Beat the Bounds at Whitehawk Hill
By Jess Price
Conservation Officer
Sunday 1 March 2020 – Urgent call out at Whitehawk Hill Local Nature Reserve.
Join the Friends of Whitehawk Hill to ‘Beat the Bounds’ and demonstrate our love for this ancient and threatened landscape.
Whitehawk Hill LNR is a fabulous site for wildlife, linking the city to the South Downs National Park and acting as a green lung, delivering services that we all rely on, including filtering our drinking water, absorbing carbon, feeding our pollinators and providing a much loved recreational space.
This wonderful site is threatened by Brighton & Hove City Council choosing to include a housing allocation on the Local Nature Reserve in the draft City Plan Part 2. This allocation will sever the Local Nature Reserve and set a dangerous precedent that sites designated for their wildlife importance will not be protected or valued.
Beating the Bounds is an ancient tradition dating back to when there were no maps. Local people would walk the boundaries of their local parish to commit them to collective memory. Various boundary points or stones were beaten with willow or birch wands. It should be a fun and empowering morning.
Full details can be found on the Friends of Whitehawk Hill Facebook page
Come one, Come all – bring sticks!
Meet 9.50 for 10am sharp start, on the grass outside Dobbies Garden Centre, Warren Road, BN2 9XX. Greeting and photos. The first part of the walk is easy, please do join for this part if you are less mobile.
10.30 am we reach the Neolithic Camp with its wide views. From here we descend the steep steps from Manor Hill, turning in halfway down on the chalky path across the Hill. We finish on the field opposite
Heybourne Road, for refreshments and some may wish to walk up fine wide path we all cut together recently. It may be a bit muddy, slippery, or even rainy, boots and outdoor gear advised. Bring friends and family, dogs welcome.
Come costumed if you fancy, a Bounds Beater of yore!
Public Transport: 2, 22 to top Elm Grove. 18 to very near top of Freshfield Rd., 21 to Race Ground. FREE PARKING in Tenantry Down Road, Freshfield Road, Manor Hill on Sundays.