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← Back🌳 Broadleaved woodland

The Wilderness

✦ Ancient woodland11 ha

📷 Peter Skynner · Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

WildlifeBirdsForaging
Public accessFree entryDogs welcome11 ha

Getting here

51.03411, 0.32495

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Visiting this summer

Seasonal nature notes and what to look for now

  • 🌞Midsummer — early morning visits most comfortable; look for deer fawns in quieter clearings
  • 🌿Foraging is at its best in summer here
  • 🐕Dogs welcome — bring water in summer; the site has enough space to find shade on hot days

Good to know

  • £Free to visit — no entry charge
  • 🐕Dogs welcome
  • 🌿Ancient woodland — rare wildlife habitat

Best for

8 activities

Wildlife

Multi-group wildlife — Amphibians, Birds, Mammals, Reptiles; Multi-group wildlife — Amphibians, Birds, Mammals, Reptiles

Free

Bird watching

Birds — Grey Heron, Coot, Blue Tit +78 more · last seen 2025; Birds — Grey Heron, Coot, Blue Tit +78 more · last seen 2025

Free

Foraging

Plants — Rowan, Elder, Pedunculate Oak +14 more foraging species; Deciduous woodland — fungi, berries and wild garlic

Varies

Seasonal nature

Ancient woodland — bluebells, fungi and autumn colour; Plants — Primrose, Cuckooflower, Dog's Mercury +140 more · last seen 2025

Free

Dog walks

Dogs allowed — public woodland

Free

Insect spotting

Insects — Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Beautiful Demoiselle, Broad-bodied Chaser +45 more · last seen 2025; Insects — Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Beautiful Demoiselle, Broad-bodied Chaser +45 more · last seen 2025

Free

Trails nearby

Within roughly 5 km
🚶

Walking

3 signed routes nearby · 15 public paths nearby

Signed route nearbyPublic paths
Ironmaster's Walk, BatemansWalking route3.2 km

Longstanding tradition claims that Bateman's was built by a Wealden ironmaster. It is difficult now to appreciate that Burwash was ever anything other than a village, but the Normans saw the growth of small scale iron production that lasted 4 centuries.

Named routeLength 3.2 kmDuration 01:00Round tripLocal walking route
Sussex Border PathWalking route220 km
Named routeLength 220 kmRegional walking route
Kipling's Puck Walk Around the Bateman's Countryside, BatemansWalking route4 km

Home of author & poet Rudyard Kipling. The 300 acres of countryside around the house influenced works such as Puck of Pook's Hill, Rewards & Fairies and many poems. Uncover the landscape that inspired his work. Mostly flat with one steep gradient & stiles

Named routeLength 4 kmDuration 01:00-01:30Round tripLocal walking route
🚴

Cycling

6 signed routes nearby

Signed route nearby
Avenue Verte London ↔ ParisCycling route

English part of Avenue Verte London ↔ Paris, an international cycle route that connects the two capital cities

Named routeRef AVInternational cycle route
Route 21Cycling route
Named routeRef 21National Cycle Network
Main RouteCycling route321 m
Named routeRef 21Length 321 mNational Cycle NetworkTraffic-freeSurface unsealedfirm
Main RouteCycling route732 m
Named routeRef 21Length 732 mNational Cycle NetworkTraffic-freeSurface bareearth
Main RouteCycling route2.5 km
Named routeRef 21Length 2.5 kmNational Cycle NetworkOn-roadSurface asphalt
Main RouteCycling route1 km
Named routeRef 21Length 1 kmNational Cycle NetworkTraffic-freeSurface unsealedfirm

Wildlife to spot

Photos

Entrance of the Wilderness Wadhurst Park

📷 Peter Skynner · Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

Entrance of the Wilderness Wadhurst Park

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Nearby places

Useful places within 5 km

🌱King Georges's Playing Fields ParkUrban park4.4 km→⛪St Peter and St Paul's ChurchReligious grounds3.4 km→🌽Garden PlotsAllotments4.7 km→⛪St Dunstan's ChurchReligious grounds4.8 km→✦Mayfield iron furnaceHistoric site3.9 km→⚽King George's FieldPlaying field4.4 km→

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