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Clayton to Offham Escarpment is a linear biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which runs from Clayton in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
to Lewes in East Sussex. Its ownership and management is divided between over fifteen landowners and farmers. Parts of Ditchling's Downs, e.g. , and the scarp between Blackcap and Mount Harry, e.g. , are owned by the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
. What remains of Ditchling Tenantry Down common () at Ditchling Beacon is leased to the
Sussex Wildlife Trust The Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) is a conservation charity which aims to protect natural life in Sussex. It was founded in 1961 and is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the UK and the Isle of Man and Alderney. , it has 33,000 members and manages ...
. Unlike the scarp top, the steeply sloping chalk grassland of the escarpment has been spared modern farming ploughing, fertilising and spraying of herbicides. Instead the area has been used for traditional low-level animal grazing and as a consequence the site is still pristine chalk grassland, which has created a ten kilometre stretch of wild flower meadows. Such areas have been described as Europe's tropical rainforests and the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
tell us, "They're home to an ''incredibly'' rich and diverse range of plant and insect life". Up to 40 species of flowering plants can be found in one square metre of chalk grassland. The particular character of this range of hills is their north facing aspect, meaning they can be shadowy and receive less sunlight. There is glaucous sedge, autumn gentian,
marjoram Marjoram (; ''Origanum majorana'') is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marj ...
and squinancywort. There are several species of wild, native orchid and the area is rich in mosses and liverworts. The botanical richness means it also supports biodiverse fauna. There are also areas of ancient woodland and ancient scrub and the site has a rich community of breeding birds, and a number of red listed bird species in the highest conservation concern category.


Escarpment bostals

There are at least eleven named bostals, ancient paths, that run up and down the scarp and many more unnamed. Traditionally the bostal tracks were used by shepherds taking the sheep flocks onto the Downs to graze each morning and by peasants taking cattle, pigs, hay, crops, wood, minerals and other products back and forth between the coast-ward manors and their wealden outliers. They are generally very steep and many of them have cut deep into the chalk. The name bostal may come from the combination of beorg (rounded hill) and stigel (small steep hill path). Beorg is also the origin of the word ‘barrow’ - the prehistoric burial mounds - because it denoted a small round, often artificial hill. From west to east the named bostals on the escarpment include Clayton Bostal, Keymer Bostal, Burnhouse Bostal, Ditchling Bostal, Middleton Bostal, Westemeston Bostal, Streat Bostal, Plumpton Bostal, Novington Bostal, Warningore Bostal and Offham Bostal. The above diagram shows the bostals and scarp peaks in their relative positions from west to east. The bostals positions are from the bottom, north of the scarp. They reach the top in different positions as many of them traverse the scarp diagonally. However, the only bostals to cross are the Middleton and the Westmeston bostals.


From West to East

The Clayton to Offham Escarpment passes through eight parishes including
Hassocks Hassocks is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. Its name is believed to derive from the tufts of grass found in the surrounding fields. Located approximately north of Brighton, with a populatio ...
,
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 the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling. ...
,
Westmeston Westmeston is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England heavily dependent in amenities on larger Ditchling to the near-immediate northwest. It is four miles (6 km) south-southeast of Burgess Hill and (10  ...
,
Streat Streat is a village and parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, south-east of Burgess Hill and west of Lewes, within the South Downs National Park. The 11th-century parish church has no dedication; the ecclesiastical parish ...
, Plumpton,
East Chiltington East Chiltington is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is centred four miles (5.9 km) south-east of Burgess Hill and five miles (8 km) north-west of Lewes. It is a strip parish of , stretchin ...
,
St John Without St John Without is a small civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England, covering an area to the north-west of the town of Lewes. Much like its sister parish, St Ann Without, the parish was formed in 1894 as Lewes St John With ...
and
Hamsey Hamsey is a civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The parish covers a large area () and consists of the villages of Hamsey, Offham and Cooksbridge. The main centres of population in the parish are now Offham and Cooksbridge. ...
. Along the ten kilometre stretch, it has many special slopes, woodlands and chalk pits.


Clayton Down

To the very west of the escarpment is Clayton Down (). The scarp slope's chalk grassland embraces an ancient scrub thicket which is an archaic cornucopia of wild, self-seeded fruits. Few sites on this part of the Downs can match its richness. There are
blackberries The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family (biology), family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus' ...
,
crab apples ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native plant, native to the temper ...
, sloe berries, pink and orange
spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...
berries and
buckthorn ''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 110 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found thr ...
. There are four species of rose, typical of wild orchards such as the apple-scented sweet briar. There may be as many at least twenty-five scrub species, eighteen of which have fleshy and colourful fruits and eleven of which of are members of the rose family. Robin's pincushion can be seen on the roses and
dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...
.


Clayton Holt

Clayton Holt () stands to the east of Clayton Down. The Anglo Saxon place name 'Holt' suggests a woodland dominated by one species, though there are many types of tree here now, including an interesting circle of
spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...
trees.
Large-leaved lime ''Tilia platyphyllos'', the large-leaved lime or large-leaved linden, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae (Tiliaceae). It is a deciduous tree, native to much of Europe, including locally in southwestern Great Britain, growing ...
was still present in the Holt at least until 1838. It was a common species of the middle post-glacial period, but was cleared by early farming communities. Where it persists it is an indicator of ancient, perhaps primary woodland. There are still two hybrid large-leaved, small-leaved limes in the Holt and it is also one of the best places on the Downs to see veteran
beeches Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
. There is an old record ''circa'' 1978 for lesser butterfly orchid.


Keymer Down

Keymer Down scarp () is a site of ancient quarries and is now an undulating slope of velvety turf. The Keymer bostals provide a pleasurable passage up or down the escarpment for walkers and mountain bikers. In spring a dwarfed version of field fleawort and
chalk milkwort ''Polygala calcarea'', the chalk milkwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygalaceae, native to western Europe. It is a delicate mat-forming evergreen perennial growing to tall by broad, with spikes of small, vivid deep blue fl ...
grows on the short turf edge of the quarries. Large bloody-nosed beetles can be found in the bedstraw, with chalk carpet moth,
chalkhill blue The chalkhill blue (''Lysandra coridon'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small butterfly that can be found throughout the Palearctic realm, where it occurs primarily in grasslands rich in chalk. Males have a pale blue colour, wh ...
butterflies flitting between the flowers.
Meadow pipit The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird, which breeds in much of the Palearctic, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isol ...
,
skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...
,
yellowhammer The yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern ...
,
buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...
and
raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
s commonly fly overhead. There is a rich assemblage of chalk grassland mosses, liverworts and lichen on the shortest sward and on the bare exposed chalk of the old quarries.
Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
bushes that are likely to have been present since the last ice age have been lost in the past century.


Ditchling Beacon and Tenantry Down

Rising from Under Hill Lane is Tenantry Down, which summits at Ditchling Beacon. At 813 ft (248 metres), Ditchling Beacon () is the highest point on the eastern Downs. It was an
Iron Age Fort A hillfort is a type of earthworks (engineering), earthwork used as a fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or I ...
and has a number of barrows. There are three ancient bostals that ascend the slopes to Beacon, the central of which, Ditchling Bostal, is now the busy motor road. The bostals (two unnamed) pass some of the best remaining chalk grasslands in East Sussex and is an important area for wildlife including now rare plants, butterflies and moths. The chalk pit on the scarp slope, where there is limited sunlight and damp conditions on the steep ground, is famous for
Bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in ...
s (mosses and liverworts) with over 120 having been reported here. Chalk grassland-loving species such as ''
Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus ''Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus'', the big shaggy-moss or rough goose neck moss, is a species of moss in the family Hylocomiaceae. It is often the dominating moss species in moderately rich forest habitats in the boreal regions and the Pacific North ...
'' and ''
Neckera crispa ''Neckera crispa'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Neckeraceae. It is native to Europe and China. In Iceland, it is found at only two locations, growing on palagonite cliffs, and has the conservation status of a vulnerable species ...
'' grow in abundance on the north-facing slopes along with ''
Fissidens dubius ''Fissidens dubius'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Fissidentaceae. It has cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world ...
, Campylium'' ''protensum'''',
Dicranum ''Dicranum'' is a genus of mosses, also called wind-blown mosses or fork mosses. These mosses form in densely packed clumps. Stems may fork, but do not branch. In general, upright stems will be single but packed together. ''Dicranum'' is distrib ...
bonjeanii'' and ''
Hylocomium splendens ''Hylocomium splendens'', commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a Perennial plant, perennial Clone (plant), clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere borea ...
''. The liverwort '' Scapania aspera'' grows on the steeper slopes. The rare moss ''
Thuidium ''Thuidium'' is a genus of moss in the family Thuidiaceae. The name comes from the genus '' Thuja'' and the Latin suffix -idium, meaning diminutive. This is due to its resemblance to small cedar trees. Description Members of the genus are chara ...
assimile'' is present and the tiny mosses ''
Seligeria ''Seligeria'' is a genus of moss. There are 38 unique species of ''Seligeria'' on The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and ...
calcarea'' and '' Tortella inflexa'' grow on chalk and flint. One hundred metres or so to the west from the bottom of the main Ditchling Bostals is Burnhouse Bostal which reaches the top above Keymer Down. Along Burnhouse Bostal, the red listed birds of high conservation concern,
spotted flycatcher The spotted flycatcher (''Muscicapa striata'') is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is decl ...
, bred in 2021 indicating the importance of the
SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
. Scavenging
red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...
are an increasingly common sight from the beacon too,


Westmeston Down

The Westmeston Down rises from Westmeston Farm. Two bostals, Westmeston and Middleton (), meet at the top (), between Western Brow and Home Brow. The two paths divide a large cluster of round barrows, (), which are easier to make out on the western side than the eastern side. In Spring, the Westmeston bostal is rich with wildflower and harbours a huge old ash pollard (), which many seek out to admire. There are old limekilns in Westmeston chalk pit and the chalk pit south of The Gote, (). The slopes have well-formed
terracette A terracette is a landform consisting of a hillside ridge arranged as part of sub-parallel "step-like sequences" of such ridges. Terracette occur on step hillsides and are regularly spaced. Various causes have been suggested to explain their origi ...
s, ridges, formed by centuries of grazing by sheep.


Streat Hill

Streat Hill rises to 224m above sea level. There are two ''
tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...
'' or bowl barrows, though they are scarcely visible. They have been termed by
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
s the Western Brow round barrow cemetery. Stanmer manor used Streat bostal for livestock movements between the Downs and its Wealden outliers. The bostal track is deep, steep and zig-zags.
Wayfaring Tree ''Viburnum lantana'', the wayfarer or wayfaring tree, is a species of ''Viburnum'', native to central, southern and western Europe (north to Yorkshire in England), northwest Africa, and southwestern Asia.Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flo ...
can be found across the steep slopes and the trees here have been known host to the scarce orange-tailed clearwing moth, whose caterpillars burrow into the branches. There are purple bar, black
pyrausta {{For, the grass moth genus, Pyrausta (moth) Pyrausta or pyrallis (πυραλλίς) (also called in Greek pyrigonos) is a mythological insect from Cyprus. It is a four-legged insect with filmy wings. It lived in the fire like a salamander and died ...
and
burnet companion The burnet companion moth (''Euclidia glyphica'') is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in most of the Palearctic realm, from Ireland in the west to Mongolia and Siberia in the east and south to the Mediterranean and North Africa. Tech ...
day flying moths in the area and the soft turf has the characteristic chalk grassland moss species bubble wrap moss,
Neckera crispa ''Neckera crispa'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Neckeraceae. It is native to Europe and China. In Iceland, it is found at only two locations, growing on palagonite cliffs, and has the conservation status of a vulnerable species ...
, slender comb moss, Ctenidium molluscum, and broom fork moss.
Dicranum scoparium ''Dicranum scoparium'', the broom forkmoss, is a species of dicranid moss, native to most of the northern hemisphere as well as Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Po ...
. The Streat Hill bostal and scarp slope () has long been ungrazed, and as a consequence has lost much of the species-rich chalk grassland to invasive scrub. Despite the biodiversity they bring, only islands of that very rich turf remain, usually on the bostal's deep cut sides. To the west of the Streat Hill is the Queen Victoria Jubilee plantation (), which forms the sign of a V on the middle of the bare scarp slope. Six different tree species were planted in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee.


Plumpton Hill

There are two bostals that run up the side of this section of the scarp, the Plumpton () and the Novington bostal (). The Plumpton bostal rises from the Half Moon Inn. The field opposite the Half Moon was known as the Brighton Laine according to the Tithe map of 1839, perhaps because it marked the beginning of the Downland route to the town. The bostal was concreted in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
to take vehicles to the training grounds on the plateau. It looks down over a stretch of scarp which is still owned by Brighton Council, though leased to Plumpton Agricultural College. It has a good assemblage of Down pasture flowers and secondary woodland at the bottom is rich in species, such as bluebells and
ramsons ''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amary ...
. Just to the east of the bostal is a 100-foot cross has been carved into the chalk, called Ditchling Cross, probably made by the monks of St Pancras Priory in Lewes. The cross is no longer white, but to the knowledgeable eye it is still visible due to its lighter-coloured grass and when the sun is low and the depression is in shadow it can be made out from several miles away.


Novington Scarp

To the east is the Novington chalk pit () through which the Novington bostal runs. Above it, a wood was planted in the nineteenth century called The Beeches, which has now spread more widely. At the top of Plumpton Hill and Novington Scarp there are three clusters of round barrows on this on each of the three main spurs that jut forward. They are low so they are not obvious although there is one on the arable just south of the
South Downs Way The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Susse ...
and just west of Novington Plantation that is a yard tall ().


Ashcombe Bottom

Unlike the rest of this SSSI, Ashcombe Bottom is a south facing woodland valley that is on the other side of the ridge from the rest of the escarpment at
Blackcap The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are sma ...
. The area has many glades and rides with a chalk grassland flora and fauna. There are a good range of songbirds including bullfinch, song thrush and summer breeding warblers, including
blackcap The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are sma ...
and
garden warbler The garden warbler (''Sylvia borin'') is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to western Siberia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull white ...
. There are deer present and dormouse boxes have been put up. Sheep have access to some parts of the wood.


Coombe Plantation

The Coombe Plantation () is a relatively young wood, planted around 1800. Above south west corner of the woodland are the
Blackcap The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are sma ...
and Mount Harry peaks. The plantation has a cool and lofty interior of tall
ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
, sycamore, surviving
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
and occasional
horse chestnut The genus ''Aesculus'' ( or ), with species called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species n ...
. The biggest trees are along the lower boundary, although many were blown down in the
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
and 1992 gales, particularly at its eastern end. The fallen beech carcasses are home to many fungi including green stain, turkey tail, lemon disco, jelly rot, porcelain fungus and dryad's saddle. Collared earthstar is here amongst the leaf litter. The spring flowers are most plentiful at the base of slope. Elsewhere things like bluebells are scarce, although there are swarms of early purple orchids upslope. In the shadier parts, such as along the bostal, there are profuse growths of
hart's tongue fern ''Asplenium scolopendrium'', commonly known as the hart's-tongue fern, is an evergreen fern in the genus ''Asplenium'' native to the Northern Hemisphere. Description The most striking and unusual feature of the fern is its simple, undivided fron ...
.


Offham Combe and Down

This is a special place, locally called "Happy Valley". The area has a long history. There is an evocative group of ten Saxon barrows on the short turfed, flatter ground of the spur, and further barrows up the hill but there are either destroyed or sunk in tangled scrub. There is a peculiar and attractive two-track ancient bostal which rises up the valley side from Offham. It is thought that after marching from Fletching, the London troops under
Simon De Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
walked up this bostal on the dawn of the day of the
Battle of Lewes The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made h ...
. They will have risen to the spur, which Coombe Plantation now partly covers, and formed the left flank of the rebel army. Poorly armed and trained they were swept away back down the scarp by the royalist cavalry, before the cavalry over-reached themselves and De Montfort's other troops battled down into Lewes and victory. The valley sides are rich in biodiversity in all seasons, now as they were then. In spring they have
milkwort ''Polygala'' is a large genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae. They are commonly known as milkworts or snakeroots. The genus is distributed widely throughout much of the worldcowslip and lesser dandelion, . At midsummer there are glow-worms and bastard toadflax. In high summer there is Pride of Sussex rampion and, later, sheets of
devil's-bit scabious ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field s ...
. There are areas of acidic soils, and in these areas heathy plants, rare on chalk grassland, may still be present, such as heath dog-violet and mosses like Bryum rubens and Pleurochaete squarrosa. In autumn there are still old meadow fungi, including many species of
waxcaps ''Hygrocybe'' is a genus of agarics (gilled fungi) in the family Hygrophoraceae. Called waxcaps in English (sometimes waxy caps in North America), basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are often brightly coloured and have dry to waxy caps, white spores, a ...
, earth tongues,
coral fungi The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the '' Basidiomycota'' typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fu ...
and pink gill. There used to be purple heather on the crown of Offham Hill for which it gained it the nickname ‘Little Scotland’ in Victorian times. It is secondary woodland, now. However, things could have gone worse for the biodiversity of the area. Although it is part of an
SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
, in 1997 the farmer wished to plough much of the tractor accessible ground to grow
flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
, which was then attracting hefty
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
subsidies even on such protected sites.
English Nature English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Environmen ...
did not to use their powers and the farmer commenced ploughing. Nature conservationists attempted to block the plough, but the farmer returned at night. The struggle then escalated and conservationists demonstrated, set up camp on the land and started to organize its ‘unploughing’ by turning over and refitting the sods. Local people also turned out in force. Luckily the battle took place during the general election, so the Conservatives and Labour competed to show their conservation mettle and the special downland scarp was saved.


References

{{SSSIs East Sussex Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex Sites of Special Scientific Interest in West Sussex Plumpton, East Sussex