About this event

A Wander through the wild wood with the Lost Woods project, led by Tony Whitbread of the Sussex Wildlife Trust. We will be exploring the natural woodlands of ‘the Mens’ nature reserve and enjoying the beauty of this ancient wood.

The Mens woodland is a largely unexplored wood, it has an untamed, mysterious feeling to it and many people describe it as ‘wild’.

A long and varied history of management has seen the reserve move from an open, wood pasture system with huge, spreading parkland trees and pollards to a high forest with closely spaced trees with narrow crowns. A lack of management in recent years has added to this silvicultural diversity. The unusual name of this area comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘ge-mænnes’, meaning common land.

At the end of the walk, we will briefly ask your views on visiting the woods, as part of our planning for the Lottery-funded Lost Woods project. What makes you visit the woods, what barriers do you think stop people visiting woodlands?

Please remember to bring water and wear sunscreen and a hat if the weather is good and it is sunny. If it is rainy please bring rainwear and appropriate footwear.

This walk is for people only this time, please no dogs.

Please be aware that you attend these walks at your own risk. The routes include public footpaths that are not paved, there may be uneven patches of uneven ground or tree roots that may be slippery in wet weather

If you have specific access or health issues that you would like us to be aware of, please contact us.

If Covid rules change between you booking and the day of the event, we will contact you and update you.

The Mens is three miles east of Petworth on the A272. There is a centrally placed car park on Crimbourne Lane, the minor road to Hawkhurst Court from which you can explore the many paths, but it is easy to get a little lost in this huge nature reserve.

The going is flat but often muddy and some of the tracks are bridleways.

Please note that parking is limited to 10 cars in the small car park.

Postcode:

RH14 0HR

Grid ref:

TQ023236

Please be aware that there are no toilet facilities.