The Pump Barn
Seven Sisters Country Park was transferred from East Sussex County Council to the stewardship of the SDNPA in 2020 and remains in public ownership. Since then, several improvements have been made including a visitors centre at Exceat, a food outlet, offices and toilets. But the authority, due to financial constraints, was unable to fund the
Conversions of Barns and Other Rural Buildings
We are deeply concerned to learn of the Government’s plans to rip up the planning protections that keep our national parks beautiful by allowing permitted development rights for conversions of barns and other rural buildings. The Campaign for National Parks has now sent a letter, signed by FSD as well as other NP Societies, to
Permitted Development Rights (PDR)
We were deeply disappointed to learn of the Government’s plans to extend the Permitted Development Rights (PDR) for any agricultural or rural building to Protected Landscapes (National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs)). There is a long-established practice of not applying certain permitted development rights in these areas in line with national planning
South Downs Way Annual Walk
Archaeology tells us that the route along the South Downs Way (SDW) has been used by humans for thousands of years. It was favoured as a relatively safe way of traveling across West and East Sussex, avoiding the dangers of thick woodland and the large areas of lowland marshes that were then common across southern
Be a Friend
Celebrating our Centenary this year, we have some exciting events planned as well as funding some projects that will make a real difference on the Downs. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our members for their continued support and invite all our new friends to join us today. Be a Friend of
Our Youngest Downlanders
“It is rather wonderful that some of our youngest downlanders have been able to celebrate the Centenary of the Friends of the South Downs, by marking out ‘100’ on the greensward of the Downs. Bury School, nestling, as it does in the heart of the South Downs, has worked with FSD on two of our
New Immersive Walking Experience
An inspiring, new immersive walking experience that encourages visitors to discover new stories and reflections on Sussex’s iconic Heritage Coast has now officially launched. This summer, people walking along the beautiful chalk coastline from Seaford to Eastbourne will be able to tune in to 13 unique audio stories, each attached to a ‘listening point’ in
Kipling and the Seven Sisters
No tender-hearted garden crowns, No bosomed woods adorn Our blunt, bow headed, whale backed downs But gnarled and writhen thorns Most readers will instantly recognise these lines from the poem Sussex by Rudyard Kipling. Few poems capture the spirit and the beauty of the Downs which he had come to love at the turn of
Explorers of the South Downs
An exciting initiative has been launched for schoolchildren to explore the nature, history and culture of the South Downs. Schools across West Sussex are being invited to take part in ‘Explorers of the South Downs’, which offers a range of fun activities for young people to connect with the natural world and learn about the
Sourcing Wood for our Benches
Over the last year, our benches project was severely held up. Due to the Pandemic, there has been a huge rise in timber costs. Sourcing wood for our benches was a major challenge. Our supplier was not able to source locally grown oak at an affordable price. After many phone calls to various contacts, I
