Woodland

There are six main woodland areas within the Country Park, although not all have public footpaths through them.

Redgeland Wood
Redgeland Wood

Redgeland Wood

This is in the area north of Marker Post 22 and extends outside the park on the other side of the railway line. It consists of Hazel Corylus avellana coppice below standards of Ash Fraxinus excelsior and English Oak Quercus robur. Notable plants of the shrub and ground layers include Butcher’s Broom Ruscus aculeatus, Midland Hawthorn Crataegus laevigata and Bird’s-nest Orchid Neottia nidus-avis.

Marsh Wood

This is south of Redgeland Wood and is another oak-hazel-ash wood but with Field Maple Acer campestre present above a ground flora which includes Wood Speedwell, Veronica montana and Goldilocks Ranunculus auricomus.

Combe Wood
Combe Wood

Combe Wood

This area of ancient woodland is to the south of part of a disused railway track which runs between marker posts 13 and 25. At MP25 another path runs underneath the old railway track and goes uphill through the wood to MP35. The wood is part of a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) which also includes a one mile section of the dis-used Bexhill West Branch Line.

Monkham Wood

This wood is a little way west of marker post 52 but does not have any public footpaths near it. It is coppice-with-standards woodland with oak and ash standards above coppiced hazel, Hornbeam Carpinus betulus and Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa.

Decoy Pond Wood

This wood has developed on wet ground around a pond which is drying up and the wood has no public footpaths through it. White Willow Salix alba, Crack Willow Salix fragilis, Alder Alnus glutinosa and Sallow Salix cinerea occur above a ground flora of Cyperus Sedge Carex pseudocyperus, Wood Bittercress Cardamine flexuosa, Yellow Flag Iris pseudacorus and Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria. Ash, Oak and English Elm Ulmus procera occur on the drier margins of this wood and Early Purple Orchid Orchis mascula and Twayblade Neottia ovata occur in the ground flora.

Pebsham Wood

This private wood with no footpath access lies on the edge of the Pebsham part of Bexhill.

Footpaths - 12 March

Most paths are walkable now the water level has dropped. However, many are still very muddy and a few are only really walkable in wellies.

Report overgrown rights of way to East Sussex and other paths to the Friends of Combe Valley.

Latest News

Whooper Swan

This year our usual winter-visiting wildfowl have been joined by a Whooper Swan. This unusual visitor to the park was last recorded here 12 years ago.

New on this website

April 2022 - A new section, "Nature's Calendar", has been added giving details of what to look out for around the Countryside Park at different times of the year.