Guided Archaeology Walk on the Lewes Downs
Sunday 26 April 2026, 09:00 – 14:00 A venture onto the Lewes Downs with views over the beautiful Ouse Valley. The Caburn is an impressive Iron Age hillfort that has seen extensive excavations over the last 150 years. It is a rare example of a hill fort that seems to have been reused in later times of emergency. The Caburn sits on a fascinating block of Downland, with numerous archaeological features still visible in the grassy landscape, including 4000 year old barrow cemeteries. This walk involves a long steep climb at the beginning (and a long easy descent at the…
Land of the Nightingales: Guided tour of Butcherlands, Ebernoe Common
Wednesday 6 May 2026, 10:00 Ebernoe Wildlands is a nature reserve just to the north of Petworth. At its heart is Ebernoe Common National Nature Reserve. Here, one of the densest populations of Nightingales in the country thrive. A secretive bird, finding a Nightingale out in the open is a rare event. Their numbers are in decline, as is their range; they are only found in small areas of southern and eastern England. Much of their decline can be put down to loss or degradation of habitat, ideally scrub woodland. Acquired by the Sussex Wildlife Trust in 2001 as a…
Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2026
Saturday 9 May 2026, 10:00 for a 10:30 start The 102nd Annual General Meeting of the Friends will be held at 10:00 for a 10:30 start on Saturday 9 May 2026 at Glyndebourne, Lewes, BN8 5UB. Members are invited to make nominations for the election or re-election of the Honorary Treasurer and Council Members. The Annual Report and the Accounts Summary will be available on our website or from the office. Nomination forms (and further details) will be available on our website or from the office via telephone request and should arrive not less than forty-two days before the date…
Explore Ebernoe Common – a guided tour with Dr Tony Whitbread
Wednesday 13 May 2026, 10:30am Join Dr Tony Whitbread, Trustee of Friends of the South Downs and former Chief Executive of Sussex Wildlife Trust, for this guided tour of Ebernoe Common. This is a chance to hear the song of the nightingales, who arrive in the UK in mid-April and return to Africa in late summer. A secretive bird, finding a Nightingale out in the open is a rare event. Their numbers are in decline, as is their range; they are only found in small areas of southern and eastern England. Sussex Wildlife Trust’s (SWT) Ebernoe Wildlands nature reserve is…
