![]() This route then takes you over three of the sisters, Flat Hill, Baily’s Hill and Michel Dean, before rejoining the main route at Birling Gap.įrom Birling Gap, this walk takes a lonely inland route, but if you inexplicably prefer a crowded coastal alternative via Beachy Head you could follow the directions in #cw2.28 Book 2 Walk 28, Seaford to Eastbourne. ![]() You might wish to use the time saved by taking one of the above options to extend the walk later on! For example as noted in the text, from either Crowlink Lane (Friston) or Went Way (East Dean) it is possible to access the Seven Sisters via Flagstaff Brow. Again these options avoid the best of the hill walking, but you do see more of Lullington Heath Nature Reserve. Other options are possible by taking the path West at GR553018 (as described in the text). Note that if you go this way you miss out on the exhilarating hill walking in Section 3. Note also that bus 13X runs via Birling Gap on Sundays (but only three return journeys a day).Ī more direct route from Jevington to Friston Forest is described in the text. You can catch the bus from either Friston Pond or East Dean. The easiest way to reduce the distance would be to divide it in to two stages, taking advantage of the excellent 12X/12/12A bus service which runs very regularly to Eastbourne and to Seaford/Brighton. This is a long walk, so you probably won’t want to lengthen it! The Forest is now almost pure beech with patches of pine and sycamore. ![]() The conifers, which grow much faster than the harder beechwood, were successively cut down and sold for pulp as the beech flourished. The intention was to establish a beech forest with conifers as protection. Planting of the Forest to protect Eastbourne’s water supply was started in 1926 by the Forestry Commission who leased it from the water company. In 1908 Eastbourne Waterworks Company (later South East Water) bought the downland on which Friston Forest now stands. A very helpful leaflet is available at the reserve and can also be downloaded from the Natural England website, including a map which marks nature trails through the site. Over 250 types of plant grow here and 98 bird species have been spotted, along with hundreds of different insects and other animals such as badgers, foxes, rabbit, stoats, weasels, mice, voles and shrews. Today the NNR is a mixture of chalk heath, bushes, chalk grassland and valley grassland. In the 1970s sheep were welcomed back, to maintain the short turf of the chalk heath. Chalk heath occurs where acid soils are deposited on alkaline chalk. Lullington Heath NNR was established in 1955 to conserve one of the few remaining areas of chalk heath in Britain. After World War Two, grazing was stopped to prevent water pollution. From about 400 AD the Downs were used primarily for sheep grazing, allowing grasslands and chalk heath to develop. Excavations have uncovered pottery from as far back as 500 BC. Neolithic farmers cleared this area of forestry and cultivated the soil, establishing a network of fields. A rare elm cultivar ‘Serpentina’ grows in the grounds. Jevington parish church (St Andrew’s) contains Saxon elements (including a tower) as well as many other medieval architectural features, including a 14th-century font. After various adventures he was convicted of horse stealing in 1799 and sentenced to 14 years at Botany Bay. He shortly returned, but this time was captured after being discovered hiding in the loft. The constables were too slow to react and he made his escape by horse. He escaped by quickly donning women's clothes, dashing outside, and feigning hysterics. In 1788 an attempt to arrest Jigg was made by a party of armed constables as he played cards inside the inn. He stored his contraband in the inn which is now the Eight Bells. His activities were well documented in reports and newspaper accounts at the time. In the 1780s this was a renowned area for smuggling organised by James Pettit, known as 'Jevington Jigg', the local innkeeper and leader of a local gang. You visit the twin villages of Friston and East Dean, then finally reach the sea at Birling Gap, only to immediately turn inland again, across quiet farmland to Warren Hill and the final descent in to Eastbourne. Then you climb up to the Eastern- most ridges of the South Downs, between Windover Hill and Wilmington Hill, with tantalising sea views, before turning South to the more sheltered terrain of Lullington Heath, Snap Hill and Friston Forest. In between you contour around the woods of Babylon Down and down to Jevington. The walk is book-ended by two of Eastbourne’s favourite playgrounds, Hampden Park and Little Chelsea. ![]() OS Explorer OL25 (Eastbourne & Beachy Head). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |