Ashdown Forest
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Resources
Books
"The High Weald –
Exploring the landscape of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty".
Author: Countryside Commission, 1994.
Websites
» High Weald AONB
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Ashdown Forest
 Ashdown Forest lies between Crowborough,
Forest Row and Maresfield on the more northerly of the two major
sandstone ridges in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
(AONB). Before looking at the Ashdown Forest however, it is useful to
see how the Ashdown Forest fits into the larger AONB which is known as
The High Weald.
The High Weald
The High
Weald AONB covers 560 square miles in the counties of East Sussex,
Kent, Surrey, and West Sussex. The designation was confirmed in 1983
and gives recognition to the quality of its landscape, which is
nationally valuable. Management is overseen by the High Weald AONB
Forum, which includes representatives of the four counties, 11
districts and a wide range of amenity and other interest groups.
Ashdown Forest
Ashdown
Forest today covers an area of approximately 2,396 hectares (10 square
miles) although the original ancient pale enclosed an area of 5,648
hectares. It is the largest area of lowland heath in the South-East and
has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to
its unique ecology.
Despite its
name, woodland makes up less than 40% of the total area of Ashdown
Forest and it is doubtful whether that figure was ever much higher. The
word “forest” is derived from the Latin "foris", meaning
“outside” and in medieval England came to mean land outside
cultivation and belonging by default to the Crown.
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Introduction to Ashdown Forest
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Find out about
» Ashdown Forest Act 1974 » Fire » Forest People » Heathland Conservation » Scheduled Monuments » Statutory Designations » Woodland Conservation |
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