Sussex
Scrapbook ~ Wildlife walks throughout the year
Tuesday 20th March 2012
Newick - River Ouse - Mount Pleasant - Chailey - Newick
10.5 miles
We were blown away by the beauty of this area and with so much to see and so much history to take in we were in danger of becoming over-stimulated by the end of our walk. Wildlife was abundant, especially in the private nature reserve at Knowlands Wood where we had very close encounters with both Mink and Weasel and later on at Markstakes Common we encountered large herds of both Fallow Deer and Alpacas! The whole walk was littered with large, old, country houses of all ages and every tree and bush seemed to be full of birds. Everything two nosey birdwatchers could want! The area is so quiet too, apart from the squeals of Buzzards, the loud explosions of Wren song, the machine gun fire of Nuthatch calls and incessant Skylark singing that is.
A similar walk in this area can be found on the Sussex Ouse Conservation Society website.
We parked at
Newick church next to the massive rectory.
The first gravestone we noticed in Newick churchyard. Emma Sclater has a window
in the church in her memory.
The
Sclaters are local landowners and live at
Sutton Hall.
What an amazing hinge on the church door!
A beautiful old barn at Vuggles Farm.
The weir on the Ouse near Isfield.
This lock has taken 5 years to renovate so far. The section of heavy black silt
that these guys are digging out goes down another 20 feet!
Wood Anemone.
Gill finds a very comfy seat in which to
survey
Knowlands Woods Nature Reserve.
Another footpath sign for
our collection.
A herd of about 40 Fallow deer on
Markstakes Common. I think they saw us!
You have been warned!
The Sclaters again.
Their plantation is starting to look good and is chock full of birds.
A mink that jumped in the lake at Knowlands Farm and swam towards us.
Minutes later we saw a Weasel carrying one of its young in its jaws. It was most
likely moving house.
Take the time to read
the
countryside code for yourself and please stick to it at all times.