Places to Visit THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Ardingly Reservoir nr Haywards Heath. Walks & limited cycling, watersports, 01444 892549 Ashdown Forest Centre Wych Cross, RH18 5JP. Once a Norman deer hunting forest, now the largest free public access space in the southeast & the ‘home’ of Winnie the Pooh, 01342 823583 Beachy Head Countryside & Visitor Centre walks, shop & breath-taking views, 01323 737273 (opens late March) Beacon Bikes Albourne BN6 9BQ. Electric bike hire, family & pet friendly cafe, homemade cakes/ savouries; all-weather football pitch, safe area for children to cycle, play and run around, 07542 188 633 Bedgebury Pinetum Goudhurst TN17 2SJ. 2,000-acre forest with numerous walks, cycle hire, cycling trails, mountain bike & dirt jump area, adventure play trail, cafe. Bewl Water Lamberhurst TN3 8JH. Walks, aqua park, cycling, bike hire, fishing, boat trips, adventure playground, mini golf & laser tag challenge, 01892 628314 Blakers Park is a well-loved space in the Fiveways area BN1 6FG. Although compact, it has a small friendly café, tennis courts, recently renovated playground, has a distinctive Victorian clocktower. Boating from The Anchor Inn, Barcombe, Lewes BN8 5EA. Rowing boat or pedalo hourly hire for up to 6 people, 01273 400414 Borde Hill Garden Haywards Heath RH16 1XP. With 17-acre garden, woodland walks, outdoor adventure playground, zip wire & children’s holiday themed trails, 01444 450326 (see competition) Burgess Hill BMX track RH15 8RW. The Burgess Hill BMX track opened in 2014 in Leylands Park. Cuckmere Valley Seaford BN26 5TT. A haven for wildlife & great for kite flying, High & Over hill, chalk horse & stunning views of the Seven Sisters & the valley. Devil’s Dyke, Poynings BN1 8YJ. Longest, deepest & widest ‘dry valley’ in the UK. The ramparts or walls of the Iron Age hill fort can be seen as well the remains of a curious Victorian funfair. Ditchling Beacon, 2nd highest point in the South Downs NP, spectacular views across the Weald. One of a chain of fires lit to warn of impending invasions, once an Iron Age hill-fort with its steep slope used as defence. Easthill Park Portslade. Walks, cafe, walled garden, wildflower area, playground, foot/basketball court, picnic areas, wild gym & dog-friendly areas, 01273 292929
Friston Forest Exceat, west of Eastbourne off the A259, walks, cycling, mountain biking, picnic tables, BBQs & children’s play area. Hampden Park Eastbourne BN22 9QN. Recreation facilities incl playground, BMX skate facility, café. Large lake with pushchairs & wheelchair accessible path. Hove Lagoon & paddling pool, enclosed playground located on the seafront, Big Beach Café, skate park & picnic tables. Hove Park almost 40 acres of open grass, mature trees & recreational facilities, playground, climbing rock, trim trail, café & seasonal miniature Hove Park Railway. Kings Road Playground & Paddling Pool Brighton, west of the West Pier, mushroom spout, water pads, castles & toys, plus sand, 01273 290290 Living Coast cycle route, series of bike ride (easy to hard) along the rich landscape, wildlife & heritage of the Living Coast. Newhaven Skatepark & Pumptrack BN9 9DL nr Newhaven Fort. Re-developed skatepark & dirt jumps. Peacehaven Big Park, BN10 8RH skate park, playgrounds, natural play spaces, climbing wall, seating, grassed pitch, café, footpaths & links to the South Downs. Peter Pan Park, Madeira Drive, Brighton BN2 1EN. Seafront adventure playground with slides, water spouts, climbing frames, open-air café, toilets & its own train stop on the Volks Electric Railway. Preston Park Brighton BN1 6HN. Largest urban park in the city, playground & cycle velodrome, large rockery, walled garden & two cafés. Queens Park Brighton BN2 0QU. Wildlife garden planted by a local herbalist, grade II listed clock tower built in 1915 from Redbrick & Portland stone, playground, tennis courts, orienteering, wildlife pond, garden & café, 01273 292929 Railway Land Nature Reserve Lewes BN7 2FG. 20+ acres of meadowland & woodland reclaimed from the old rail yards, accessible by wheelchair & Linklater Pavilion, 01273 477101 Rye Harbour Nature Reserve TN31 7TX. Explore the saltmarsh on a guided walk & Discovery Centre, 01797 227784 Saunders Park Lewes Road, Brighton, BN2 4AE (by Sainsbury’s). Play area, summer paddling pool opens each year in early May. Seaford Head Local Nature Reserve BN25 4JQ. Cliffs, downland, grassland & shingle beach, home to many nationally rare species of plant, bird & insect. Enjoy peaceful walks & stunning views of the Seven Sisters & Cuckmere Valley. Seven Sisters Country Park, between Seaford & East Dean off the A259. 280 hectares of chalk cliffs, meandering river valley, open chalk grassland, bird watching, rock pooling, cycling to the beach & canoeing on the meanders. Stoneham Park Hove, playground, The Snug café, rock garden, football, basketball.
Stanmer Park Falmer. Landscaped park, walks & two football pitches plus Stanmer village, Earthship Brighton & One Garden Stanmer Park’s walled garden, plant nurseries, café, market, workshop & events. St Ann’s Well Gardens nr Hove seafront. Scented garden for the visually impaired, a scented garden for the visually impaired & a wellstocked pond, playground, tennis courts & the Garden Cafe Sussex Prairie Garden Henfield BN5 9AT. Britain’s largest ‘Prairie’ or ‘Naturalistic’ garden, with eight acres of stunning garden to roam around, from June, 01273 495902 Tilgate Park Crawley RH10 5PQ. Outdoor play area, hedge maze, tea shop, woodland & lakeside walks, Go Ape, Golf Centre, water sports & Tilgate Nature Centre – a small BIAZA-accredited zoo. The Level, central Brighton. Playground for children of all ages & abilities, incl. those in wheelchairs, sand play area, petanque terrain, skate park, table tennis tables, sensory gardens & café building, toilets, incl. disabled toilet.
Three Corned Copse Hove, a triangle of partly wooded downland from Hove Park to the South Downs National Park between Woodland Drive and Woodland Ave, . Undercliff Walk just over 5km from Brighton Marina to Saltdean, for both both cyclists & pedestrians. Can be very wet when the waves splash over the seawall! Wilderness Wood nr Uckfield TN22 4HJ. acres of woodland & nature trails, children’s activities, café & shop. Wey & Arun Canal Centre located behind the Onslow Arms in Loxwood RH14 0RD. Canoes, kayaks, SUPs & small craft are welcome, circular walks, 01403 753999 Wolstonbury Hill, South Downs, Pyecombe BN45 7FN, important landmark for thousands of years, Iron Age farmers grazed animals on its summit & the Romans left pottery remains on its slopes. Woods Mill Nature Reserve Henfield BN5 9SD. HQ of Sussex Wildlife Trust, 47-acre nature reserve, woodland, meadows & a reed-fringed lake, free, no dogs, 01273 92630
BLUEBELL WOODLAND WALKS Here is a selection of places you can visit around Sussex, between mid-April to mid-May, to admire bluebell-carpeted woodlands. To the East: Stanmer Park, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RE - beautiful woodland walks and extensive open lands. Accessible by bus/train/car [parking charge] Heaven Farm, nr Uckfield TN22 3RG, ancient bluebell woodland nature trail, feed the carps and treat yourself to a Latchetts’ ice cream! [entry fee] Wilderness Wood Main Road, Hadlow Down, TN22 4HJ (n/r Uckfield) The Arlington Bluebell Walk & Farm Trail, Bates Green Farm, Arlington, Polegate BN26 6SH [entry fee] Brede High Woods, north of Hastings, High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Free car parks available at Brede High Woods. To the West: Butchers Wood, Clayton, Hassocks BN6 9PH, ancient oak woodland, start from the Hassocks train station and take the path off Keymer Rd (southeast of the railway line). Butler’s Copse, between Angmering & Arundel BN18 9PX, free parking at the end of Dover Lane. National Trust Woodlands [free for NT members, entry fee apply]: From West to East: Slindon Estate Arundel BN18 0RG, Nymans, Handcross RH17 6EB, Wakehurst Botanical Gardens, Ardingly RH17 6TN [parking fee apply], Standen House & Garden, nr East Grinstead RH19 4NE, Sheffield Park Garden, nr Uckfield TN22 3QX. Sussex Wildlife Trust Nature Reserves: From West to East: Woods Mill Nature Reserve nr Henfield BN5 9SD [no dog allowed], Ebernoe Common nr Petworth GU28 9LD and The Mens nr Billingshurst RH14 0HR, Selwyns Wood nr Heathfield TN21 0QN, Flatropers Wood nr Peasmarsh TN31 6TH, Marline Valley nr Hastings TN38 9NY. Check the National Trust website to find out 6 things you might not know about bluebells and tips on how to take great pics of bluebells. Source: Woodland Trust, National Trust, Sussex Wildlife Trust
Please our fantastic advertisers that email: you saw them in the Family Grapevine! To addtell a FREE listing or advertise please bettina@thefamilygrapevine.co.uk
23
