2020-07-16 Duddleswell Stroll & Picnic

by Pete Ruse
4 years ago
Near Fairwarp, GB

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Start from Duddleswell CP on Ashdown Forest (opp. tea rooms - currently closed) - postcode TN22 3BH
NB: Remember your BYO picnic.

Meet 9:45 for 10:00 set-off. Circular route with freestyle Picnic (i.e. on grass) at noon approx 2/3rds round. Total approx 5 miles.

Undulating morning route via Nutley with spur to Airman's Grave, past Nutley Windmill to Friends Clump, then picnic with sweeping views across to the South Downs. Largely level / gentle descent for the route back after lunch.

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Airman’s Grave:- Despite its name, no one is buried here. It is a memorial to six young men, the crew of a Wellington bomber who were all killed when it
crashed here on 31 July 1941. They were part of a 100 plane bombing mission to Cologne but were forced to turn back in atrocious weather with engine trouble. Annual remembrance services are still held here.

Nutley Windmill is the last open-trestle post mill in Sussex - indeed one of only five surviving in the country - and the only one working. Having an open trestle, Nutley Windmill is a very fine example of the oldest post mill design, known since the 12th century. The mill is believed to be about 300 years old. As there wasn't a mill on this site before 1820, it has been suggested that it came from Kilndown in Kent. But one thing is certain, the post was used before, probably supporting at least two other mills.

Friends Clump:- Clumps of Scots pines were first ordered to be planted here in 1825 by Elizabeth, Countess de la Warr, whose descendants owned the Forest until 1988. At the time, local people were outraged by these “interlopers” and many of the trees were cut down! They became iconic, however, and in 1973 The Friends of Ashdown Forest decided to commemorate the “Year of the Tree” by planting the Friends’ Clump.