Blackcap
Day Trip to Ditchling
The village lies at the foot of the South Downs in East Sussex,
between the Downs to the south and Lodge Hill to the north. The area offers excellent walks with stunning views. Ditchling Beacon one of the highest points of the South Downs is near the village.
Ditchling Common, north of the village, is the source of the eastern River Adur which meets with the western River Adur near Henfield and flows in to the English Channel at Shoreham-by-Sea.
History
The history of Ditchling starts in Saxon times, when the people of Dicul settled here and King Alfred the Great held lands as a Royal Manor.
It is unknown exactly when the people of Dicul settled in the village, but Ditchling is first recorded in 765 as Dicelinga in a grant by King Alduuf of land bordering that of Ditchling. Later it is recorded that the Manor and its lands were held by King Alfred. When Alfred died in the year 900 it was given to a kinsmen named Osferth, and then reverted to the Crown under Edward the Confessor. After the Norman conquest, the land was held by William de Warenne. The Domesday book mentions a church and a mill in Ditchling and the population was approx 150 households. The land passed through several hands until in 1435 it was owned by the Marquess of Abergavenny who held it until the 20th century, when it was sold to developers who failed to get planning permission to build.
Source: Wikipedia
Day Trip to Rotherfield
Rotherfield lies halfway between Mayfield and Crowborough on top of a hill in an area of outstanding beauty. It is the source of the River Rother, which springs from a cellar in a house in the village, and the River Uck.
There are written records of Rotherfield in the 8th century. It was featured in the Domesday Book and in various other medieval documents. Three inhabitants were burnt at the stake for their religious beliefs in Tudor times.
Rotherfield was originally a Saxon settlement in an area generally covered with oak forest. The church stands at the top of the hill, which was then surrounded by cleared land.
The areas nearest to the valley bottoms, where water was available, were farmed.
After an excellent traditional pub-meal at the Catts Inn with very friendly service, we set out on our 8.5 km walk on the warm and sunny afternoon.
The Pub!
St Denys Church
Distant Rotherfield
Dewlands Manor Golf Club
A wood full of bluebells
Typical countryside
Pass with difficulty
St Michael and All Angels Church, Jarvis Brook
Erosion
Iron-rich stream
Hornshurst Wood, Rotherfield
Weather in Shoreham – August 2017
A wet month, but a fine and warm Bank Holiday weekend
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during August 2017 in Shoreham was 21.5 Celsius (70F), and that was less than 1 Celsius (1.8F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 13.4 Celsius (56F), and that was almost 1 Celsius (2F) below the normal August value.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 26.3 Celsius (79F) on the 27th, but the 29th was only 0.1 Celsius (0.2F) less warm. These were the only 2 days with temperatures above 25 Celsius (77F), but during the last week of August there were a further 3 days with maxima above 23 Celsius (73F). The 14th and 15th were the only other days with highs above 23 Celsius (73F). On most days (18) the temperature rose to between 20 and 23 Celsius (68-73F), but there were 6 occasions when the maxima failed to reach 20 Celsius (68F). On 4 of these days, the temperature was only a fraction of a degree below 20 Celsius (68F), but on the 2nd the high was only 18.4 Celsius (65F), and on the 30th it was decidedly cool. The temperature only reached 15.1 Celsius (59F), making it the coolest August day for 14 years..
There were several warm nights during August, and on 10 occasions the temperature remained above 15 Celsius (59F). However, only 1 of these warmer nights had minima above 17 Celsius (63F), namely the 23rd when 17.7 Celsius (64F) was recorded. There were 3 fairly cool nights in August and on these occasions minimum temperatures were below 10 Celsius (50F). On the 20th the temperature fell fractionally below 10 Celsius (50F), but on both the 14th and 31st minima were below 9 Celsius (48F). The lowest reading was 8.1 Celsius (46F) on the 31st.
The sea temperature stayed around 19 Celsius (66F) throughout the month.
Frost
There were no frosts in Shoreham during August. The lowest grass minimum was 5.6 Celsius (42F) on both the 20th and 31st.
Rain
There were 84.4 millimetres (3.3 ins.) of rain during August, and that was approaching 50% above average. Rain fell on 13 days, a couple of days above what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more) amounted to 10 days, also slightly above what can be expected in August. No measurable rain fell on the first day of the month, but the 2nd was very wet with 28 millimetres (1.1 ins. falling). The weather stayed changeable, although amounts of rain were small until the 8th. On the 8th, over 3 millimetres (0.1 ins.) of rain fell, with a further 11.6 millimetres (0.5 ins.) recorded on the 9th. Although the day was fine, overnight rain produced nearly 8 millimetres (0.3 ins.) on the 16th, and over 16 millimetres (0.6 ins.) fell on the 20th. There was a run of 6 dry days between the 23rd and 28th but there was an unsettled end to the month with almost 7 millimetres (0.3 ins.) of rain falling on the 31st.
*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC
Hail
There was no hail reported in Shoreham during August.
Thunder
There were 4 days when thunder was observed in Shoreham. Early in the afternoon on the 5th a storm occurred over the Downs but with no rain in central Shoreham. A rumble of thunder occurred late in the morning of the 8th and there was lightning and a few distant thunderclaps late on the evening of the 22nd. The last thunder of the month was noted mid afternoon on the 31st.
Wind
August was a ‘westerly’ month with around two thirds of winds blowing from between southwest and northwest. The first half of August was often quite breezy but it became generally calmer after the 20th. At Shoreham Airport a gust of 37 knots (42 mph) occurred on the morning of the 3rd, with 36 knots (41 mph) recorded on the afternoon of the 18th.
Fog
There was no fog observed in Shoreham during August.
Statistics for August 2017
| Reporting Station | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Shoreham Airport | 24.5 | 5.3 | 90 | 22 | 17 |
| Thorney Island | 25.3 | 7.3 | * | * | * |
| Gatwick Airport | 27.4 | 5.4 | 50 | 14 | 12 |
| Herstmonceux | 27.3 | 7.0 | * | * | * |
| Bournemouth (Hurn) | 25.8 | 4.6 | * | * | * |
| Middle Wallop | 27.3 | 7.7 | * | * | * |
| Dieppe | 28.9 | 8.9 | 90 | 32 | 16 |
*Data missing
A taste of Autumn?
Last night the temperature fell to 8.7 Celsius in Shoreham, the lowest reading since 20th May. At Gatwick Airport the minimum was 6.6 Celsius. A heavy dew was another reminder that Autumn is not far away, but with temperatures expected to rise above 20 Celsius again today, there’s confirmation that we are not finished with Summer just yet.
Weather in Shoreham – July 2017
A warm, but also a wet and windy month
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during July 2017 in Shoreham was 22.5 Celsius (73F), and that was 2 Celsius (3.5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 14.8 Celsius (59F), and that was almost 1 Celsius (2F) above the normal July value.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 29.7 Celsius (86F) on the 18th, but there were 4 other warm days when the temperature rose above 25 Celsius (77F). All of the warm weather occurred during the first 18 days of the month, including maxima of 27.3 Celsius (81F) on the 6th and 27.1 Celsius (81F) on the 9th.; after that, the only maximum above 23 Celsius (73F) was the 23.4 Celsius (74F) recorded on the 21st. There were many days when temperatures rose to between 20 and 23 Celsius (68-73F), but there were 4 days when maxima remained below 20 Celsius (68F). The only day when the temperature failed to reach 19 Celsius (66F) was the 26th when a high of 18.6 Celsius occurred.
There were several warm nights during July. and on 13 occasions the temperature remained above 15 Celsius (59F). On 5 of these warmer nights minima were above 17 Celsius (63F), including a low of 18.2 Celsius (65F) on the 6th. There were no particularly cool nights during July, although on 3 nights minima were below 13 Celsius (55F). On the 4th a low of 11.6 Celsius (53F) occurred, but the coolest night of the month was the 22nd/23rd when a minimum of 10.3 Celsius (50F) was measured..
The sea temperature stayed at 18 or 19 Celsius (64-66F) throughout the month..
Frost
There were no frosts in Shoreham during July. The lowest grass minimum was 7.8 Celsius (46F) on the 4th.
Rain
There were 81.8 millimetres (2.1 ins.) of rain during July, and that was approaching 50% above average. Rain fell on 11 days, close to what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more) amounted to 9 days, also close to what can be expected in July. No measurable rain fell during the first 10 days of July, but rain set in during the afternoon of the 11th and became heavy at times overnight. The total for the rainfall day* was 26.6 millimetres (1.05 ins.). A short dry spell ensued but rain on the evening of the 18th became torrential for a while overnight and resulted in a total of 25.6 millimetres (1 inch) of rain. A changeable period of weather followed, and between the 18th and 29th there was only 1 completely dry day, the 21st. Some heavy bursts of rain occurred, with 7.8 millimetres (0.3 ins.) measured on the 21st, almost 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on the 22nd, and 9 millimetres (0.35 ins.) on the 29th. The last 2 days of the month were dry.
*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC
Hail
There was no hail reported in Shoreham during July.
Thunder
There were 3 days when thunder was observed in Shoreham. On the evening of the 18th thunderstorms broke out, with these becoming severe in the early hours of the 19th. Continuous thunder and lightning occurred for over an hour before they finally moved away to the north. At one stage, the rain was falling at a rate of almost 90 millimetres (3.5 ins.) per hour. The last thunderstorm of the month, on the 22nd, was slight, and produced just 2 rumbles in the middle of the afternoon..
Wind
It was a windy July, especially during the second half of the month. Winds from a southwesterly direction accounted for nearly 60% of the observations, although breezes from a northeasterly point coincided with some of the warm days. The 28th was the windiest day at the Airport with 34 knots (39 mph) recorded.
Fog
There was no fog observed in Shoreham during July.
Statistics for July 2017
| Reporting Station | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Shoreham Airport | 28.2 | 8.6 | 79 | 22 | 12 |
| Thorney Island | 28.3 | 9.4 | * | * | * |
| Gatwick Airport | 29.7 | 7.7 | * | * | * |
| Herstmonceux | 27.3 | 9.3 | 70 | 24 | 12 |
| Bournemouth (Hurn) | 28.5 | 6.8 | * | * | * |
| Middle Wallop | 29.1 | 7.4 | 89 | 24 | 14 |
| Dieppe | 33.6 | 10.7 | 35 | 13 | 17 |
*Data missing
Wettest in England
Yes, Wednesday was a very wet day. A total of 28 millimetres (1.1 inches) of rain fell, making it the wettest place in England. However, there were 2 wetter places in the British Isles. Guernsey had 50 millimetres (2 inches) of rain, and Capel Curig, in the mountains of North Wales, received 45.2 millimetres (1.8 inches).
Day Trip to Buxted
Day trip to Buxted
Buxted is a village Wealden District of East Sussex. The parish is situated on the Weald, north of Uckfield. It used to be important because of the Wealden iron industry and later became commercially important in the poultry and egg industry.
The origin of the name buxted comes from the Sacon Bochs Stede which means the “place of the Beeches”
The iron-making industry became a major part of Buxted’s early prosperity. The first standard blast furnace was called Queenstock and was built in Buxted parish in about 1491.The cannon-making industry in the Weald started at a furnace on the stream at Hoggets Farm lying to the north between Buxted and Hadlow Down. The first cast iron cannon made in England was cast in 1543 by Ralf Hogge, an employee of Parson William Levett, a Sussex rector with broad interests, paradoxically enough, in the emerging English armaments industry.
Levett was removed as Buxted’s vicar in 1545 by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. But thanks to friends in high places, Levett was quickly reinstated. After regaining his clerical position, Levett died a very wealthy man, thanks to his iron mining and smelting operations, originally founded by his brother John Levett, one of the founders of the Sussex iron industry and one of the wealthiest men in Sussex, who controlled 20 Sussex manors at his death in 1535. The family is of Norman descent and one of the oldest in Sussex. William and John Levett were the sons of a large landowner in the Hollington area of Hastings, Sussex. In his lengthy will, parson William Levett left large charitable bequests which he directed be supervised by his friend Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu.Richard woodman an ironmaster was born here, but he was burnt as a Protestant martyr in 1557.
The manor house, known as Bauxted Park, was purchased by the then Prime Minister, the Earl of Liverpool, in the early part of the 19th century. He set about extending the park surrounding the house, and eventually coerced the villagers to vacate their own houses to enable him to do so. The village (although not the church) was cleared away and the village then took up its present location. By 1836 the entire original village centre was no more, having been relocated to the site it occupies today. Some of the outlying houses pre-date this move, such as Britts, a 17th-century farmhouse, which still stands. The original manor house was built further down the hill next to the railway where Queen Victoria once visited – the house being the Chequers of its day. The original house burnt down in the latter part of the 19th century and was rebuilt in its present location.
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Thunderstorms
The severe thunderstorms that affected Sussex in particular last night, resulted in over 26 millimetres (1 inch) of rain. At one stage, the rainfall rate was an impressive 89 millimetres per hour. The storms have moved away, but so has the very warm weather, and the lower temperatures will probably continue for several more days.