Ditchling Common Country Park
Latest
There have been reports of motorcycles using the Common. This is damaging, potentially dangerous, and against the byelaws. Please call 999 if motorbikes are seen on the Common.
Ditchling Common Country Park is a 74.5-hectare designated Country Park and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), located just east of Burgess Hill.
The Park is divided by the B2112 road running north–south from Ditchling to Wivelsfield, and is used for activities such as walking, fishing, picnicking, education and dog walking.
Respect
Please remember that Ditchling Common is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This means the area is legally protected due to its valuable and often rare wildlife, plant life, and natural features.
Everyone has a role to play in helping preserve this important environment for future generations. When visiting the Park, please:
Respect nature
- Stay on marked paths to avoid disturbing sensitive habitats.
- Do not pick plants, flowers, or fungi - many are rare or endangered.
- Keep dogs under control, especially around wildlife and grazing animals.
- Don’t feed wild or grazing animals.
Respect other users
- Share the space thoughtfully with other visitors.
- Keep noise to a minimum to help preserve the peaceful atmosphere and reduce stress on wildlife.
Take your litter home
- Litter harms wildlife and spoils the natural beauty of the Common.
- Even biodegradable waste like food scraps or dog waste can be damaging – please take all rubbish with you.
Thank you for helping to protect and preserve Ditchling Common.
Dogs
Dogs are welcome at Ditchling Common — but please help us protect the wildlife and respect other visitors
Ditchling Common is a sensitive natural environment and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). We kindly ask that all dog owners follow a few important guidelines to help preserve this special place.
🐾 Keep Your Dog Under Control at All Times
- Dogs must be kept on a lead or under close control, especially during nesting season and in areas where livestock may be present.
- Please prevent your dog from chasing or disturbing wildlife, including birds, deer, and small mammals.
- The pond area is particularly sensitive, as it provides a vital habitat for nesting birds and other aquatic species. Please keep dogs away from the water’s edge to avoid disturbing them.
💩 Clean Up After Your Dog
- Dog waste can harm wildlife and affect the health of other visitors. It also pollutes the soil and water.
- Please pick up after your dog every time - even in remote areas.
- Use the dog waste bins provided near the car park, or take your waste home with you if the bins are full or unavailable.
By following these simple steps, you're helping to ensure that Ditchling Common remains a safe and welcoming space for everyone — including local wildlife.
Thank you for being a responsible dog owner.
Drones
🚫Drones are not permitted at Ditchling Common. This is to protect both people and wildlife.
How to get there
There is a large car park situated on Folders Lane East at the southern end of the Park. The map reference for the car park is TQ335181. The nearest train stations are Burgess Hill and Wivelsfield.
More information
For visitor information, including a location map and nature trail details please see:
- Ditchling Common Country Park [320.5 KB] [pdf]
Report a problem
The danger posed to wildlife by discarded fishing equipment is made clear to anglers when they are granted a permit to fish. We litter-pick at the site once a week. But if you have concerns, please report them to the Countryside Management Team. Precise location details and photographs are extremely useful in helping us deal quickly with any issues:
- Email: Countryside Management Team
If you find an injured wild animal please contact Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)
- Telephone: 0300 123 4999
- Website: RSPCA
East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service
- Emergency line 0781 507 8234
- Website: Wildlife Rescue
Habitat and conservation
Unique habitat
Ditchling Common is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) primarily because of its heavy clay soil. The soil supports a variety of grassland types, making it ecologically valuable.
Around 1950, the park was almost treeless, dominated by heavily grazed grass and bracken.
As grazing pressure eased later in the 20th century, trees began to spread. Today, nearly 50% of the park is woodland.
This mix of scrub and woodland provides essential habitats for species such as dormice, butterflies, and nesting birds.
Conservation management
If left unmanaged, Ditchling Common would eventually be covered in mature trees, with little understorey. To maintain the rich biodiversity, our conservation efforts focus on:
- Controlling woodland succession
- Preserving and extending open grassland areas
- Maintaining a patchwork of scrub habitats
This is achieved through a combination of methods. Including tree felling, coppicing, mowing, bracken rolling, and grazing with cattle.
Coppicing: an ancient conservation tool
Coppicing is the practice of cutting trees down to just above ground level during winter, and allowing them to regrow from the stump.
Historically, this method was used to grow timber of the desired size before mechanized tools existed. From a conservation perspective, coppicing:
- Prolongs tree life by rejuvenating them
- Keeps woodland in flux with trees of varying ages
- Supports a wider range of wildlife species by creating diverse habitats
Wildlife highlights
Dormice
The woodland areas at Ditchling Common are home to dormice. These charming creatures indicate healthy woodland ecosystems. Although rarely seen, we plan to launch a monitoring program to learn more about their population here.
Butterflies
Ditchling Common is a haven for butterflies, including all five species of hairstreak butterflies, purple emperors, and several rare moths.
These fascinating insects thrive across the park’s varied habitats.
Explore and enjoy the rich natural heritage of Ditchling Common while helping us protect it for future generations!
Fishing at Ditchling Common Country Park
Permits
Fishing at Ditchling Common requires a valid permit.
- Current permits are valid from July 2025 until end of June 2026.
- Applications for new permits are currently closed.
- Permits are limited to 50 per year and issued on a first-come, first-served basis.
Fishing rules
- Please read the full Rules of Fishing [154.3 KB] [pdf]
Fishing areas and access
- Permit holders may fish day and night in two ponds on the Common.
- There is no closed season for fishing.
- Both ponds were surveyed by the Environment Agency in 1999, confirming a good variety and range of fish ages.
- Some disturbance from other visitors especially around the main pond is inevitable during busy periods, such as summer weekends and school holidays.
- An easy access path is available, providing access to fishing spots.
Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and enjoyable fishing environment at Ditchling Common!
Contact us
If you have any questions please contact the Countryside Management Team .
History and folklore
A brief history of Ditchling Common
Ditchling Common is a rare surviving example of ancient common land. Remarkably, its boundaries have remained largely unchanged since the 14th century.
For centuries, it was owned by the Marquis of Abergavenny, forming part of the Manor of Ditchling. From mediaeval times until 1950, the Common was maintained through seasonal, stinted grazing. This was a traditional system where local copyholders had rights to graze cattle, limited to a maximum of 121 animals over the 273-acre site.
After the land was sold in 1950, grazing ceased, leading to ecological decline. The northern part of the Common (north of Folders Lane) became overgrown with scrub. Meanwhile, much of the southern section was ploughed and fertilised, reducing species diversity.
This decline prompted public outcry. As a result East Sussex County Council purchase the Common in 1974 and established it as a Country Park. At that time, commoners’ rights on the northern half were extinguished. The southern part, however, is under the stewardship of The Ditchling Beacon and Common Company and remains common.
The land thankfully avoided intensive modern farming. This means many historic landscape features - the “lumps and bumps” of centuries past - are still visible today.
Healing spring
In the middle of the Common is a chalybeate (iron rich) spring. The waters of this spring were once famed for their healing powers. In the 19th century, a bronze axe head and copper ingots were found nearby, possibly left as an offering to the spring.
Witches
A common folk tale in Sussex is that of a witch who could transform into a hare at night. One specific story links an unnamed witch from Ditchling Common to this legend. When chased by men and dogs, the hare was bitten on the leg, and the next day, an old woman from the area was seen with an injured ankle.
Another prevalent Sussex legend involves a witch who had the power to stop carts and wagons in their tracks. This is another tale specifically associated with an unnamed witch who lived on Ditchling Common. No matter how hard the horses pulled, the cart would not move until the spell was broken. This is a common theme in the folklore of several Sussex villages, including Plumpton, Findon, and Old Shoreham.
Jacobs Post
To the north of the Common near Jane’s Lane is Jacob’s Post. In 1734 Jacob Harris (Yacob Hirsch) a Jewish pedlar, put up his horse at the Royal Oak pub. He was alleged to have slashed the landlord’s throat and murdered his wife and a maid. The landlord lived long enough to identify the assailant. Jacob was tried and executed in Horsham, but his body was hanged from a gibbet on Ditchling Common. This became a site of pilgrimage with fragments of the post reputed to cure infertility and various diseases.
At Horsham gallows he was hanged there,
The 31st of August that same year;
And where he did the crime, they took the pains,
To bring him back and hang him up in chains;
It is a dismal sight for to behold,
Enough to make a heart of stone run cold
Wartime tragedy on the Common
On 20th June 1939, just months before the outbreak of World War II, Flight Sergeant Leonard Frank Davis tragically lost his life, when the Hawker Hurricane Mk I aircraft he was piloting was apparently struck by lightning and crashed on Ditchling Common.
This incident serves as a poignant reminder of the risks faced by pilots, even in training, on the eve of war.
Byelaws
Ditchling Common Country Park byelaws
BYELAWS made under Section 41 of the Countryside Act 1968 by the East Sussex County Council with respect to a Country Park at Ditchling Common.
1. (i) In these Byelaws:
a) "The Park" shall mean the area of the Ditchling Common Country Park, for the purposes of identification shown as nearly as may be on the map annexed to these Byelaws and thereon coloured pink;
b) "The Council" shall mean the East Sussex County Council;
c) "Firearm" has the same meaning as in Section 57 of the Firearms Act 1968;
d) "Vehicle" shall include any carriage, cart, caravan, machine, truck, motor car, bicycle, motor bicycle and any other electrically or mechanically propelled vehicle.
e) "Model Aircraft" means an aircraft which either weighs not more than five kilogrammes without its fuel or is for the time being exempted (as a model aircraft) from the provisions of the Air Navigation Act;
f) "Power driven" means driven by the combustion of petrol vapour or other combustible vapour or other combustible substances, or by one or more electric motors or by compressed gas;
g) "Jet propelled" or "rocket propelled" means driven by jet propulsion or by means of a rocket, other than by means of a small reaction motor powered by a solid fuel pellet not exceeding one inch in length.
(ii) The Interpretation Act 1978 shall apply to the interpretation of these Byelaws as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
2. (i) An act necessary to the proper execution of his duty in the Park by an officer of the Council or by any person or servant of any person employed by the Council shall not be deemed an offence against these Byelaws;
(ii) Nothing in or done under any of the provisions of these Byelaws shall in any respect prejudice or injuriously affect any public right of way through the land or the rights of any person acting lawfully by virtue of some estate, right or interest in, over or affecting the land or any part thereof.
Restriction of public access
3. No person shall, without written authority from the Council, enter or remain in any area of the Park which by notice is prohibited to the general public Provided that such notice shall not apply to more than one-fifth of the area of the Park.
Damage to or removal of things in the Park
4. No person shall without lawful excuse or authority in the Park, kill, molest or intentionally disturb any animal, bird or fish or engage in hunting or shooting or fishing or the setting of traps or nets or the laying of snares Provided that this byelaw shall not prohibit any killing, shooting or trapping of vermin or other animals for the purpose of controlling the animal population or for Scientific Survey of the animal population which may be authorised by the Council and shall not prohibit any fishing which may be authorised in writing by the Council.
5. No person shall in the Park without reasonable excuse remove or displace any wall or fence in or enclosing the Park or any building, barrier, railing, noticeboard, post, seat, or any erection, structure or ornament within the Park.
6. No person shall in the Park remove or displace any soil or plants.
Relating to animals etc brought into the Park
7. No person shall cause or suffer a dog belonging to him or in his charge to remain in the Park, unless such dog be and continue to be under proper control and be effectually restrained from causing annoyance to any person, and from worrying or disturbing any animal.
8. No person shall, except in pursuance of a lawful agreement with the County Council, turn out, tether or permit any animal to graze in the Park.
Relating to watercourses and ponds
9. No person shall intentionally, recklessly or negligently foul or pollute any watercourse comprised in the Park.
10. No person shall obstruct the flow of any drain or other watercourse or open, shut or otherwise interfere with any sluice gate or similar apparatus in the Park.
11. No person shall in the Park bathe or wade in any pond or other watercourse.
Relating to the use of vehicles
12. (i) No person shall, except in the exercise of any lawful right or privilege bring or cause to be brought into the Park any barrow or vehicle other than –
a) a wheeled bicycle, tricycle or other similar machine;
b) a wheelchair, or perambulator drawn or propelled by hand and used solely for the conveyance of a child or children or an invalid.
Provided that where the Council set apart a space in the Park for the use of any class of vehicle, this byelaw shall not be deemed to prohibit the driving in or to that space by the route provided for the purpose from the entrance to the Park of any vehicle of the class for which it is set apart.
(ii) Where, by a notice conspicuously exhibited on or near thereto the Council set apart any space in the Park as a parking place for vehicles or vehicles of a specified class a person shall not, except in exercise of any lawful right or privilege:
a) park a vehicle in any other part of the Park;
b) leave in the parking place any vehicle unless it is of the class so specified;
c) leave in the parking place any vehicle between the hours of 11 pm and 6 am.
(iii) A person shall not except in the exercise of any lawful right or privilege ride any bicycle, tricycle or other similar machine in any part of the Park.
13. No person shall land any aircraft or hovercraft in the Park except in the case of an emergency.
Noise
14. No person shall by operating or causing or suffering to be operated any wireless set, gramophone, tape recorder or similar instrument or any musical instrument make, cause or suffer to be made, any noise which is so loud or so continuous or repeated as to give reasonable cause for annoyance to other persons in the Park.
Relating to firearms
15. No person shall in the Park without lawful authority fire or discharge any firearm.
Prevention of fire
16. (i) No person shall light a fire in the Park or place or throw or let fall a lighted match or any other thing so as to be likely to cause a fire;
(ii) this byelaw shall not prevent the lighting or use of a properly constructed camping stove or cooker in any area set aside by the Council for the purpose, in such a manner as not to cause danger of or damage by fire.
Camping and caravanning
17. No person shall erect a tent or use any vehicle, including a caravan, or any other structure (including any tent) for the purpose of camping in the Park except on any area which may be set apart by the Council and indicated by notice as a place where camping is permitted.
Public meetings
18. No person shall hold or take part in any public meeting or assembly in the Park.
Public entertainments
19. No person shall hold or take part in any show, performance, concert, exhibition or other entertainment in the Park Provided that this byelaw shall not apply to any show, concert or other entertainment authorised by the Council.
Gates
20. Where the Council have indicated by notice conspicuously exhibited on or alongside any gate in the Park that leaving that gate open is prohibited, no person having opened that gate or caused it to be open shall leave it open.
Riding
21. No person shall in the Park ride any horse:
(i) other than on a public bridleway or other way or path indicated by notices placed by the Council to be available for use by horse riders; or
(ii) to the danger of any person.
Relating to model aircraft
22. No person shall:
(i) release any jet propelled, or rocket propelled, power driven model aircraft for flight or control the flight of such aircraft in the Park; or
(ii) cause any jet propelled, rocket propelled, or power driven model aircraft to take off or land in the Park.
Relating to metal detectors
23. No person shall in the Park use any device designed or adapted for detecting or locating any metal or mineral in the ground.
Miscellaneous prohibitions
24. No person shall erect any post, rail, fence, pole, booth, seat, stand, building or other structure in the Park.
25. No person shall affix or cause to be affixed any advertisement, bill, placard or notice upon any building, wall, fence, gate, door, pillar, post, tree, rock or stone in or enclosing the Park.
26. No person shall in the Park sell, or offer or expose for sale or let to hire, or offer or expose for letting or hire any commodity or article except in pursuance of an agreement with the Council.
27. No person shall climb any wall or fence in or enclosing the Park, or any tree or any barrier, railing, post or other erection.
28. No person shall in the Park intentionally obstruct, disturb or annoy any other person in the proper use of the Park or intentionally obstruct or disturb any warden or any other officer of the Council in the proper execution of his duty or any person or servant of any person employed by the Council in the proper execution of any work in connection with the laying out or maintenance of the Park.
29. Any person who offends against any of these Byelaws shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.
Improvement plan
Funding has been made available from a nearby housing development in Burgess Hill. These funds are for the management, maintenance and improvement of Ditchling Common County Park – both in terms of public access and the site’s ecology.
A four-week online consultation was carried out in the summer of 2025 to gauge the public’s opinion, and to help with the planning of how these funds are best to be spent.
The planned improvements are as follows:
- Car park improvements
- Easy access trail resurfacing and bridge replacement
- Improved interpretation and signage
- New picnic benches and seating
- Pond renovation and pond dipping platform
- Other path improvements
The consultation has also highlighted the degree to which the Park is used for dog exercising.
The next steps are to develop plans to deliver these priority improvements.
