Ditchling Beacon

Ditchling Beacon was an Iron Age hill fort and its ramparts are detectable on their north and east sides (), though the overgrown vegetation and fences makes it difficult to walk them in parts. The eastern ramparts bound a fragment of derelict chalk heath, which is disappearing under scrub and rank grassland. The Beacon represented an excellent position for defensive purposes as it dominates adjoining parts of the South Downs ridge, and particularly the much lower ground to the north (where the villages and towns of Mid Sussex are now located) in the Lower Weald. A single defensive bank and ditch enclosed an area of approximately 5.5 hectares (13.6 acres), making it one of the larger camps…

There are three bostals that run up the escarpment to Ditchling Beacon, the middle one of which carries the motor road. The other two are walkable, but most people do not notice the higher (west of motor road) and lower (east of motor road) bostals, which give easy access, because the slopes are still broken up by thickets despite Sussex Wildlife Trusts's valiant and ongoing efforts to clear the scrub. In contrast, many people scramble enthusiastically up and down the slopes of the Beacon's sister site, Devil's Dyke. The only road access to the summit is via the steep and narrow Beacon Road, which runs from the centre of Ditchling village and takes the name Ditchling Road once the summit is…