A medium sized container on a local high point surrounded by a sea of heather.
The Serpent Trail - A 64 mile long path that leads you through the purple heather, green woods and golden valleys of the Sussex greensand hills. The sandy heaths are rare and special places for people and wildlife.
ABOUT THE SITE
Hesworth common is owned Fittleworth Parish Council, managed by Hesworth Common conservation Group and supported by the South Downs National Park Authority, Wealden Heath Team.
Size: 41.08 hectares or 101.51 acres
Designations: Identified as a Site of Nature Conservation Importance in May 1992 due to the value of the remaining open heathland, and also the surrounding woodland particularly for nesting birds. Also an Open Access Site
NATURE & WILDLIFE
- Dartford Warblers use gorse for feeding and nesting, they can often be seen singing from the top of the branches. Thanks to the gorse cover and flowers they are able to overwinter here with a plentiful supply of insects. .
- Hesworth common has good areas of acid grassland and Bog asphodel in the wetter areas. Bog Aspodel produces spikes of bright yellow flowers in summer. The bright orange fruits have been used as a colourant to replace saffron.
HISTORY
There is an usual meeting of 5 footpaths on the common which is interesting and may indicate its importance in the past.
There is an old quarry on Hesworth Common that produce Fittleworth Stone: a very good quality sandstone used for buildings and roads.
Gorse makes and excellent firewood with a quick hot flame. Locals would have gathered gorse from the heathland and bundled it up in "faggots". The Great Fire of London is said to have started when faggots next to an oven, caught light after the oven was raked out and left unattended.
HEATHLAND
Heathlands occur on infertile land with thin acidic soils. The soils are usually sandy and therefore free-draining so they do not hold water for long. Heaths are often subject to summer droughts. Fires are a constant hazard, particularly as much of the vegetation is very resinous adding to the fire risk.
Heathlands are a man-made habitat, created thousands of years ago by our ancestors to provide firewood, craft materials and grazing for livestock. They are very vulnerable to rapid loss and degradation, especially through neglect. Birch and Scot’s Pine seedlings soon take over and turn areas into woodland because they shade out the underlying heath vegetation.
The wide open landscape is dominated by heather, gorse and grasses which provide a superb habitat for invertebrates (over 5000), ground nesting birds and all six native reptiles. Many internationally rare species can be found on heathland.
95% of lowland heaths have been lost globally. 1,544 ha of lowland heathland can be found in the National Park which represents an important international resource.
PERMISSIONS
Cache placed with kind permission from Fittleworth Parish Council.