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Bedelands Local Nature Reserve

Picture Credit: “File:Valebridge Pond – geograph.org.uk – 843905.jpg” by Simon Carey is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Ancient Woodland, Wildflower Meadows and a Mill Pond

At 33 hectares (80 acres), Bedelands Local Nature Reserve is the largest green site in Burgess Hill. Owned by Mid Sussex District Council, it lies at the north-east of the town. It is signposted from Maple Drive and Valebridge Road. Access to it is from the playing fields next to Burgess Hill Town Football Club, off Maple Drive, and from Coopers Close. Other entry points are from a footpath near Valebridge Close and from beneath the viaduct in Valebridge Road.

The area comprises several areas of ancient woodland (such as Big Wood), wildflower meadows, hedgerows and a large mill pond. The meadows have never been ploughed and support a wide variety of wildflowers, including some rare species. The woods are broadleaf, with much hornbeam and hazel understorey. Mid Sussex District Council owns the site, and the Friends of Burgess Hill Green Circle Network help to maintain it.

Said to have originally been part of the Manor of Keymer, it was farmed as pasture before its ownership by Mid Sussex District Council.  There are seven meadows set in ancient woodlands, with a great profusion of wildlife, including the protected Hazel Dormouse. Wildflowers are abundant, so much so that the Millennium Seedbank and High Weald Landscape Trust both harvest seeds here. Wildflower meadows like these are becoming increasingly rare in the UK, with only about three per cent of their original number surviving today.

The Nature Reserve consists of ancient meadows, woodland, hedgerows, and ponds. Since 1994, in consultation with the District Council and the University of Sussex, the Friends group has been surveying the wildlife and keeping records so that a comprehensive management plan can be devised and implemented to conserve all the flora and fauna for the public’s enjoyment.

The Nature Reserve is a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI). Valebridge Meadow was designated a Coronation Meadow in 2013.

The River Adur and a large Mill Pond run along the northern boundary, with the London to Brighton railway along the eastern side.

There are a few smaller ponds and a fenced Dipping Pond, complete with platform, which children’s groups and schools frequently book.

This beautiful site is regularly enjoyed both by local residents and by visitors from further afield.

Bedelands Farm Crossing
You’ll find a simple foot crossing over the main railway line just to the North of Wiveslfield Station on the northern edge of Burgess Hill at World’s End. A stile on either side of the line needs to be crossed to access the foot crossing.

It is about a seven-minute walk from Wivelsfield Station, looking to the south from the crossing. And, if you look to the North, you can just about see Haywards Heath station through the tunnel in the distance.

Access is via a walk through the paths and fields of Bedelands Nature reserve or down the path from Valebridge Road, where there is limited parking.

A person and person posing for a picture Description automatically generated with low confidenceTake a walk through Bedelands with Richard Vobes
Picture Credit: This is a screenshot from that video shown above. All rights of Richard Vobes and The BaldExplorer are duly acknowledged.

You can watch Richard Vobes (aka The Bald Explorer) as he wanders through Bedelands on YouTube here.

Birds
The area has a diverse array of bird species like Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Long-eared Owl, Sparrowhawk, Mistle Thrush, Common Raven, Eurasian Kestrel and Eurasian Treecreeper. Check out the bird list at: https://www.birdingplaces.eu/en/birdingplaces/united-kingdom/bedelands-nature-reserve

Address
Bedelands Farm Nature Reserve
Burgess Hill
West Sussex
RH15 8AW

Tel: 01444 477 561
Website: http://www.burgesshill.gov.uk/bedelands
Map: Magic Map Application (defra.gov.uk)

Sources and Further Reading

GladePicture Credit: “Glade” by Dominic’s pics is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Martin Pollins

Martin Pollins is a Chartered Accountant and MBA with wide experience in corporate finance and business management. He has served on the boards of several companies, including those listed on the London Stock Exchange, AIM and OFEX. He is the Chairman and Founder of OneSmartPlace and was a Council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales from 1988 to 1996. He was managing partner of PRB Martin Pollins, based in Sussex, the first Accountancy firm to advertise on British television. He went on to create and launch the CharterGroup Partnership (the UK’s first Accountancy network) and then LawGroup UK (at the time, one of the largest networks of lawyers in the UK). In recent years, he helped to raise several £millions to fund British films such as The Da Vinci Code, Bridge of San Luis Rey, Head in the Clouds and Merchant of Venice with actors such as Charlize Theron, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, F. Murray Abraham. Kathy Bates, Gabriel Byrne, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Audrey Tautou, Penélope Cruz, Steven Berkoff, Lynn Collins, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes and many more. He has written several business publications (see https://onesmartplace.com/resources/)

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