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Clayton to Offham Escarpment

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East SussexSites of Special Scientific Interest in West Sussex
View from Westmeston Bostall footpath, Western Brow
View from Westmeston Bostall footpath, Western Brow

Clayton to Offham Escarpment is a 422.5-hectare (1,044-acre) linear biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which runs from Clayton in West Sussex to Lewes in East Sussex. Its ownership and management is divided between over fifteen landowners and farmers. Parts of Ditchling's Downs, e.g. TQ 323 133, and the scarp between Blackcap and Mount Harry, e.g. TQ 378 124, are owned by the National Trust. What remains of Ditchling Tenantry Down common (24 hectares (59 acres)) at Ditchling Beacon is leased to the Sussex Wildlife Trust.Unlike the scarp top, the steeply sloping chalk grassland of the escarpment has been spared modern farming ploughing, fertilising and spraying of herbicides. Instead the area has been used for traditional low-level animal grazing and as a consequence the site is still pristine chalk grassland, which has created a ten kilometre stretch of wild flower meadows. Such areas have been described as Europe's tropical rainforests and the National Trust tell us, "They're home to an incredibly rich and diverse range of plant and insect life". Up to 40 species of flowering plants can be found in one square metre of chalk grassland.The particular character of this range of hills is their north facing aspect, meaning they can be shadowy and receive less sunlight. There is glaucous sedge, autumn gentian, marjoram and squinancywort. There are several species of wild, native orchid and the area is rich in mosses and liverworts. The botanical richness means it also supports biodiverse fauna. There are also areas of ancient woodland and ancient scrub and the site has a rich community of breeding birds, and a number of red listed bird species in the highest conservation concern category.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Clayton to Offham Escarpment (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Clayton to Offham Escarpment
Plumpton Bostall,

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N 50.897 ° E -0.075 °
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Plumpton Bostall

Plumpton Bostall
BN7 3AF , Plumpton
England, United Kingdom
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View from Westmeston Bostall footpath, Western Brow
View from Westmeston Bostall footpath, Western Brow
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The Laines

The Laines is an 18th-century country house in Plumpton, East Sussex, near Lewes in England. It was the childhood home of Queen Camilla. The centre part was built in the 18th-century, with 19th-century additions to the north and south, and was originally a rectory. It was listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England in 1979. The house sits in over five acres (2.0 ha) of grounds, with an orchard and a walled kitchen garden. There is a swimming pool, tennis court, paddock, and a separate four-bedroom cottage.The Laines was the childhood home of Camilla Shand, the future consort of Charles III. Camilla has stated that her childhood there was "perfect in every way". The house had been purchased by her parents, British Army officer and businessman Major Bruce Shand and his wife, Rosalind Shand (née Cubitt), who also had a house in South Kensington, London. The Shands moved there after the Second World War so that they could be near Sonia Cubitt, Camilla's grandmother. The Laines is believed to be where Bruce Shand asked the young Prince Charles about his intentions with regard to Camilla.The gardens were redesigned by Lanning Roper for the Shands in the late 1960s, Roper worked on the gardens and offered advice to the Shands until 1982. Roper's work at The Laines was featured in the September 1982 issue of Country Life.The Shands lived at The Laines until Rosalind died in 1994, when the estate was sold to the English actor James Wilby. In 2014, The Laines was listed for sale at £3.25 million, the second time in 63 years that it was available to purchase. It was put up for sale by James Wilby.