If you could divide Sussex into geological parts, it would probably be the Sussex coast, the South Downs and the Weald. The Weald stretches across East and West Sussex (although it also covers parts of Kent, Surrey and Hampshire) and is the counterbalance to the lofty chalk of the Downs.
The Weald is considered to be a Medieval landscape and has been recognised as an area since Saxon times. It is as diverse as it is large, but worth every minute spent exploring, as it yields up Medieval towns, wooded paths and droveways, stunning views, winding rivers and ridges and all sorts of wonders. So, although there may be more than ten wonders of the Weald, here are our top ten:
Battle Abbey
Battle Abbey was once a Benedictine abbey built on the site of the Battle of Hastings. It is Grade I listed. William the Conqueror may have started to build the abbey as penance for killing so many people during the invasion, although it was completed after he died in 1094. The abbey is now owned by English Heritage and is open to the public. After you’ve finished exploring the abbey ruins, walk down to the 1066 battlefield and listen to the faded cries of fallen soldiers and the sounds of a battle lost and won. This quiet field saw one of the most significant events in our Sussex history unfold.
Ashdown Forest
Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland and woodland in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has views of the North and South Downs and was a Medieval hunting forest created soon after the Norman conquest. It is also famous for being home to and inspiration for Winnie the Pooh and you can visit Pooh Sticks Bridge. Other attractions include a windmill at Nutley, a number of waterfalls, an abandoned garden and Ashdown Park. The forest is popular with horse riders and walkers and in the spring, you’ll find carpets of bluebells.
Herstmonceux Castle
Herstmonceux Castle is a brick-built castle, dating from 1441. It was commissioned by Sir Roger Fiennes, Treasurer to the Household of Henry VI. and is one of the oldest significant brick buildings still standing in England. The parks and gardens are Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. There is also a Grade II listed walled garden to the north of the castle and the Grade II* listed telescopes and workshops of the Herstmonceux Science Centre. The grounds are open to the public and the owners host a limited number of guided tours of the castle. As you approach down the long drive on a sunny day, and see it shimmering above its moat, it definitely has the wow factor!
Eridge Rocks
Tucked up near the Kent border near Tunbridge Wells, Eridge Rocks are a sandstone outcrop of giant 10 metre high boulders designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. They are 135 million years old when this part of the world was pretty much a swamp and the ridge of rocks extends 800 metres. Contained within a nature reserve, and free to visit, the rocks are home to rare lichens, mosses, and liverworts and you can walk along the base of the rocks, peep into the crack, gulls and crevasses and walk along the top. But do take care.
Follies of the Weald
The Weald is home to some unusual follies. Not far from Crowborough and Eridge, the Saxonbury Tower was built in 1828 by Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny. It was built in the centre of a late Bronze Age/early Iron Age hillfort, situated on top of Saxonbury Hill and might have been a lookout tower. Today it is used by a telephone company but it’s still very enigmatic.
The Gibraltar Tower in Heathfield Park is a Grade II listed monument that was once sketched by Turner. It dates from 1792 and was built by Francis Newbery as a memorial to the former owner of the estate, George Augustus Eliot, who had been Governor at Gibraltar during the lengthy ‘Great Siege’ by the Spanish and French of 1779-1783.
Finally, look out for the series of follies built by Jack Fuller, aka Mad Jack. A philanthropist, an MP and High Sheriff, he also financed the building of the Belle Tout lighthouse at Beachy Head and was a supporter of Eastbourne Lifeboats. But he is perhaps best known for the follies he built across East Sussex. These are: the Sugar Loaf (near Dallington), the Pyramid and the Tower (Brightling), and the Observatory and the Needle (both on private land near Brightling).
Ouse Valley Viaduct
The Ouse Valley Viaduct (aka the Balcombe Viaduct) is on the main London to Brighton train line over the river Ouse. It is often called the most elegant viaduct in Britain and it must also be one of the most photographed. Work started on it in 1839 and it is 29 m high and has 37 semi-circular arches spanning a total length of 450 m. It officially opened on the 12 July 1841. It is Grade II* and you can walk from Ardingly Reservoir right to the foot of the viaduct.
Worth Church
The Parish Church of St Nicholas at Worth has been a place of Christian worship for over 1000 years. Excluding Ripon Cathedral and Hexham Abbey, St Nicholas’ Worth is the 11th oldest church in the country, and one of, if not the oldest church in Sussex. It dates from about A.D.950 and is often described as the most perfect specimen of a Saxon cruciform church in England. 99% of the walls of the nave, the three great arches and the two transepts are original Saxon work. The stonework of the apse is also Saxon and the large chancel is unique for an English church of this age.
East Grinstead High Street and the Meridien Line
East Grinstead High Street contains one of the longest continuous runs of 14th-century timber-framed buildings in England. The High Street was designed as a market place and there are 19 timber framed houses from the 14th and 15th centuries, with another 13 from the Tudor and Stewart periods including Sackville College built in 1609 and a 16th / 17th century church. The Greenwich Meridian runs through the grounds of the historic 1769 East Court mansion.
Petworth House and Park
Long before the current mansion was built, there was a house here, which was fortified in 1308-9. Inspired by the rebuilding of the French palace of Versailles from 1661, it was in 1682 that heiress Elizabeth Percy married Charles Seymour the 6th Duke of Somerset and set about creating the current building. Petworth House is therefore 17th century and home to one of the finest art collections in the care of the National Trust with work by Van Dyck, Turner, Reynolds and Gainsborough.
Outside, the Pleasure Garden features architectural features like the Rotunda, while the 700-acre Deer Park was transformed in the 1750s and 60s by the landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and is still home to ancient trees and fallow deer.
Blackdown
Blackdown, or Black Down, is the highest point in both the historic county of Sussex and the South Downs National Park. It is also one of the highest points in the south east of England and has a summit elevation of 279.7 metres. It was once home to Lord Tennyson and Tennyson’s Lane is named after him. Blackdown is home to the famous Belted Galloway cows that you may see grazing there and ownership of the Blackdown Estate can be traced back to the 14th century to William Yaldwyn of Blackdown. Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed at Blackdown during the Civil War and in 1967, it was the scene of a domestic plane crash. It is a fabulous place to walk and on a clear day, you can see the sea from the Temple of the Winds.
Have you visited all ten yet?
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