It takes a whole village to map such a special space as Chiddingly. What an incredible response there was from every corner of the parish at the Special Spaces event at the end of February. Well over 100 people came along to help to map the past, present and future of the rural spaces, green resources and native species that make Chiddingly such a unique landscape.
 
With three gigantic maps of Chiddingly laid out in the village hall, lots of postcards to fill in and coloured dots to be added to the maps, I and the whole Greening Chiddingly team wondered if the maps would fill up.  But people came and stayed and mapped and wrote and chatted and reminisced. Then, after coffee and cake, many stayed even longer in the Creative Corner (ably supported by Eleni and Amber) to paint, digitally draw and sculpt birds, butterflies and bridges. All day long, people joined in from the village and beyond.  Some returned to Chiddingly especially for the event to map memories, and wow, what memories people shared. I particularly treasured hearing about: 

• The fairies who live in an old oak tree in Bolt Wood and reply to messages from children of the village.    
• The tug-of-war competitions that happened near Chiddingly Parish Church every year using locally produced rope. 
• The banks and verges once blanketed by primroses.
• The glow worms that lit up Thunder’s Hill before solar lights were even invented.

 
Mapping logistics were led by our resident Geography Professor Dave. The complicated on-the-day logistics and village hall traffic management flow between the three mapping zones was thankfully well planned and executed by our highways and transport logistics expert Mark. The Greening Chiddingly Team baked cakes and Tina and Peter kept the refreshments flowing with warm conversation all day. Ryan, Bob, Sheryl, Lucy and others helped steer people through the mapping zones and to the Elder’s Corner to listen to recently recorded interviews with some of the long term residents of the Parish (part of The Elders Project).
 
In Speaker's Corner, Sally Ashby, our Greening Chiddingly ecologist, gave an insightful talk about eDNA testing and the resulting multitude of vertebrate and invertebrate species living in our rivers and streams, including the critically endangered European eel. Charlie Peverett, an ornithologist working for the Sussex Wildlife Trust, spoke about the vital bird survey work he continues to carry out in Chiddingly. Dave also talked about research undertaken by University of Brighton student Ben Williamson to map landscape change in the parish from old Ordnance Survey maps.
 
“Why map now?” people asked.  With development encroaching on the parish from all sides, the aim of the day was to invite the community to celebrate, record, map and protect the places that they love in Chiddingly. By making the invisible visible, we can plan and advocate for the resources needed to maintain and balance our fragile natural rural landscape.
 
“What will happen next?” people also asked. Using the template provided by greenmap.org, which has enabled communities all over the world to map their own rural and urban landscapes, the Greening Chiddingly team will produce a digital map and printed walking route maps from the results.
 
By the end of a busy day, it was exciting to see the maps lit up with a whole rainbow of coloured dots. Thanks to the kind support of Souper Saturday and the Saturday Market teams, Dave, Mark and I were able to roll out the giant maps on two further occasions and enable others to add their Special Spaces dots.
 
Support for the event and mapping has been provided by the Lund Trust through the High Weald Nature and Community Fund. Thanks to everyone who came along to make it such a memorable day.
 
Gail Giles

I guess we were tempting fate when we planned the fourth edition of the Tour de Chiddingly community cycle event for mid-September. Well, we’d had brilliant weather for the last three bike rides in September, hadn’t we?

The morning of Saturday 13 September broke somewhat inauspiciously, with driving heavy rain alternating with monsoonal downpours. It wasn’t looking good. We'd had a record 71 participants registered for the event, but as the biblical deluge continued, so the Greening Chiddingly email inbox began pinging with more and more riders dropping out.
 
We took the decision at 9:00am to go ahead with the event – well, the forecast was improving, it was relatively mild and the wind had dropped. By 11:00am there were patches of bright blue sky (see the pictures below for proof), only occasional raindrops, and a hardy 41 waterproof- and lycra-clad riders gathered in Farley’s car park for the Grand Depart.

After a short safety briefing by Mark Valleley, riders on the longer 18-mile loop set off west and then north towards Chiddingly and Waldron, before taking in the fleshpots of Hale Green and Gun Hill. About five minutes later, the hooter sounded for riders on the shorter 6-mile route to depart, also heading west through Chiddingly, north up Ailies Lane and then looping back to Muddles Green via Stalkers Lane and Scrapers Hill.
 
As it turned out, the weather wasn't actually that bad. The riders on the shorter route barely had a drop of rain during their circuit – although the heavens opened about 5 minutes after everyone had returned to the Village Shop. Those on the longer route weren't quite so lucky, but still only saw a couple of heavy showers over the course of their 2-hour ride.

Despite the slippery road-surfaces and numerous potholes, the event passed largely without incident. Richard Merritt and Jake Wood-Evans – acting as safety riders for the longer route – reported a couple of slipped bike chains and one rider unseated by a rather deep rut. Adam Gurr and yours truly on the shorter route saw only one slow puncture – but Mark Valleley arrived in the safety car in about 5 minutes and sorted this. A warming cuppa and a piece of flapjack at the Village Shop soon put everything to rights.
 
Each of the last three Tours have been fantastic but this year’s felt particularly special. Maybe it was the weather? Maybe it was the participants? Maybe it was both? The youngest rider this year was 5 years old, with the two oldest both well into in their 80s (well done gentlemen). We saw more attendees than ever from beyond the parish, with riders joining us from Heathfield, Cross-in-Hand, Eastbourne and even Framfield. Hopefully they enjoyed cycling through our glorious Chiddingly countryside and will be tempted back.

A big thanks to Tina Letanka for helping out on the registration desk, and for the staff at the Village Shop for staying open an extra hour to offer hot drinks, snacks and their usual high standard of hospitality. Roll on the fifth edition of the Tour de Chiddingly, which is already pencilled in for mid-September 2026.

David Nash

A big thank you to all the visitors, stallholders and volunteers who made their way to Muddles Green on Saturday 12th July to make the Greening Chiddingly Green Weekend  2025 such an enjoyable event.

Despite the blistering heat, we had a good turnout for the Green Jamboree in Farley’s Yard. Visitors tried their hand at all sorts of eco craft activities including spinning, weaving, seed bomb making, bird feeder making and clay modelling. Gail Giles’ "Community Weave" was incredibly inspiring and very popular, with visitors weaving crops, foraged local vegetation and representations of the DNA of species living in our rivers and streams into a three-dimensional hanging frame. The completed weave will be on display as part of Artwave 2025. Younger visitors had great fun trying to spot Helen Denning's knitted "Woolly Wonders" on each stall. There was steady business at the Chiddingly Horticultural Society and Chiddingly WI stalls. The OVESCO energy advice stand engaged visitors in discussions about how to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Unsurprisingly, given the sunshine and high temperatures, the Village Shop and Seven Sisters Spice sold a lot of iced drinks! 

The big hit of the day was our new Open Farm event. Nineteen visitors from as far afield as Alfriston and Hailsham joined me and local ornithologist Charlie Peverett touring Peke’s Farm, another nine visited Helen and Andrew Denning at Stream Mill Smallholding and seven joined Peter Gunner for a look round Burchetts Farm. It was incredibly life-affirming to see so many people interested in our nature restoration activities. If you have any feedback about any of the weekend's events, do please drop us an email.

I'll finish with a second big thank you to OHM Energy who generously sponsored the Green Weekend. Working out of East Sussex, the company offer a range of cost-effective sustainable solutions for heating and powering homes and businesses, including solar thermal, solar PV and heat pump technology. Visit their website for further details.

A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who came down to the events over the Green Weekend of 6th/7th July 2024.

The Green Jamboree on Saturday 6th July was well attended by locals and visitors, and everyone seemed to have a quality time in spite of the strong wind. The three activity-based stalls were the most popular on the day. Helen, Sue and Simone wowed everyone with their display of eco crafts, producing eco prints and demonstrating spinning techniques using local wool. Sheryl and Gail were overrun with kids wanting to make wildflower seed bombs and bug hotels, while The Willow Man had a great time showing visitors how to sculpt with willow.

The "Create the Future Roadshow" had a steady stream of interest, with youngsters kept entertained while their parents/carers had quality conversations with OVESCO volunteers about how to reduce their energy bills. The team from Sow Wild also did well selling seeds and offering advice about creating wildflower meadows.

The event was also a chance to Meet the Muddles Green Makers, who operate small businesses from the workshop units in Farley's Yard. Seven Sister's Spice, in particular, did a roaring trade in spicy chips, the staff in the Village Shop & Cafe were run off their feet, and there was plenty of interest in Burnand & Simpson Upholstery.

The Sunday Market at the Gun Brewery Taproom on Sunday 7th July was a little quieter, most likely due to the very wet weather. Nonetheless, we had some great conversations with visitors about Greening Chiddingly activities, and a lot of interest in the various projects to Restore Nature around the village.

It was a glorious morning, the sun was shining and there were plenty of smiles as riders gathered in the Six Bells car park for the second ever Tour de Chiddingly community bike ride on Saturday 16th September. The ethos for the event was to encourage everyone to cycle more, particularly for shorter journeys that would otherwise be made by car. Now that East Sussex County Council have patched the worst of the potholes in the parish, that’s much easier and safer.

In all, 40 riders had signed up for the event, ranging in age from 5 to 81 (no names mentioned). Some were very experienced cyclists, while others had obviously only just dusted off their bikes from the back of the shed. Riders were given the choice of two routes. A shorter, more family-friendly, 6-mile circuit took in the delights of Highlands, Ailies, Stalkers and Smithlands lanes before descending Scrapers Hill into Muddles Green and back to Chiddingly. A longer 13-mile circuit shared the same start and end as the 6-miler but also climbed four of Chiddingly’s infamous hills (Stone Hill, Pick Hill, Gun Hill and Thunders Hill), plus the long slog up Moat Lane to Waldron – that’s 930 feet (285 m) of elevation gain.

As you can see from the photos of the event, everyone had a great time, with the final riders on the 13-mile route returning to the Six Bells after 1 hour and 9 minutes (yes, I timed it). It was great to see such a wide cross-section of the community represented, meeting new people and making new friends over a drink and a bite to eat.

I need to finish with a few words of thanks. A great big "thank you" from everyone at Greening Chiddingly to:

• Richard Newman at the Six Bells for letting us take over his car park on a busy Saturday lunchtime.
• Everyone who helped organise the event (Mark Valleley, Will Rennison and Mike Goss) and who assisted on the day (Sheryl Rennison and Sue Goss).
  
• Rupert Cutler and Stuart Brown, who were lead riders for the longer and shorter routes respectively.
• Everyone who sent me photos of the day.
• Everyone who turned out for the ride – you can’t have a community bike ride without the support of the community.

Roll on next year and the Tour de Chiddingly 2024!

David Nash