East Hampshire Downs / Sussex Downs
Rattling and bumping along little-used tracks at the edges of snow-covered fields, the progress of the farmer’s 4x4 is slow. Millions of people across Britain had awoken this morning to the inevitable travel chaos caused by a few centimetres of snow. But the conditions weren’t severe enough to prevent Tom Tupper, whose farming roots on the South Downs go back to 1811, from venturing up to 225-metre Bignor Hill to check on his herd of very special, and some might say ecologically important, sheep. From the top, we’re treated to fantastic 360° views across the southeast of England that, on a clear day, take in Bognor Regis, the Isle of Wight, Devil’s Dyke and the Hog’s Back (or North Downs), which stretches across Kent and Surrey.
Extending from near Winchester to Eastbourne, the South Downs is a ridge of chalk that runs parallel to the North Downs. Both ridges were once part of a chalk dome – or anticline – the centre of which has gradually eroded away into a flat area now known as the Weald. The landscape here represents several thousand years of human history, and a staggering number of archaeological sites are scattered throughout, including 670 Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Cissbury Ring, the second largest hill fort in England. A bewildering array of protection statuses are in place across the downs, including four National Nature Reserves and several Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The Seven Sisters Country Park and Beachy Head near Eastbourne are Heritage Coast sites, and much of the steep chalk slopes were designated an Environmentally Sensitive Area in 1987 because the rare remnants of ancient downland turf that cover them support a rich diversity of flowers and butterflies. In addition, the South Downs is the only area of chalk downland in the UK to have been considered and proposed as a national park – a status that it’s still chasing.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that the South Downs as a whole received any kind of protection under the AONB system. The problem was that the enormous chalk ridge transcended the boundaries of 15 local authorities, which made the process of protecting it quite complicated. The downs within East Hampshire were designated an AONB in 1962, but it took the Sussex Downs another four years to be designated. Combined, the AONBs cover most of the area proposed as a national park and are managed jointly by the South Downs Joint Committee (SDJC).The hold-up in the South Downs’ progress towards national park-hood is the result of an assessment by the National Park Commission, which found that heavy ploughing had severely diminished the region’s recreational potential. This is one of two crucial criteria that must be met by an area seeking national park status, the other being natural beauty, which the region has in abundance.
After both the First and Second World Wars, there was a drive to become more self-sufficient: farmers were paid to grow more crops and landowners were encouraged to plant trees for fuel and timber. “During the post-war era, the government gave farmers almost unlimited scope to intensify agriculture,” explains Neil Hill, SDJC’s Landscape Enhancement Initiative project coordinator. This intensive farming diminished much of the South Downs chalk grasslands – those characteristic rolling open hill-tops – which had been maintained by sheep grazing since the Bronze Age, enabling a very specialist community of plants and animals to exist there. At the right time of year, butterflies such as the rare silver spotted skipper, duke of Burgundy and Adonis blue can be seen fluttering between coniferous juniper trees and flowers such as the round-headed rampion, the protected early gentian and two types of orchid. Skylarks, corn buntings and grey partridges also benefit from the chalk grassland habitat.
Landscape managers soon realised that in order to maintain these communities, it was important to bring back the sheep. “Where you have sheep grazing, you get 30–40 species of flowering plant, and once you let it revert to scrubland, you get just ten,” explains Bruce Middleton, the SDJC’s northern area manager. Hill agrees. “If you take the sheep out of the equation, you ultimately end up with a forest of some description, usually secondary ash woodland which, ecologically, doesn’t have as much importance or diversity,” he says. But if it was to bring back the sheep and, ultimately, the grassland, the SDJC had a considerable task on its hands: it had to make sheep farming economically viable once more. So, in 2005, the SDJC, together with a company called South Downs Marketing, set up the South Downs lamb-branding initiative, a cooperative scheme whereby farmers have reintroduced the local breed – South Downs sheep – to their land to be reared for meat.
The scheme is having a big impact on the region: arable land is being reverted back to chalk grassland and the lambs are being slaughtered and distributed to independent butchers within the local area, so food miles are kept to a minimum and inhabitants and visitors to the South Downs are given the chance to support the local economy.Tupper has been involved in the scheme for three years, and being a commodity farmer at heart, he says he relished the chance to get involved in the local food chain. Last year, he raised 700 lambs for the scheme and is very happy with the higher price the scheme secures per lamb. “In round terms – it’s very difficult to compare like for like – the group that markets the product locally for us is earning us about Ł7 extra per lamb,” he says. The scheme is being rolled out to include other South Downs products, such as beef, wood and charcoal, which should all help to manage, conserve and even enhance the South Downs, no doubt helping its bid for national park status in the process.
As Geographical went to press, the inspectors’ report, upon which the ultimate decision hinges, had been with Barry Gardiner, the minister for biodiversity, landscape and rural affairs, for 14 months. Gardiner is due to pay the South Downs a visit over the next few weeks. “Perhaps he will declare the South Downs a national park – who knows,” says Phil Belden, the SDJC’s Countryside Services Manager with a wry smile. “Some of us have been waiting 70 to 80 years.”
An insiders’ guide to the best of the South Downs
“My favourite spot is the northern area of the South Downs, not just because that’s the area I’m manager of, but because it’s wooded. The underlying geology is very different to that of the western area.” Bruce Middleton, SDJC northern area manager “I’ve got favourite spots depending on my moods. One of them is a spot at the back of Brighton – a place called Balsdean, which is a deserted medieval village. The reason I like it is because it’s very beautiful, incredibly tranquil and it has fantastic chalk grassland flora and fauna. But most importantly, it’s within a stone’s throw of a huge housing estate called Woodingdean. And that’s really what I enjoy about the downs: literally within five-minute’s walk, as soon as you drop down into one of those creases or coombes, suddenly it feels as if you’re miles from anywhere.”Phil Belden, SDJC countryside services manager“My favourite spot would be the downs above Amberley – long views down the Arun valley to the castle at Arundel, far to the east and west along the steep scarp slope, and north across Amberley Wild Brooks to the wooded Weald. In winter, the flooded Brooks bring an air of wilderness; in spring and summer, the chalk grassland is alive with flowers and insects. Oh, and the Black Horse in Amberley is a fine pub. You can easily get there by train from Amberley Station, too.”
Bill Jenman, South Downs Way National Trail Officer
April 2007
Extending from near Winchester to Eastbourne, the South Downs is a ridge of chalk that runs parallel to the North Downs. Both ridges were once part of a chalk dome – or anticline – the centre of which has gradually eroded away into a flat area now known as the Weald. The landscape here represents several thousand years of human history, and a staggering number of archaeological sites are scattered throughout, including 670 Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Cissbury Ring, the second largest hill fort in England. A bewildering array of protection statuses are in place across the downs, including four National Nature Reserves and several Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The Seven Sisters Country Park and Beachy Head near Eastbourne are Heritage Coast sites, and much of the steep chalk slopes were designated an Environmentally Sensitive Area in 1987 because the rare remnants of ancient downland turf that cover them support a rich diversity of flowers and butterflies. In addition, the South Downs is the only area of chalk downland in the UK to have been considered and proposed as a national park – a status that it’s still chasing.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that the South Downs as a whole received any kind of protection under the AONB system. The problem was that the enormous chalk ridge transcended the boundaries of 15 local authorities, which made the process of protecting it quite complicated. The downs within East Hampshire were designated an AONB in 1962, but it took the Sussex Downs another four years to be designated. Combined, the AONBs cover most of the area proposed as a national park and are managed jointly by the South Downs Joint Committee (SDJC).The hold-up in the South Downs’ progress towards national park-hood is the result of an assessment by the National Park Commission, which found that heavy ploughing had severely diminished the region’s recreational potential. This is one of two crucial criteria that must be met by an area seeking national park status, the other being natural beauty, which the region has in abundance.
After both the First and Second World Wars, there was a drive to become more self-sufficient: farmers were paid to grow more crops and landowners were encouraged to plant trees for fuel and timber. “During the post-war era, the government gave farmers almost unlimited scope to intensify agriculture,” explains Neil Hill, SDJC’s Landscape Enhancement Initiative project coordinator. This intensive farming diminished much of the South Downs chalk grasslands – those characteristic rolling open hill-tops – which had been maintained by sheep grazing since the Bronze Age, enabling a very specialist community of plants and animals to exist there. At the right time of year, butterflies such as the rare silver spotted skipper, duke of Burgundy and Adonis blue can be seen fluttering between coniferous juniper trees and flowers such as the round-headed rampion, the protected early gentian and two types of orchid. Skylarks, corn buntings and grey partridges also benefit from the chalk grassland habitat.
Landscape managers soon realised that in order to maintain these communities, it was important to bring back the sheep. “Where you have sheep grazing, you get 30–40 species of flowering plant, and once you let it revert to scrubland, you get just ten,” explains Bruce Middleton, the SDJC’s northern area manager. Hill agrees. “If you take the sheep out of the equation, you ultimately end up with a forest of some description, usually secondary ash woodland which, ecologically, doesn’t have as much importance or diversity,” he says. But if it was to bring back the sheep and, ultimately, the grassland, the SDJC had a considerable task on its hands: it had to make sheep farming economically viable once more. So, in 2005, the SDJC, together with a company called South Downs Marketing, set up the South Downs lamb-branding initiative, a cooperative scheme whereby farmers have reintroduced the local breed – South Downs sheep – to their land to be reared for meat.
The scheme is having a big impact on the region: arable land is being reverted back to chalk grassland and the lambs are being slaughtered and distributed to independent butchers within the local area, so food miles are kept to a minimum and inhabitants and visitors to the South Downs are given the chance to support the local economy.Tupper has been involved in the scheme for three years, and being a commodity farmer at heart, he says he relished the chance to get involved in the local food chain. Last year, he raised 700 lambs for the scheme and is very happy with the higher price the scheme secures per lamb. “In round terms – it’s very difficult to compare like for like – the group that markets the product locally for us is earning us about Ł7 extra per lamb,” he says. The scheme is being rolled out to include other South Downs products, such as beef, wood and charcoal, which should all help to manage, conserve and even enhance the South Downs, no doubt helping its bid for national park status in the process.
As Geographical went to press, the inspectors’ report, upon which the ultimate decision hinges, had been with Barry Gardiner, the minister for biodiversity, landscape and rural affairs, for 14 months. Gardiner is due to pay the South Downs a visit over the next few weeks. “Perhaps he will declare the South Downs a national park – who knows,” says Phil Belden, the SDJC’s Countryside Services Manager with a wry smile. “Some of us have been waiting 70 to 80 years.”
An insiders’ guide to the best of the South Downs
“My favourite spot is the northern area of the South Downs, not just because that’s the area I’m manager of, but because it’s wooded. The underlying geology is very different to that of the western area.” Bruce Middleton, SDJC northern area manager “I’ve got favourite spots depending on my moods. One of them is a spot at the back of Brighton – a place called Balsdean, which is a deserted medieval village. The reason I like it is because it’s very beautiful, incredibly tranquil and it has fantastic chalk grassland flora and fauna. But most importantly, it’s within a stone’s throw of a huge housing estate called Woodingdean. And that’s really what I enjoy about the downs: literally within five-minute’s walk, as soon as you drop down into one of those creases or coombes, suddenly it feels as if you’re miles from anywhere.”Phil Belden, SDJC countryside services manager“My favourite spot would be the downs above Amberley – long views down the Arun valley to the castle at Arundel, far to the east and west along the steep scarp slope, and north across Amberley Wild Brooks to the wooded Weald. In winter, the flooded Brooks bring an air of wilderness; in spring and summer, the chalk grassland is alive with flowers and insects. Oh, and the Black Horse in Amberley is a fine pub. You can easily get there by train from Amberley Station, too.”
Bill Jenman, South Downs Way National Trail Officer
April 2007
