Time to enjoy Wild Woodland Walks

Posted:7 September 2015

There are plenty of excellent walks in Sussex, and crisp and sunny autumn days are ideal for visiting your local woodland areas. Many trees are just starting to change colour and there is much to look at and explore. 

We recently went walking in the ancient woods that partly surround Nymans Gardens in East Sussex an area of the High Weald, designated an Area of Outstanding Beauty in 1983, and designated by Natural England as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The various circular walks take in towering redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), including the tallest tree is Sussex, lakes, cascades of water, and amazing carved tree trunks. We also enjoyed trying to identify the many mosses, funghi, ferns and brackens – without too much success unfortunately, so we’re looking forward to the upcoming Garden House talks on mushrooms ‘Mushroom Madness’ (11 September) and ferns, ‘Fascinated by Ferns’ (26 September)  and a mushroom walk, Magic Mushroom Forage (20 September).

The majority of the 275-acre wood is ‘ancient’, meaning it has been wooded for over 400 years. The effects of the 1987 Great Storm so dramatic and catastrophic at the time can still be seen. Huge up-rooted trees have left a tangle of vertical root-plates exposed. Washed over with soil during years of rain, wind and snow these have formed natural sculptures hung with mosses.

Photo above: This amazing chainsaw sculpture was crafted by wood sculptor David Lucas; it is formed from the vast trunk of a beech tree that was felled due to decay and the beautifully formed toad, stag beetle and woodlice were chosen to illustrate how important dead wood is to woodland ecology.

The woods here have quite a few slopes and areas of slippery terrain so are most accessible and enjoyable on a dry day, and definitely best to go prepared wearing strong boots!

The Nymans estate is owned by The National Trust and the woods and Arboretum can be approached either through the formal gardens (admission charges apply, free for members), or direct down a footpath from the Nymans car park (this way does not include access to formal gardens or Arboretum, but you can take your well behaved dog).

CLICK HERE for a walking guide to the Nymans woodland.