Photo of Old Lodge, a nature reserve near Hartfield in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Old Lodge© N Chadwick / Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

Nature reserves in East SussexEast Sussex, England

70 nature reserves in the Albion Guide across East Sussex — see the full nature reserves directory, or everything to explore in East Sussex.

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Old Lodge

Nature reserve near Hartfield

Heathland reserve of gorse, birch and Scots pine, good for redstart and crossbill on the Ashdown fringe.

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Whitehawk Hill & Camp

Nature reserve near Brighton

Chalk grassland local nature reserve on Brighton's eastern edge, home to a rare Neolithic causewayed camp and wide views over the city.

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Hastings Country Park

Country park near Hastings

Sandstone cliffs and gorse heath split by steep little glens, on the wild edge of Hastings

2.4 km²

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Seaford to Beachy Head

SSSI near East Dean

Beachy Head's chalk face, the highest in Britain, with a lighthouse at its foot and downland walking either side

11 km²

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Ashdown Forest

SSSI near Forest Row

Heathland ridges, the real Winnie-the-Pooh country.

32 km²

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Ditchling Common

Country park near Ditchling

A scrap of Wealden common that never got enclosed or built on, now a country park of heath, grass and ponds

0.75 km²

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Forest Way Country Park

Country park near Hartfield

An old railway line between East Grinstead and Groombridge turned into a flat, easy-going walking and cycling trail through the Weald

0.33 km²

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Seven Sisters Country Park

Country park near Westdean

Where the Cuckmere winds down to a shingle beach, with the Seven Sisters cliffs rising beyond

2.8 km²

Lullington Heath

SSSI near Jevington

One of the last patches of chalk heath in Britain, where lime-loving and lime-hating plants somehow grow side by side

0.73 km²

Rye Harbour

SSSI near Rye

Shingle, saline lagoons and old gravel pits at the mouth of the Rother, and one of the best bird reserves on the south coast

Pevensey Levels

National Nature Reserve near Pevensey

Grazing marsh behind Pevensey Castle, flat and wet but quietly important, and one of the last homes of a very rare spider

1.8 km²

Weir Wood Reservoir

SSSI near West Hoathly

A drinking-water reservoir with a nature reserve in one corner, better suited to winter birdwatching than a summer swim

1.5 km²

Shinewater Park

Country park near Pevensey

A country park in East Sussex.

0.7 km²

Castle Hill National Nature Reserve

National Nature Reserve near Rottingdean

Forty-seven hectares of unimproved chalk grassland on the Downs between Lewes and Brighton, thick with wildflowers in summer

0.47 km²

High Rocks

SSSI near Groombridge

A sandstone maze of rocks and walkways on the edge of Tunbridge Wells, privately run and worth the entry fee

Chailey Common

SSSI near Fletching

A pocket of the same lowland heath as Ashdown Forest, small enough to walk in an afternoon

1.7 km²

Photo of Lake Meadow, Battle, a nature reserve in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

1.1 km²

Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs

SSSI near Rottingdean

Chalk cliffs east of Brighton with a sea-level path below them all the way to Saltdean

1.7 km²

Filsham Reedbed

Nature reserve near Hastings

One of the county's largest reedbeds, rich in insects and warblers on the edge of St Leonards.

Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay

SSSI near Brookland

A large Site of Special Scientific Interest in Kent.

102 km²

Lewes Downs (Mount Caburn)

National Nature Reserve near Glynde

A National Nature Reserve in East Sussex.

0.49 km²

Blackhorse Quarry

SSSI near Battle

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

Dallington Forest

SSSI near Rushlake Green

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.16 km²

Darwell Wood

SSSI near Robertsbridge

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.38 km²

Fore Wood

SSSI near Battle

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.21 km²

Hemingfold Meadow

SSSI near Sedlescombe

A small Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

Maplehurst Wood

SSSI near Hastings

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.32 km²

Photo of Northiam, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Ewhurst Green in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

0.11 km²

Clayton to Offham Escarpment

SSSI near Ditchling

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

4.2 km²

Crowborough Country Park

Country park near Rotherfield

A country park in East Sussex.

Firle Escarpment

SSSI near Firle (West Firle)

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

3 km²

Kingston Escarpment & Iford Hill

SSSI near Rodmell

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.63 km²

Willingdon Down

SSSI near Jevington

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.68 km²

Arlington Reservoir

SSSI near Wilmington

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

1 km²

Asham Quarry

SSSI near Rodmell

A small Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

Combe Haven

SSSI near Hastings

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

1.5 km²

Folkington Reservoir

SSSI near Wilmington

A small Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

Lewes Brooks

SSSI near Rodmell

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

3.4 km²

Plashett Park Wood

SSSI near Isfield

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

1.6 km²

Southerham Works Pit

SSSI near Lewes

A small Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

Binglett's Wood

SSSI near Rushlake Green

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.16 km²

0.41 km²

Herstmonceux Park

SSSI near Herstmonceux

A small Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

High Woods

SSSI near Battle

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.34 km²

0.55 km²

Milton Gate Marsh

SSSI near Wilmington

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.18 km²

Offham Marshes

SSSI near Lewes

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.39 km²

0.1 km²

Rock Wood

SSSI near Fletching

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.1 km²

Sapperton Meadows

SSSI near Rushlake Green

A Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex.

0.15 km²

0.1 km²

Nature reserves in East SussexEast Sussex, England

Old Lodge

Whitehawk Hill & Camp

Hastings Country Park

Seaford to Beachy Head

Ashdown Forest

Ditchling Common

Forest Way Country Park

Seven Sisters Country Park

Lullington Heath

Rye Harbour

Pevensey Levels

Weir Wood Reservoir

Shinewater Park

Castle Hill National Nature Reserve

High Rocks

Chailey Common

Lake Meadow, Battle

Nap Wood

Ashburnham Park

Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs

Filsham Reedbed

Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay

Lewes Downs (Mount Caburn)

Blackhorse Quarry

Dallington Forest

Darwell Wood

Fore Wood

Hemingfold Meadow

Maplehurst Wood

Northiam

River Line

Willingford Meadows

Clayton to Offham Escarpment

Crowborough Country Park

Firle Escarpment

Kingston Escarpment & Iford Hill

Willingdon Down

Arlington Reservoir

Asham Quarry

Combe Haven

Folkington Reservoir

Lewes Brooks

Plashett Park Wood

Southerham Works Pit

Binglett's Wood

Bream Wood

Brede Pit and Cutting

Burgh Hill Farm Meadow

Hastingford Cutting

Heathfield Park

Herstmonceux Park

High Woods

Houghton Green Cliff

Leasam Heronry Wood

Lower Dicker

Marline Valley Woods

Milton Gate Marsh

Offham Marshes

Paines Cross Meadow

Park Corner Heath

Penn's Rocks

Rock Wood

Sapperton Meadows

Scaynes Hill

Southerham Grey Pit

Southerham Machine Bottom Pit

St. Dunstan's Farm Meadows

Stockland Farm Meadows

Waldron Cutting

Winchelsea Cutting