Woolbeding Countryside

Woolbeding Estate in West Sussex is quietly tucked away in the tranquil Rother Valley. With its wide horizons and intimate secluded places, this huge estate has an extraordinary blend of habitats.

To the north are the wild and open greensand hills and commons. To the south take in glorious views from the parkland and wander along the River Rother with its steep-sided woods and pasture. It is an example of a mediaeval strip parish, divided by earth banks secured with stone-faced walls, marking boundaries between common and agricultural land.

Woolbeding Common is a lowland heath supporting rare birds such as woodlark and nightjar. Reptiles thrive here among heather and gorse together with specialist insects such as long-horned beetles.

Grazing by traditional hardy breeds maintains diverse, high-quality habitats. Old Spot and Saddleback pigs root down and break up the bracken rhizomes. Belted Galloway cows target graze the heath, and in the parkland browse alongside Sussex cows and Herdwick sheep. Their pasture lies beside the snaking loops of the River Rother shaded by magnificent oaks.