General:  This 33 hectares site owned by Mid Sussex District Council is to the north of Burgess Hill, adjacent to the railway line just north of Wivelsfield Station.  It borders Maple Drive to the south, Valebridge Lake (The Mill Pond) to the north and Freeks Lane to the west.  It consists of ancient woodlands and hedgerows, flower-rich meadows and five ponds.  It is all a Site of Nature Conservation Importance and designated a Local Nature Reserve.  The site and its management by Mid Sussex District Council and the Friends was awarded a Millennium Marque in 2000 and has won the prestigious national award of a Green Flag four times.  This award particularly recognises the quality of the work of both organisations in wildlife conservation and educating the public.  Since 1993 the University of Sussex has been surveying the site for special experiments and advising the Council on the management plan.

Bedelands Farm Brochure and Map: (Printed by MSDC and available from their offices, local libraries, the Burgess Hill Help Point, or click here to download pdf 456KB) The text follows:-

The reserve contains a range of habitats which provide a haven for a wide variety of wildlife.  The site is accessible from a number of access points and there are several stone paths within the reserve.  However, if you are a wheelchair user please get in touch with the District Council and arrangements can be made for vehicle access to the old farm site.

Ponds:  There are several small ponds on the reserve, both in the open and in the woodland areas.  These provide a home for specialised plants and animals as well as being essential as a source of water for the local wildlife.  The largest pond in Big Wood was dredged in 1991 to make it deeper so that it can support more wildlife.  Its banks are thick with water-loving plants such as yellow flag and branched burr-reed and in summer dragonflies and damselflies are a common sight as they swoop across the water or rest on the vegetation. The ponds are likely to be the result of digging for marl, a type of clay used for improvement of agricultural land.  Those in Big Wood have an unusual plant called tussock sedge growing in them. 

Woodlands:  These areas are quite varied in character.  Big Wood is a remnant of a woodland royal chase which in Saxon times stretched continuously from Ditchling village in the south and ended here.  Known as ‘le ferghth’ or ‘Freckebergh’ in he Middle Ages, its name is preserved nearby as ‘Freeks’ Farm. The principal tree species in Big Wood is hornbeam which was once harvested by coppicing.  It was especially used in coopering (making barrels) and it is therefore of interest that in the 1300s a cooper used to live on the reserve (near the Coopers Close entrance), where there is a natural spring.  Many other native tree species are also present in Big Wood, most notably the wild service tree which is rare in Britain.  Its fruit was used to flavour beer and the tree itself was often planted outside inns to indicate there was a ‘service’ within.  Its chequered bark has given rise to ‘Chequers’ as a common name for public houses.  In spring this woodland floor is covered by a carpet of wild flowers including bluebells, primroses and wood anemones, and through the year woodland birds such as the green woodpecker and the tree creeper make their home here. 

Hedgerow and Wood boundaries:  The hedgerows separating the small meadows on the west side of the reserve are all very old.  They are composed of a wide range of native tree and shrub species including hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn and wild cherry.  They are very valuable to wildlife as sheltered corridors and nesting sites. The boundary, which separates woodland from grassland through Wet Meadow, its boardwalk and into Old Arable, is of special interest.  It is a beautiful sweeping curve which formed part of the boundary between the manors (and later the parishes) of Clayton and Keymer.  This boundary predates the Norman Conquest and probably has it origins in the middle Saxon period (8^th or 9^th Century).  Of a similar age is the woodland/meadow boundary between Big Wood and Mill Pond Field and Furze Common Field.  It formed the boundary between the Lord’s Wood (Big Wood) and Valebridge Common. 

Grassland:  The grasslands on the south-west of the reserve have a different history to those on the north-east.  The former were carved out of woodland about 700 years ago and have been managed as hay meadows for centuries.  North-east of big Wood the latter were part of an open common for at least 1,000 years and were covered in gorse and bracken.  In 1828 the common was enclosed and fields were created by making new hedgerows.  In the most northerly meadow are species such as dyers greenweed and adders tongue, whilst the wet meadow to the south of Big Wood contains populations of ragged robin and sneezewort.  Drier parts of the meadows contain yellow rattle and meadow vetchling.  Amongst these flower-rich meadows live many grassland invertebrates from butterflies to more inconspicuous grasshoppers, spider and beetles. 

Local History:  Bedelands Farm was a 30-acre holding in the Manor of Keymer, the farm house being at the highest point of the site.  It was a tied cottage which went with the job of the Beadle of the manor whose duties included collecting cottage rents and ‘crying’ (giving notice of) the next meeting of the manor court.  When acquired by Mid Sussex District Council the farm was just over 80 acres (33 hectares) in size.  Over the years it had gained some small cottage plots, all the woodland (which formerly belonged to the Lord of the Manor) and a large slice of a former common known as Valebridge Common.  In 1991 Bedelands Farm was formally designated as a Local Nature Reserve.  It forms an important part of the Burgess Hill Green Crescent and Green Circle, providing on the one hand access as a corridor to the countryside whilst acting as a barrier for outward urban growth. 

Geology:  This site lies on Weald Clay which was deposited during the lower Cretaceous period in the earth’s history some 136 million year ago, when dinosaurs roamed the land.  It is from this Weald Clay that the brick making industry sprang up in the Burgess Hill area. 

Management:  The management of the site is controlled by a Steering Group of interested parties working to a Management Plan.  The practical management tasks such as coppicing, path clearance and hedge maintenance are undertaken by a combination of local contractors and the Friends of Burgess Hill Green Circle Network.  The most important management task at Bedelands Farm is the annual haymaking in the meadows, undertaken during the summer.  The removal of hay prevents a build-up of dead vegetation and allows wild flowers to thrive in future years.  In addition experimental grazing of the Old Arable and Valebridge Common fields has been in progress for many years with the assistance of the University of Sussex. The Friends group assists the Council in managing the reserve and conserving the flora and fauna.  They organise walks and talks for their members, local clubs and societies as well as assisting local schools etc. in educational visits.

Protection:  Please help us protect the wildlife by keeping the area free from litter and not riding cycles or motorcycles, or lighting fires in the reserve.  Please keep dogs under control (on a lead when near sheep) and do not allow your dog to foul in this area as it is covered by the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 and subject to fixed penalty notices of £60.  This reserve is subject to the Local Authority Bylaws which are displayed on site.  It is regularly patrolled by the Council’s Park Rangers.  If you wish to contact them about any issues relating to the use of the site call them directly on 01444 477379 during office hours or 01444 477561 or 08456 008670 at weekends. 

Awards:  

‘Green Flag’  In 2004 Bedelands Farm was presented with a “Green Flag Award”, the national standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales.  The award scheme is a means of recognising and rewarding the best green spaces in the country and this site was one of only 20 in the south-east to have achieved this.

‘S.N.C.I.’  In 2003 the whole site was designated a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) in recognition of the quality of its wildlife.

‘Millennium Marque’   In 2000, the site was awarded the prestigious ‘Millennium Marque’ and is one of only 17 in the South-East to receive this honour, which recognises environmental excellence.