Field Meetings
Field meetings are for members only, though if you are interested in joining the Society, please contact us and we will be delighted to welcome you as a guest.
Important note: Those attending SBRS field meetings do so at their own risk.
ALL MEETINGS START AT 10.45 UNLESS INDICATED OTHERWISE.
The field meetings for this year are listed below. In the event of queries, please email or phone the relevant meeting convenor (see contact details : members only).
We are continuing the system of prebooking meetings as before. It is very helpful to be able to contact participants for any last minute changes of venue, parking, cancellation and plant lists. Those very few meetings which have restricted numbers due to the venue are marked. If members wish to attend, you must book with the East and West Sussex Field meeting convenors, preferably by email.
Since some of the venues have limited parking, and for environmental reasons, members are encouraged to share cars whenever possible.
Lists of some previous years’ field meetings are available.
Date | Leader(s) | Location |
---|---|---|
Wednesday April 17 | Sue Rubinstein & Jacqueline Hutson | Nap Wood. Bryophytes, ferns, spring flora. Ancient semi-natural woodland. Sandstone rocks with bryophytes including gill mosses such as Hookeria lucens & perhaps the rarer Heterocladium flaccidum & Cephaloziella curvifolium. Viola palustris (Marsh Violet) has been recorded. Aim: survey of bryophytes & vascular plants before restoration work. Mainly fairly level but access to the gill involves steep slopes which may be wet & slippery. Distance: 2-3 miles. Meet in the layby at TQ581329 or the larger layby on the W side of the A267, taking care when crossing the road. Please car share as parking space is limited. Limited to 13 members. |
Saturday 27 April | Sue Denness | Shoreham: Widewater Lagoon. Early plants including Cerastium diffusum (Sea Mouse-ear), C. semidecandrum (Little Mouse-ear), Trifolium scabrum (Rough Clover) & T. striatum (Knotted Clover). Public car park at Widewater, West Beach Road BN43 5LS, TQ203042. £4.00 all day parking (Pay and Display: cash, card, RingGo 39707). Public toilets. |
Wednesday 1 May | David Burton & Chris Brewer | Birling Gap. Downland species mainly in TV59S. Chalk grassland, chalk heath, scrub. We may see Ophrys sphegodes (Early Spider-orchid). A circuit of 1.7 miles from Birling Gap to the Belle Tout layby, includes a steep uphill section. If time, an option to continue to Shooters Bottom, where Cerastium arvense (Field Mouse-ear) occurs, an extra 1.8 miles. Park in the overflow car park at Birling Gap at c. TV554960 (parking charge for non-National Trust members). A bus service from Eastbourne & Brighton stops at Eastdean. |
Saturday 18 May | Clive Chatters & Helen Dignum | South Holt, Rowlands Castle. Joint with Hampshire Flora Group. Private estate straddling the county boundary, centred SU746130. Includes semi-natural ancient woodland, chalk grassland, parkland & reverting arable. Soils range from chalk to heavy clay with flint scree. Participants must be able to walk for much of the day as cars will be left in the estate yard. Advance booking essential; joining instructions issued nearer the time. |
Sunday 19 May | Helen Dignum | Wakehurst Place Bioblitz. Baseline survey of three 50m x 50m plots including the Coronation Meadow, Hazel Coppice & the Silk Road Garden. Wakehurst staff & others are also expected to take part. Further plots will be surveyed in future. Follow signs to Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, Haywards Heath RH17 6TN – entrance to car park from Ardingly Road at TQ34313161. Free parking and entry to the grounds for registered participants. |
Saturday 25 May | Evan Jones | Normans Bay. Details to follow. |
Wednesday 5 June | Frances Abraham | Whithurst Park, Kirdford. More or less unimproved grassland & species-rich mixed coppice. Can we re-find Cardamine impatiens (Narrow-leaved Bittercress)? Turn W from Plaistow road into long drive to Whithurst Park at TQ016279. Park in courtyard by house (TQ011284). Numbers limited to 12. |
Wednesday 12 June | Jacqueline Rose & Judy Clark | The Mountain, Hastings. Steeply sloping meadow & a woodland with gill. Our aim: to compile a baseline survey of the meadow to inform future management. It lies on mainly sandy, mildly acid to neutral soil & the presence of Succisa pratensis (Devil’s-bit Scabious) suggests unimproved grassland with an interesting flora. Distance: 2-3 miles. From the A259, drive E along Fairlight Road. Parking is limited to two laybys each holding about two cars: one just W of Peter James Lane & the other in a side road parallel to the main road at TQ865122 (TN35 4AL). Meet at the beacon at the top of the Mountain TN35 4AL, TQ865122 on the E side of Peter James Lane. |
Sunday 16 June | Nevil Hutchinson | Castle Hill NNR. Species-rich chalk grassland known for its orchids, including Ophrys sphegodes (Early Spider-orchid) which may still be in flower. A list of all plants recorded in June from the BSBI Database will be forwarded to registered participants. Steep in places, with little shade. Distance about 7km. Meet in the car park at TQ35620633 ///trumpet.piglets.trades. Or park on Bexhill Rd just S of the car park. |
Thursday 27 June | Paul Whitby | Cocking Chalk Pit. Very old chalk quarry, owned by the Cowdray estate, now gradually being recolonised by calcareous flora. We expect to find some good chalk flora, including Anthyllis vulneraria (Kidney Vetch) and Helianthemum nummularium (Common Rockrose). It's also a good spot for small blue butterflies! Small group, max 10-12. Uneven ground in the quarry. Parking at Cocking Hill Car Park SU87511660. |
Saturday 29 June | Peter Smith | Vert Wood. Large area of native acid woodland, some areas partially planted to conifers. We shall try to refind Linum radiola (Allseed), and expect to see Scutellaria minor (Lesser Skullcap), Betonica officinalis (Betony), native Convallaria majalis (Lily-of-the-Valley) & a good range of sedges. Limited to 15 members. Easy walking, 2-3 miles. Meet at the car parking area in Park Lane at TQ514138. Car share if possible. |
Monday 1 July | Nick Sturt | East Head, W. Wittering. Dunes, dune slacks & saltmarsh with many Rare Plant Register taxa. Meet at the W end of the car park by East Head SZ765983. Free parking arranged by kind permission of the Estate Office at W. Wittering Car Park PO20 8GH. For free parking send your car registration details to Helen Dignum who will notify the Estate Office. |
Sunday 7 July | Ben Benatt | North Stoke Brooks. Wet meadows & ditches in the Arun Valley. The grassland was seeded c.30 years ago with no chemical input since & is farmed organically. Meeting & parking details to follow in May Newsletter. |
Sunday 21 July | Jacqueline Hutson & Michael Way | Chailey Commons. Heath, mire, acid grassland, ponds and streams, patches of woodland. Romany Ridge, Pound, & Memorial Commons, possibly Red House Common. Gentiana pneumonanthe (Marsh Gentian), Cirsium dissectum (Meadow Thistle) & Viola lactea (Pale Dog-violet). Distance c. three miles, mainly on level paths. Tick resistant clothing advised. Meet at Romany Ridge car park TQ377206 (watch for 2m height barrier). |
Wednesday 31 July | Sue Denness | Iping Common. Heath. Trichophorum cespitosum (Deergrass), Helosciadium inundatum (Procumbent Marshwort), Carex vesicaria (Bladder Sedge), Agrostis curtisii (Bristle Bent), Eleogiton fluitans (Floating Club-rush) & Carex rostrata (Bottle Sedge). Park in Sussex Wildlife Trust car park at SU852219. (GU29 0PB ///drizzly.word.volcano). |
Thursday 8 August | Elaine Boot & Geoffrey Kitchener | Scotney Castle. Joint with the Kent Botanical Recording Group. Interesting grassland & woodland on the National Trust estate, in both Kent & E Sussex vice counties. Around 3-4 miles walk. The NT car park is at TQ686353, postcode TN3 8JN. We may need to pre-book with a £4.50 parking fee for non-NT members unless special arrangements can be confirmed - to be notified to booked members nearer the time. NB early start at 10.30. |
Sunday 18 August | Ben Benatt | Tinkers Wood Farm, Hadlow Down. Arable & grassland on hilly terrain. Rich arable weed flora including Viola tricolor (Wild Pansy) & Briza minor (Lesser Quaking-grass). Walk of c.3 miles. Park & meet at farm buildings near the southern end of Tinkers Lane – turn off at TQ539225 opposite turning to Moons Mill House ///brotherly.jars.trickled) |
Saturday 21 September | Brad Scott | Pulborough Brooks. Joint with the British Bryological Society. |