This traditional cache takes you out into the wilds of Amberley near the swamp - look out for the swamp monsters! You're likely to need your wellies for most of the year on this path.
LOCAL INFORMATION
Amberley Wildbrooks
The Amberley Wildbrooks are a spectacular wetland habitat on the former floodplain of the River Arun in West Sussex. This open grassland landscape is dissected by numerous ditches, most of which were dug in the 1800s to enable better drainage of the site.
The Amberley Wildbrooks is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust and the RSPB.
The brooks now consist of grazing marsh, ditches and wet woodland and support a large variety of wetland plants and insects. In fact, over half of all the British species of aquatic plants can be found on the Nature Reserve. The Wildbrooks are particularly well known as a site for overwintering wildfowl and hosts large numbers of wigeon and teal, along with important breeding populations of lapwings and redshanks. The site is also important for snipe and has the only reliable population of this species in Sussex.
Access is restricted to the Wey South Path, which runs through the middle of the Brooks directly from Hog Lane in the village of Amberley – please park thoughtfully. This is to ensure there is not disturbance to the incredible birdlife for which the site is designated. Please do not ride on the footpath.
This area is owned by Sussex Wildlife Trust and managed by the RSPB.
DISCOVERING MORE
Wey South Path
Wey South Path is 36 miles long and follows the Arun Navigation for this stretch before heading north to follow the Godalming Navigation along the River Wey. The Wey South Path joins up with the South Downs Way National Trail on the Downs just above Amberley
South Downs Way
Our ancestors have been walking the ridgeline of the South Downs for as far back as we can discover, all sharing the views that found Virginia Woolf “overcome by beauty more extravagantly than one could expect.” They crossed between Bronze Age barrows, with grassy ramparts still clearly visible at Old Winchester Hill, or as a circle of beech at Chanctonbury Ring and Iron Age hillforts, lit the beacons at Ditchling and Firle to warn of the coming Armada. We can share these experiences and enjoy more modern wonders such as the Chattri, a serene stone memorial and cremation site for the many Indian soldiers who fought and lost their lives in World War I.
The South Downs Way is one of 15 National Trails in England and Wales and was the first bridleway National Trail in England. It is also the only National Trail to lie entirely within a National Park.
Stretching from the ancient cathedral city of Winchester in the west, first capital of England, through to the white chalky cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head at Eastbourne in the east, almost all of its stunning 160 kilometre length is blissfully off-road.
Today the South Downs Way offers inspiration and escape as we follow in their footsteps, whether ambling on an after-lunch stroll or rising to the challenge to walk, run or ride it over several days. Whoever you are, there are countless ways to enjoy this trail and all that it connects. It is the central thread running through the patchwork of culture and nature that is the South Downs National Park.
TRAVELLING SUSTAINABLY
Amberley station is the closest train station to explore this area.
PERMISSIONS
Cache placed with kind permission of SWT and RSPB.