THE CONSERVATORS OF ASHDOWN FOREST Ashdown Forest Centre, Wych Cross, Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5JPT: 01342 823583 E: conservators@ashdownforest.org www.ashdownforest.org

Only printed on paper from sustainable forests. All paper used is FSC Certified and produced only at mills holding ISO 14001 certification.

This site is part of the European Natura 2000 Network. It has been designated because it hosts some of Europe’s most threatened species and habitats.

All 27 countries of the EU are working together through the Network 2000 Network to safeguard Europe's rich and diverse natural heritage for the benefit of all.

See www.natura.org.

Photography: Helen Bardsley, Paul Cooper, Emma Richardson-Shrieves, Stephen Robinson, Mandy Rutherford, Mairede Thomas.

Editorial: Paul Cooper, forest.marketing@btinternet.com Design and production: Studio 4, m.marriott@btconnect.com

Now on at the Forest Centre and until further notice is an exhibition entitled WIDE HORIZONSwhich features paintings by William de Wildeand Michael Gage who both take their inspirationfrom the magical landscape of Ashdown Forest.

You cannot possibly have missed the launch ofthe new Pooh book, Return to the Hundred AcreWood, on Monday 5th October and, in the nextissue of Ashdown Forest Life, we will review what this publication means to the Forest.

We are grateful to Natural England for supporting Ashdown Forest Life.

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eFRIENDS OF ASHDOWN FOREST EVENTS All at Nutley War Memorial Hall at 8.00 p.m. unless stated otherwise.

Thursday 22nd October 2009 Annual General Meeting Your chance to hear about the work of the Friends and the latest news of the Forest.

Friday 6th November 2009 Charles Darwin and Ashdown ForestThis year sees the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. David Harper, Senior Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Sussex, will talk to us about Darwin and his links with the Forest.

Thursday 4th February 2010 Historic Environment Awareness Project Lyn Palmer, Project Officer for the Weald Forest Ridge, has kindly agreed to talk to us about this exciting venture and the LiDAR survey that has been flown over part of the Forest. The data gained can reveal ancient routeways, enclosures, mounds and pits. She will bring the three toolkits that have been created for use with the survey information to enable us to explore the hidden history of the wooded landscape.

Sunday 25th April 2010 A Bird Walk on the Ashdown Forest Members of the Ashdown Forest Bird Group will lead us as they point out birds that can be seen and heard that morning. 9.00 a.m. from Long car park

For further information and to book a place on any of the above events, which are free to members (£5 for non-members or join on the day), please contact Pat Arnold on 01892 611414 or email ashdownfriends@aol.com.

Thursday 29th October 2009 Fungi identfication dayBring fungi you find to the Forest Centre for identification between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 2 p.m - 4 p.m.

ASHDOWN FORESTlifeFor all those who care about the Forest www.ashdownforest.org

ISSUE NO. 8 AUTUMN/WINTER 2009

NEWS FROM THE FLOCK • FOREST CENTRE PLANS

BYE-LAWS • ENJOYING THE FOREST - HORSE RIDING

HLS SURVEYS • SALUTING OUR VOLUNTEERS

Welcome... …to the autumn/winter issue of Ashdown Forest Life. Our new larger summer issue resulted in a very positivefeedback, for example on the sighting of glow worms, so very many thanks for that. Our aim with AshdownForest Life is to communicate with those who care aboutthe Forest and, of course, that communication worksboth ways. In this issue we update you on progress withour Hebridean sheep grazing programme, inform youof our exciting plans for the development of the Forest

Centre, bring you the results of a recent archaeological survey and the startof one on small mammals, discuss the importance of understanding and adhering to Forest bye-laws, and feature the benefits that can be enjoyed by becoming a Forest volunteer.

Continuing our series on how you can best enjoy your visits to the Forest, we are concentrating this time on horse riding and the ways in which youcan derive the maximum pleasure from it in this wonderful environment.Remember, however, that you need a permit and that all the fees receivedgo towards looking after the wonderful Forest landscape.

On the back page you’ll see a new logo. It belongs to the Natura 2000 Network which includes many of Europe’s most important wildlife sites - of which Ashdown Forest (we are proud to say!) is one.

I hope you enjoy the coming seasons on the Forest and that we see you atone of the events we or the Friends will be holding over the coming months.

Hew Prendergast CLERK TO THE CONSERVATORS

Cover: Riding across the heath near Camp Hill

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News from the flock

Watching the shearers at work

Top left: ‘I helped as well!’Bottom left: ‘Proud Mum’Below: ‘Just a trim please!’

Such has been the success of the grazing project in terms of establishing a flock, confirming what they eat and seeing the scale of the positive public reaction, that the Conservators have decided to continue it beyond its initial three year trial. A plan for the future is now being drawn up and you will,of course, have the opportunity to be involvedat some stage. So, good news for all concerned and more importantly for the Forest’s heathlands.

Lambing this year went well and, with 70 new arrivals, the flock of Hebrideans is now

up to 225. Louise was at hand as always, to care for the ewes and theeffort was really worthwhile as wehave some delightful additions. Our special thanks go to our neighbours at Cats Protection whoprovided Louise and the flock with apeaceful refuge during lambing andwhere they were close to a heathneeding grazing.

Our second “Meet the Sheep Day” on 29thMay at the Forest Centre was a great success.Despite the closure of the road outside the Centre for resurfacing, more than 100 peopleturned up on a lovely sunny day to admire thelambs, watch shearing and see demonstrationsof spinning and weaving. This year Louise andher assistant shepherd, Susanna, will easilymake their target of 100 days out grazing onthe heath. Louise’s blog on the websitewww.ashdownforest.org is a really interestingread and gives you all the up to date news andwhere to find them if you would like to meetthem all - alternatively you can call the Centre.

Forest newsAs we detailed in the last issue (no. 7) of AshdownForest Life, the responsibility for managing the Forest lies with an independent body, the Board of Conservators of Ashdown Forest. Originally set up in1885, the Board has been regulated under a seriesof Acts of Parliament, the most recent being the Ashdown Forest Act 1974.

The bye-laws made under the Act are the main device for supporting the responsibility to protect the Forest. It is therefore extremely disappointing to report that some residents and even some visitorsflout the bye-laws and involve the Conservators intime-consuming and potentially expensive legal actions to ensure that they are complied with. If you’re not sure of the bye-laws, you can find them on the Conservators’ website. www.ashdownforest.org

Here is Ranger Rich Allum patrolling the Forest in a most environmentally friendly way - on his horse. He can not only ensure that riding permits are clearly displayed and that bye-lawsare being observed but also, of course, he can help and advisevisitors on the best way of enjoying their time on the Forest.

The Forest Centre - future plans

For some years the Conservators have been reviewing the possibility of improving the Forest Centre. As an initial step in planning any change,they commissioned Tunbridge Wells architects HMYto prepare drawings, including this aerial view. New are the green-roofed buildings: respectively(from left to right) these are a) a repositioned woodboiler, b) modern toilets, and c) an orientationbuilding (still under consideration). Also new (d) isthe public entrance to the site (bottom right). Thesemark much needed improvements to the facilitiesand amenities at the Centre which have largely remained unchanged for 20 years or more. For allof them the Conservators will need to seek funding.

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Horse ridingEnjoying the Forest

AUTUMN RIDING ON THE FOREST

There can be no doubt that riding on Ashdown Forest is both inspirational and an absolute privilege and we asked the Chair of the Ashdown Forest Riding Association(AFRA), Mairede Thomas, to write about what it means to her and how AFRA helpsthe Conservators by being their “eyes and ears”.

At this time of year there can be no better wayto enjoy the “mists and mellow fruitfulness” ofan autumn morning than riding out along anold drover’s road that leads towards the fadingpurple heather that is Ashdown Forest. As thecrab apples and blackberries of the hedgerow,browsed by the last few lazy wasps, are left behind and you ride up onto the ridge over-looking Misbourne Valley, the breeze laced with a little autumn chill fills your lungs and itis indeed a privilege to be on horseback, justtaking it all in.

Below, in the distance, a young fallow buckskips the stream and slips into the cover of the

wooded ghyll. Only bird calls interrupt therhythm of your horse’s hoof beats on the sandytrack. Like a modern day monarch of all yousurvey, it feels as though little has changed inthis place since the days when it was a royalhunting forest.

The wide open space of heathland, the skylinebroken here and there by a clump of pines, andpanoramic views to North and South Downsmake Ashdown Forest the most wonderful riding country. Those of us who are luckyenough to enjoy riding across this landscapehave every reason to safeguard it for the future.Indeed, that is the objective of the AFRA.

“I hope you really enjoy the trulywonderful riding on the Forest.”

MAIREDE THOMASChair, Ashdown Forest Riding Association

www.afranews.org.uk

Horse riding

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Enjoying the Forest on horseback by Friends Clump

AFRA has around 200 members, many of whom live in or close by the Forest. We represent a cross-section of the local community: men, women and children from toddlers to octogenarians, able bodied and disabled, richer and poorer, just about the only thing we have in common is a passion for horses and love of the countryside.

Being the collective voice of riders AFRA is in regular contact with the Conservators and Foreststaff about such things as riding conditions, damage to bridges, broken gates and any difficulties that arise from time to time with otherpeople, for example when dog owners allow theirpets to behave aggressively. Riders are the onlygroup of people who pay to use the fire rides, butour members get good value and the team at theForest Centre is very helpful. We recognise thatmanagement and conservation of the Forest are expensive.

PERMITSThere are 82 miles of permitted tracks that can beridden once you have an Ashdown Forest ridingpermit. The permit and a map showing where you

Ashdown Forest Riding Association (AFRA)

can ride, and also which car parks are open tohorse boxes, are available at the Forest Centre.This year an adult’s annual permit costs £92 anda child’s costs £46. The permit badge must be displayed prominently on the horse or pony and isdesigned to fit on the bridle or breastplate. AFRAmembers receive a discount on the purchase price,so there’s a real incentive for anyone who wants to enjoy riding to join AFRA.

By way of reciprocation the money AFRA raisesfrom its annual subscriptions (currently £7 foradults and £1 for children) is largely donated tothe Conservators for ride repairs.

The beauty of the Forest is matched by its value asan area offering large tracts of safe off-road ridingand this is especially important for novice riders.

Most riders, however,cannot avoid usingroads. The 40 mphspeed limit on minorForest roads is helpful, but the onlysafe way to drive past riders is veryslowly, allowing thehorse plenty of room.Many drivers fail todrive safely and courteously, so AFRA campaignsfor measures to reduce and calm traffic. To this extent we share a common purpose with the Conservators whose duty it is to preserve a quietand unpolluted natural habitat: a place of serenityand tranquillity for all to enjoy.

Horse riding

Pictured here are riders preparing for and takingpart in the Endurance Ride across the Forest which was held on Saturday 8 August. This event wasfirst held in October 1993 and takes place in August to avoid wet ground and risk of damage to Forest tracks. Since then it has been run annually over a set route which is marked outalong the bridletracks round the Forest.

There are seven classes which range from thecompetitive class of 64 km (40 miles) for advanceendurance riders, to 23 km (14 miles) for noncompetitive, pleasure riders. The ride is one of a

number of national endurance rides which takeplace each year throughout the UK from March toOctober. A fee, based on the number of riders thattake part, is paid by the organisers to help towards protecting the Forest.

Ashdown Forest Endurance Ride 2010 will be held on Saturday 7 August. For further information about this ride and Endurance GB please go to www.endurancegb.co.ukor the local south east group website www.endurancegbsoutheast.co.uk.

Caroline Thompson

Three torpid dormice

installed in the hazel coppice wood along Cackle Street andthey will be checked monthly in summer by Ranger RogerBeal. At first Roger will be accompanied by a trained‘mentor’ but after one or two seasons, depending on howmany animals Roger gets to handle, he will be awarded his own licence.

The second part of the survey involves searching for dormicein non-typical habitat. Dormice are supposed to live in hazelcoppice woods but over the years they have appeared in allkinds of strange areas on the Forest. This survey involves putting up a total of 200 dormouse ‘tubes’ in six differenthabitats. The tubes are usedas temporary accommodationby the dormice, as well asother small mammals. Checking the tubes weeklywill give us an idea of whichother habitats might be used.

The third part of the survey isa trapping programme formice, voles and shrews, usingLongworth live animal traps.The Longworth trap has

become the ‘industry standard’ for small mammal surveys,consisting of an aluminium box with a swinging trapdoor.These will be baited and put out in each of our six habitats forthree days and nights. They are checked twice a day. Whilewe are waiting to check the traps, there will be a systematicsearch for field signs of small mammals – nests, runs anddroppings. The fourth and final part of the survey is a checkfor water shrews. This will be carried out by Brighton University and involves collecting droppings which will be subject to DNA analysis.

We have genuinely no idea what the survey will throw up.Watch this space and we will present the findings in a few months. Chris Marrable, Conservation Officer

Higher Level Stewardship schemeARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY UPDATEAs we reported in issue no. 4, funding from Defra's HigherLevel Stewardship (HLS) scheme, which the Conservators entered in 2006, enabled the commissioning of an archaeological survey of the Forest with local specialist, Chris Butler Archaeological Services. Among the 573 sitesnow known (compared with just 75 before) are Bronze Ageround barrows, Iron Age enclosures, prehistoric field systems, iron workings from Roman times onwards, the Pale (the original Forest boundary), Medieval and post- Medieval pillow mounds for the rearing of rabbits and the1793 kitchen mounds between Camp Hill and Nutley whichare among the only surviving ones in the country (one waspictured in issue no. 6). The survey made many recommendations for protecting this rich archaeological heritage of the Forest.

SMALL MAMMAL SURVEYSince 2006 HLS has also paid for surveys of great crestednewts, ponds and dragonflies. The next is to look at thesmall mammals which use the area.

This project is in several parts. The first part is a long-termsurvey of dormice, which will contribute information to a national study. Fifty dormouse boxes have already been

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What you may not realise is that non-commonersmay also apply for a permit to cut and collect woodfrom specified wooded areas on the Forest. Whilstthe cutting down of trees always sparks debate, itcan in fact greatly enhance woodlands and provideconditions for species that require different light levels and temperatures within them. The activitiesof anyone cutting wood can therefore contribute to the management of the Forest’s 1000 ha ofwoodland. Rangers are currently drawing up areaswhere wood may be cut this winter. Applications for cutting wood may be made from Monday 12th October but commoners will get priority. Full details can be found on the website or by contacting the Forest Centre.

Also, 12kg sacks of small logs can now be purchased from the Forest Centre.

Heat for the hearthAs you may be aware, the owners of the 730 or soproperties enjoying commoners’ rights featured inthe last issue of Ashdown Forest Life are entitledto cut down a specified amount of birch, willowand alder for use on “the ancestral hearth”.

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Most visitors already appreciate what a very special place Ashdown Forest is. Probably the most frequent request is for advice about where to walk. Another fairly regular one is to help identify something they’ve spotted - insects, birds, animals or plants and it is great fun searching together through the books and guides we have to find it. There’s a real sense of satisfaction (and relief!) when we’re able toidentify it and a special cheer if it was spotted by a youngster.

The information doesn’t flow just one way ofcourse. We learn a lot from our visitors about thewalks they’ve done and the things they’ve seenand it’s always a special joy to get talking to some of the interesting local characters who have spent their lives on the Forest.

We volunteers have a great time representing AshdownForest but it wouldn’t be possible without the hardworkingand dedicated permanent staff who do the real work ofmanaging the Forest Centre and maintaining Ashdown Forest and its wildlife habitats in such splendid condition. What more could a volunteer ask for?

Paul Lawrance

Don’t forget, there’s a whole range of tasks and activitiesthat you can be involved in: from helping at the ForestCentre like Paul, through to supporting the Rangers atweekends, clearing rhododendron or restoring the ForestGarden at Chelwood Vachery. So why not contact us andsee how you can help?

NEW WALKS LEAFLET The first of a new series of walks leaflets, sponsored by the Friends, has just been produced as part of the Conservators’ contribution to the Weald Forest Ridge Landscape Partnership Scheme. The leaflet, titled Pooh Walks from Gills Lap, was produced with the aid of MappingIdeas Ltd of Crowborough and Per-Rambulations, a Sussex-based walking organisation (www.per-rambulations.co.uk). A version will also be downloadable from the website.

Saluting our volunteers

Paul Lawrance helping out at the Forest Centre

You know how you feel when you’ve had a nicefriendly encounter with someone and it puts aspring in your step and a smile on your face? According to medical research, this sort of interaction with other human beings not only feelsgood – but it does you good too! So it will comeas no surprise that those of us who are privilegedto volunteer at the Forest Centre get tremendoussatisfaction from our work there.

Imagine the scene - a natural setting on the edgeof the Forest, woodland, heathland, a pond, allalive with wildlife and there - a 400 year old timber-framed Sussex barn - full of informationabout the Forest. What a lovely place to spend anenjoyable few hours chatting with people from allaround the world who have beaten a path to yourdoor because they are interested in Ashdown Forest - and they are lovely people too.

Have you ever considered being one of our team of volunteers and helping in the work of maintaining and preserving the Forest? Paul Lawrance is one such volunteer and here is a glimpse of the benefits he feels he gets from helping out at the Forest Centre.