Trees in the mist
I had to make a brief stop on the way to work this morning to run into the woods with my camera! I got a few funny looks….
Category: The South Downs
An odd looking Rook
Rooks and Heron
Spotted this very grey-looking Rook in the tree this morning…
Autumn’s arrived…
Bepton Tunnel
Here’s a photo from early morning on 1st September 2018… one of those perfect Autumn mornings when the mist settles under the Downs, the trees are turning and there’s a nip in the air.
Got to love Autumn… view this image at full size on Flickr.
Happy September!
Bale Castle
This is a monster of a haystack!
25 feet tall and built with great care an precision… I came across it behind the village of Lavant in West Sussex after the field had been combined and cleared. The next day it had gone.
Helicopter Crash on Bepton Down
We were contacted by reader of the Bepton Down blog who asked about a helicopter crash when he was a schoolboy. “Does anyone remember the helicopter that crashed on Bepton Down in the mid 1960s? I was a boarder at Midhurst Grammar School at the time and went to see the crashed remains up there on the hillside a couple of days after it happened.”
Richard Stephenson would like to know if anyone can remember any more details about this tragic accident? Please get in touch if you have any memories or information about the crash so we can pass them on to Richard and share with others. At the front of my mind are the two crew lost their lives that day – it would be good to remember these men as part of the history of Bepton Down.
First Hummingbird Hawkmoth of the year…
Will 2018 be as good as 2017 for Hummingbird Hawkmoths?
It’s only the 21st June and look at this – a Hummingbird Hawkmoth scooting around the garden!
Boxing Day puzzle
Do Monkey Puzzle trees grow wild in the UK?
Now here’s an odd question. Are Monkey Puzzles an invasive species colonising the English countryside? Do they self seed or do they need someone to plant them to become established?
Little Egret
I wasn’t expecting to see an Egret at the end of the garden!
We’re lucky enough to have a field at the end of our garden. And even luckier to have an Egret wandering around it too!
Poor management of Bepton Down SSSI on The South Downs
60 years of decline at Bepton Down SSSI
Bepton Down is 14 hectares of unique chalk grassland on the north face of the South Downs overlooking Bepton. It’s a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and an area of national importance.
Continue reading “Poor management of Bepton Down SSSI on The South Downs”
Decline of an SSSI on the South Downs
Bepton Down SSSI should be a unique area of chalk downland in West Sussex – but it isn’t.
Bepton Down is just below The South Downs Way on a north facing slope with stunning views towards Midhurst and beyond. It should be 14 hectares of extraordinary habitat, home to protected species of plants and grasses – and one of the few remaining areas of chalk downland in West Sussex.
Even though Bepton Down has an SSSI status it has been neglected and it is now reverting to a mixture of scrub, wasteland and coarse vegetation. The steady decline of this SSSI has been overseen by Cowdray Estate and regulated by Natural England.
Please help me raise awareness about the decline of Bepton Down by sharing this article.
Thank you.
Bepton Ranger 