September 2026 marks the centenary of the campaign launched by the Society of Sussex Downsmen (now Friends of the South Downs) to save the Crowlink valley in East Sussex from development.

On the 24th September, walks leader and trustee David Taylor organised and led a commemorative walk from East Dean to the Sarsen Stone on the Seven Sisters. Enjoying a beautiful early autumn day, thirty walkers made their way across sheep-grazed chalk downland towards the English Channel.

At the Sarsen Stone monument atop Flagstaff Point, the group toasted those wonderful people who made the campaign a success. David then gave a talk about the history and circumstances surrounding the campaign, embellished with photographs and biographies of the major characters involved. Our Chair, David Green, followed up with an address to the walkers.

With spirits high, the group returned to East Dean via Crowlink, now fully aware of how the landscape might have been so very different without the efforts of our forefathers. The nation owes a debt of gratitude to the Society of Sussex Downsmen, and to the generosity of one man in particular, William Charles Campbell.

To find out more about this vital part of our history, watch this short video by trustee David.