both slopes, eighteen species of fungi have been recorded including fairy clubs , pinkgills , crimson waxcap and scarlet hood . Special bees can be found here too, including
2158-456: Is no longer "improved" and old wildlife is returning. Hogtrough Bottom ( TQ 326 126 ) runs down to Dencher Bottom from Tenantry Down. It is largely unimproved and hence supports much archaic meadow plants. Juniper was here until the 1930s and ling heather , signifier of these clay-with-flints soils, is still present at the top slope, although it risks being swamped by surrounding Gorse. Dyer's Greenweed, another signifier of clay-with-flint,
2241-543: Is one school in Ditchling, Ditchling (St Margaret's) Church of England Primary School . This is a voluntary controlled primary school for children aged 2–11. In 2022, the school became an academy and joined the Hurst Education Trust, sponsored by the nearby independent school, Hurstpierpoint College . Many of the children after leaving this school go to Downlands Community School in the village of Hassocks located in
2324-455: Is open and mown on its south side where the graveyard of the nuns from St George's Retreat is located. Despite sitting on Weald Clay , it has considerable internal variety, particularly along the green lane track. Jointer Copse ( TQ 327 144 ) sits on Gault Clay and is a wet wood of young hazel coppice under old ash stools. You will also find in the woodland goldilocks buttercup , redcurrants , meadowsweet and angelica to complement
2407-496: Is still home to many butterflies including a well established colony of the rare black hairstreak butterfly which was first identified there in 2017. The south of the parish rises to the top of the Downs, and the scarp slope forms part of the Clayton to Offham Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest . These Ditchling Downs were one of the last surviving local landscapes mantled by
2490-509: Is strong, with nettle leaved bellflower under the hedge. I have never seen cowslips so abundant on a Wealden site. It is an extraordinary survival, and a tribute to its owner's loving care (2013)". Purchase Wood ( TQ 341 194 ) is to the east of the parish and is separated from West Wood by the Westmeston /Ditchling parish border and a wide green lane with braided tracks. It is an ancient woodland with wild service and big old trees, but it
2573-514: Is the highest point on the eastern Downs and offers far-reaching views across the Sussex Weald. It was an Iron Age Fort and has a number of barrows. There are three ancient bostals that descend the slopes and Clayton to Offham Escarpment , the central of which, Ditchling bostal, is now the busy motor road. They pass some of the best remaining chalk grasslands in East Sussex . Consequently, the area
Sussex Border Path - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-455: Is the longest marked multi-use trail in the world, stretching 5,330 kilometres (3,310 mi) from Cooktown, Queensland , through New South Wales to Healesville, Victoria . This non-motorised trail runs the length of the rugged Great Dividing Range through national parks and private property and alongside wilderness areas . One of the objectives was to develop a trail that linked up the brumby tracks, mustering and stock routes along
2739-426: Is unimproved and somewhat heathy ancient pasture, and its large old anthills speckle the valley slopes. There is the scarce chalk milkwort and devil's bit scabious . There are also interesting spiders such as purse-web spider, Atypus affinis , and boxing gloves spider, Alopecosa cuneata . The valley has two aspects: a shadier western slope and a hot south-facing slope. This latter slope can feel Mediterranean as it
2822-690: The Bay of Biscay to Banyuls-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean Sea . The American Discovery Trail is a hiking and biking trail that crosses the continental United States from east to west, across the mid-tier of the United States 10,900 kilometres (6,800 mi). Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The eastern terminus is the Delmarva Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the western terminus
2905-897: The Brittany Coast Path in France, the California Coastal Trail in the US, the South West Coast Path in England, the East Coast Trail in Canada, and the Otter Trail in South Africa. The King Charles III England Coast Path , in development by Natural England , will be around 4,350 kilometres (2,700 mi) long. It is expected to open by the end of 2024 as the longest coastal walking route in
2988-743: The EuroVelo routes. Some trails follow the towpaths of canal systems. A good example is the 845-kilometre (525 mi) New York State Canal System in New York . There also numerous routes that can be followed in Europe, which may be suitable for walkers, cyclists, horse riders and canoeists. Many long-distance trails have sections suitable for equestrians, and a few are suitable for horse riding throughout their length, or have been developed primarily for horse riding. The Bicentennial National Trail (BNT) in Australia
3071-605: The Pennine Bridleway , 192 km (119 miles), The Ridgeway , 139 km (86 miles), and the South Downs Way , 160 km (99 miles). Rail trails (or rail paths) are shared-use paths that make use of abandoned railway corridors. There are also rails with trails in the US that follow working rail tracks. Most rail trails have a gravel or dirt surface and can be used for walking, cycling, and often horse riding as well. The following description comes from Australia , but
3154-616: The Roman Greensand Way passes across its south flank. Though damaged in the past, Lodge Hill's sandy pasture has sheep's sorrel and sheep's fescue in similar fashion to Sandy Field at Danny House , which the Roman Road also crosses. The original village embraced both Clayton , Keymer and Wivelsfield . In the starting centuries of the Saxon settlement it was probably the capital of several Sussex 'regio', or microkingdoms, and controlled
3237-612: The Valley of Flowers . The Great Himalaya Trail is proposed to follow the Greater Himalaya Range from Namche Barwa in Tibet to Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, forming the world's highest mountain trail. A long-distance trail network in the southern Andes, the 3,000-kilometre (1,900 mi) Greater Patagonian Trail , was first described in 2014. It currently connects Santiago de Chile with
3320-644: The Via Alpina consists of five connected hiking trails across the alpine regions of Slovenia , Austria , Germany , Liechtenstein , Switzerland , Italy , France and Monaco . It is 5,000 km (3,100 miles) long, with 342 day stages. Circular routes include the Tour du Mont Blanc , which passes through the Alps of France, Switzerland, and Italy. In the Balkans region, the Peaks of
3403-418: The bellflower bee . When it's raining you can find them curled up inside harebell flowers, which they neatly fit, like little flower fairies. Game rearing pens exist in the area, some used, some unused. Ditchling's ex-Tenantry Down is a plateau ( TQ 326 126 ) that runs for over a mile south from Ditchling Beacon. It used to be one of Ditchling's two commons. It was a form of medieval common particular to
Sussex Border Path - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-451: The 1960s following a regime of summer hay cut and aftermath sheep grazing. David Bangs , a Sussex field naturalist, says, "It is a gem. In springtime drifts of Cowslips cover large parts, and, later on, there is abundant yellow rattle , ribwort plantain , knapweed , oxeye daisy and meadow barley . Adders tongue fern is very common. The mead lies half on the Gault , but the chalky influence
3569-723: The 6th and 7th centuries. To the west, Bede describes the boundary with the Kingdom of Wessex as being opposite the Isle of Wight, and which later fell on the River Ems. To the east at Romney Marsh and the River Limen (now called the River Rother or Kent Ditch), Sussex shared a border with the Kingdom of Kent . North of the Forest Ridge in the Wealden forest lay the sub-kingdom of Surrey, which became
3652-687: The Atlantic Forest Trail Institute. The aim is to create a national system of trails that are pleasant to hike, but that also generate employment and income and function as conservation tools by linking protected areas with natural corridors. There are more than 120 trails in different stages of implementation in 25 of the 27 Brazilian states , connecting all Brazilian biomes. As of January 2022, Brazil has more than 5,500 km of managed trails and another 20,500 km planned. Long-distance trails in Brazil: These follow coastlines; examples are
3735-713: The Balkans Trail and High Scardus Trail connect Albania , Kosovo and Montenegro or North Macedonia respectively through a network of combined almost 700 kilometres (430 mi). In the United States, notable linear trails include the Appalachian Trail , 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi), the Pacific Crest Trail , 4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) and the Continental Divide Trail , 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi). The first long-distance hiking trail in
3818-647: The Corbett Theatre on the University of Essex campus there. In January 2007, Ditchling featured in a five-part BBC Documentary entitled Storyville : A Very English Village . This was filmed, produced and directed by a Ditchling resident, but the series itself came under criticism from local residents. In the 2017 novel Rabbitman, by Michael Paraskos , the village was the setting for a Catholic Worker anarchist commune in an imagined post- Brexit dystopia. There are two Sites of Special Scientific Interest within
3901-649: The Ditchling Constable. The Corner is now used for public car parking for walking or mountain biking either east into High Park Wood or west towards North Bottom . North Bottom runs down from High Park Corner and is one route to Dencher Bottom . It has a northern slope ( TQ 323 119 ) which retains its soft and ancient sheep's fescue , with spring sedge and cowslip in spring and carline thistle , rampion and autumn ladies' tresses orchids in August and September. The upper part of North Bottom ( TQ 327 117 ) shows
3984-482: The Downs ridge top along the South Downs Way . Ditchling has a long history of Protestant Nonconformism . The village has four extant places of Christian worship and one former chapel. St Margaret's Church, founded in the 11th century, is the village's Anglican church. The fabric of the flint and sandstone building is mostly 13th-century, although the nave is original. Its large churchyard has big patches of tiny black earthtongues , which are fungi. In 1740,
4067-399: The Downs. The common included most of Ditchling Beacon's Iron Age hill fort and the heads of three dry valleys (North, Home and Hogtrough Bottom), two of which retain their rich old Down pastures. In 1978 the plateau part of the common was stripped of its common land status and is now privately owned by Tenantry Down Ltd. Had its common land status survived, we would all have public access to
4150-710: The Great Dividing Range, thus allowing one legally to ride the routes of stockmen and drovers who once traveled these areas with pack horses . The Bicentennial National Trail is suitable for self-reliant horse riders, fit walkers and mountain bike riders. In the United Kingdom, the British Horse Society is developing a network of horse trails known as the National Bridleroute Network . A number of long-distance multi-use trails have been created in England, including three National Trails :
4233-679: The LDWA National Trails Register, with different levels of membership for people who have completed five, 10, 15 or all 19 of the National Trails and Great Trails. An annual report is published in April in the association's magazine, Strider. The Kerry Way , in south-west Ireland, is the longest of the Irish waymarked trails and circumnavigates the highest mountain range in Ireland. Along with
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#17328479770524316-486: The Second World War, when these Downs were a military training ground. There is no designated Access Land on the farm despite its long ownership by Brighton Council. High Park Corner ( TQ 329 116 ) sits in the Ditchling parish, next to High Park Farm, which sits in Westmeston parish. The area used to be a favourite site for gypsy encampments. Unfortunately there are accounts of regular visits from farmers and other thugs using violence to evict them, often organised by
4399-421: The South Downs to Fishersgate , between Southwick and Portslade . Long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath , track, way, greenway ) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking , backpacking , cycling , horse riding or cross-country skiing . They exist on all continents except Antarctica. Many trails are marked on maps. Typically,
4482-655: The Southern Patagonian Icefield and explores the remote areas of the Patagonian Andes in the border region between Chile and Argentina. The entire network currently incorporates more than 16,000-kilometre (9,900 mi) of routes and provides many packrafting options. These routes have been constructed mainly for bicycle touring . Some are restricted to use by only non-motorized bikes while others are multi-use recreational (i.e. hiking, horseback riding, jogging, rollerblading or walking). Some long-distance cycling routes are hundreds of miles long, such as Australia's mainly off-road Munda Biddi Trail , or even thousands of miles, such as
4565-508: The US was begun in 1910 and named The Long Trail . Notable circular trails include the Tahoe Rim Trail and the Wonderland Trail (which encircles Mount Rainier ). The Australian Alps Walking Track traverses the alpine areas of Victoria , New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory . It is 655 km (407 miles) long, starting at Walhalla, Victoria , and running through to Tharwa, Australian Capital Territory near Canberra . The Himalayan routes are famous for attracting
4648-398: The US, the 43-kilometre (27 mi) Cheshire Rail Trail , in New Hampshire , can be used by hikers, horseback riders, snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, cyclists, or even dog-sledders. In Canada , following the abandonment of the Prince Edward Island Railway in 1989, the government of Prince Edward Island purchased the right-of-way to the entire railway system. The Confederation Trail
4731-432: The adjoining Dingle Way it is noted for its scenic views of the Atlantic , loughs and mountains. Long-distance trails in Hong Kong : Japan has a network of ten long-distance trails called Long Distance Nature Trails. Their creation is the result of a Ministry of Environment initiative to highlight the specific environmental, cultural or historic landscapes through which the trails pass. They also aim to allow hikers
4814-407: The area between the Adur and the Ouse . Later it is recorded that the Manor and its lands were held by King Alfred the Great (871–899). Alfred left it in his will to a kinsmen named Osferth , and it reverted to the Crown under Edward the Confessor . After the Norman Conquest , the land was held by William de Warenne . The Domesday Book of 1086 mentions a church and a mill in Ditchling, and
4897-442: The border with West Sussex . The settlement stands around a crossroads with Brighton and Hove to the south, Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath to the north, Keymer and Hassocks to the west, and Lewes to the east, and is built on a slight spur of land between the Downs to the south and Lodge Hill to the north. Ditchling Beacon , one of the highest points on the South Downs, overlooks the village. Ditchling Common , north of
4980-447: The centre of the village. The Beulah Strict Baptist Chapel (now a house) on East End Lane was in religious use between 1867 and the 1930s. Its church occupies a knoll at the crossways of the south–north watershed between the catchments of the Adur and the Ouse, and the east-west Roman Greensand Way. A huge Sarsen boulder, like those of Stone Henge , bulges out of the rubble retaining south wall of its churchyard. St George's Retreat
5063-454: The county. The path was first devised and published in 1983 by Ben Perkins and Aeneas Macintosh. The footpath uses existing rights of way to follow the Sussex county border and is waymarked. It is managed by volunteer teams from the Sussex area of the Ramblers . The path is waymarked with signs showing a martlet , the heraldic bird found on the Sussex flag and heraldic shield . Sussex's external boundaries probably crystallised around
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#17328479770525146-456: The creation of Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft in 1985, which was renovated and re-opened in 2013. East and north of Ditchling Common Lane, the fields are small and elongated. They were formed from the old strip-cultivated common fields. These Ditchling assarts have occasionally partially or completely escaped improvement for farming (thus improving the biodiversity). Grass snakes like this damp countryside. The best 'assart' meadows are at
5229-441: The damp Weald Clay grasslands. Ditchling has only retained its historic integrity thanks to the fierce defence by its residents, who have thwarted a bypass scheme and various built developments. Although is oppressed by through traffic, little fields come still close into the heart of the village. At Keymer , the Tileworks Clay Pit is now lost to housing development, but it was once a place where "searchers on hands and knees found
5312-510: The east side of Jointer Copse there are two ancient lanes, Nye Lane and Wellcroft Lane, that cross each other, and make "a delightful tangle of stream, gullies, small pits and wooded banks" below some old oak trees. Surrounding this crossways are three fields which have been designated SNCI ( Site of Nature Conservation Interest ) status. The fields west of, and adjacent to The Nye ( TQ 330 145 ) used to be rich in damp-loving valuable fen meadow plants, like sneezewort and pepper saxifrage , but
5395-402: The entire Down thanks to the passing of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act in 2000. The fragments of old Down pasture which survive there were not designated as Access Land , though they should have been. Hares seem to be doing well in this area. Ditchling is part of the electoral ward called Ditchling and Westmeston . The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 2,424. There
5478-415: The establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling. There are two public houses, The Bull and The White Horse; two cafes, The Nutmeg Tree and The Green Welly; a post office, florist, delicatessen and other shops. Ditchling has community groups and societies, including the Ditchling Film Society and the Ditchling Singers. The village lies at the foot of the South Downs in East Sussex, but very close to
5561-415: The importance of the SSSI . Standean Farm is in a peaceful valley 'dean', although the high ridges to the west and east suffer from the traffic noise of the A27 bypass, the London Road and the Ditchling Road. The farm was gentrified in aristocratic fashion in the eighteenth century, with many small plantations, which were given names evocative of modern pleasure landscapes, like Wonderhill Plantation. Like
5644-447: The majority of areas over the Downs, Standean's Down pastures were ploughed up for arable crops and hence do not support the traditional downland biodiversity. There is only one intact fragment left on the valley's west side between Lower Standean and North Bottom ( TQ 318 117 ). There are also many pen-reared, corn-fed partridges kept for recreational shooting. The area has a rich prehistory. There are two clusters of sarsen stones , of
5727-464: The north end, though some have been damaged and others do not seem safe from damage. One small meadow next to the brook forms a sedge fen ( TQ 335 168 ), dominated by oval sedge , with tufted hair grass , ragged robin , and spearwort (2011). In summer, it is alive with butterflies. Next to it a drier meadow has some betony and heath grass . It has clouds of burnet moths and Ichneumon flies of many colours, grass moths and grasshoppers . On
5810-409: The parish of Ditchling. Ditchling Common is of biological interest because of the variety of heath grassland habitats, created by the different drainage conditions throughout the common. The second site is Clayton to Offham Escarpment , which stretches from Hassocks in the west, passing through many parishes including Ditchling, to Lewes in the East. The most famous and highest peak of this escarpment
5893-405: The population was approximately 150 households. In 1095 there is mention of a manor house, what is now Wings Place . The land passed through several hands until in 1435 it was owned by the Marquess of Abergavenny who held it until the 20th century, when it was sold to developers who failed to get planning permission to build on it. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Old Meeting House in Ditchling
5976-413: The ridges of an old field system beneath its turf. On its north side there is early purple orchid in spring, chalkhill blue butterflies, rockrose , horseshoe vetch and spring sedge in summer and waxcaps in autumn. Home Bottom ( TQ 392 063 ) is another route to Dencher Bottom from Ditchling Beacon . The valley has already been damaged by agrochemicals, but as it is an SSSI Impact Risk Zone it
6059-478: The seventeenth century. The root itself is uncertain. The Old English word dic - which means "ditch, trench or dike" would appear to be inapplicable as the town sits on a hill. It has been suggested as Dicleah but refuted. Dic may in fact be an example of epenthesis , with the original root being ichen as is found throughout southeastern Britain. Attributions to a non-historical founder named Dicul are examples of founding myths . The suffix -ing
6142-522: The spring bluebells, ramsons and anemones, and the midland thorn and early dog violet . Ditchling Common is probably the best old Wealden grassland site in central Sussex. It has been described as "one of the most precious jewels in the crown of the Low Weald". The Common is now split into two. The northern half was bought from the commoners (who collectively owned it) in 1974 by East Sussex County Council , de-designated as common land, and designated as
6225-760: The surface specially prepared to make the going easier. Historically, and still nowadays in countries where most people move on foot or with pack animals, long-distance trails linked far away towns and regions. Such paths followed "logical" routes, that can be approximated to least-cost paths . GR footpaths are long-distance footpaths in Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal (the Alta Via (Italian), Grande Randonnée (French), Grote Routepaden or Lange-afstand-wandelpaden (Dutch), Grande Rota (Portuguese) or Gran Recorrido (Spanish)). National Trails are
6308-470: The teeth of miniature crocodiles and the scales of swampland fish". There are still many fine buildings in Ditchling. To the south of the church, there is a fine Tudor timber framed Wings Place with parts that are older still. There is an old drove going north from Lodge Hill which passes the lovingly restored Oldlands Mill ( TQ 321 162 ) (just over border in Hassocks Parish), a landmark visible from
6391-402: The traditional pastures have been converted to hard-grazed horse paddocks. The tropical looking marsh helleborine orchid which has become vanishingly rare in the 21st centrum used to be found in numbers here. South of The Nye, there is still the archaic Southmead meadow ( TQ 333 140 ) on Wellcroft Lane, which is still has much floristic value. It has retained its traditional management since
6474-697: The trail ascends Blackdown , the highest point in Sussex at 280 metres (920 ft) and the highest point on the Sussex Border Path. From Blackdown, the path continues into the Low Weald to Gatwick Airport and into the High Weald to the town of East Grinstead . From here the path descends to the Romney marshes to end in the historic town of Rye . The Mid Sussex Link begins at East Grinstead and passes through Sharpthorne and Scaynes Hill to Ditchling , then over
6557-521: The village, is one of jewels in the crown of the low weald and the source of the eastern River Adur . The earliest known appearance of the name is Dicelinga in AD 765, and was subsequently known as Dicelingas, Diccelingum, Dyccanlingum, Diceninges, Dicelinges, Digelinges, Dicheninges, Dicheling, Dichelyng, Dechelyng, Dichening(e), Dichyning(e), Digining, Dechenyng, Dichlinge, Dicheling, Dichening, Dychenynge and Dytcheling . The name took its current form in
6640-466: The world and Britain's longest National Trail . These may be cross-country paths, or may follow roads or other ways, and often intersect with many other trails. Examples are Wainwright's Coast-to-Coast path in northern England, and the GR 10 in France . The English Coast to Coast route, despite being amongst the best-known long-distance walking routes in England, is not an official National Trail , but simply
6723-468: Was an important centre for Baptists from the wider area, whose records and memorandum books allow a unique insight into a small rural religious community of the period. These records (in the East Sussex Record Office ) bear witness to often fractious and heated debates about morality and religion. In the 1960s, Ditchling's tithe barn was dismantled and moved to Loughton , where it now forms
6806-607: Was developed as a tip-to-tip walking and cycling gravel rail trail which doubles as a monitored and groomed snowmobile trail during the winter months, operated by the PEI Snowmobile Association. Ditchling Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex , England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park ; the order confirming
6889-501: Was soon followed by other craftsmen. In 1921 they founded the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, a Roman Catholic community of artists and craftsmen, inspired by ideas of the medieval guilds and the Arts and Crafts movement . The community had its own workshops and chapel, and thrived for many years. Its affairs were finally wound up in 1989, and the workshops demolished. The legacy of the Guild led to
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