Annual photo competition: Youth category (10 & under) winners! 📸
A huge congratulations to our winners:
👉 Winner: Small Cooper Butterfly by Jaxon Head
👉 Highly commended: Sheep's View by Arthur Knipe
Well done everyone, amazing work! 🤩
Annual photo competition: Youth category (10 & under) winners! 📸
A huge congratulations to our winners:
👉 Winner: Small Cooper Butterfly by Jaxon Head
👉 Highly commended: Sheep's View by Arthur Knipe
Well done everyone, amazing work! 🤩
The South Downs National Park is home to some incredibly rare habitats and wildlife - but even here, nature is under pressure and needs our help.
'Nature Recovery' is a priority in our latest Partnership Management Plan. Learn more: buff.ly/EAWDee1 👋
📸 John Dominick
That early morning soundtrack is returning 🎶
Though the full dawn chorus won’t peak until mid‑March, great tits are already chiming in alongside thrushes and robins, weaving the first threads of spring.
Do you hear it yet?
📸: Annette Radford
March has arrived! Here's what to look out for this month:
• Sand martin arrivals
• Blackthorn, cherry plum and ramsons (wild garlic)
• Early butterflies and moths: brimstones, small tortoiseshells, peacocks
• Frog and toad spawn
...and (if we're lucky) some sunshine 🤭
📸: Chris Hall
The Dartford Warbler.
A rusty breast, long tail, and scratchy call from gorse bushes give this small grey heathland bird away, and it’s a species you can spot at any time of year.
📸: Eleanor Page
Just a couple of reminders if you're heading out with your furry friends:
🐑 Please keep dogs on a lead near livestock and wildlife.
💩 Bag and bin your poo, any public bin will do.
Thanks for doing your bit to protect wildlife, livestock and this special place 💚
📸: Siôn McGeever
New vacancy: Strategy Lead - Rural Economy 👋
We're looking for a Strategy Lead to be responsible for the delivery of our work on the rural economy, supporting land management based rural businesses to flourish.
🔗 Find out more and apply: webrecru.it/1U4QJW
When the sun sets at 5:36 this evening, we will have gained 2 hours and 43 minutes of daylight since 1 January.
We're here for the longer days! 😊
📸: Sam Moore
📍Cissbury Ring
This Site of Special Scientific Interest, just north of Worthing, is the largest hill fort in Sussex and has a history dating back over 5,000 years.
📸: Jamie Fielding Photography
As we bid farewell to an incredible week and a half of shared experiences under the stars, we want to say a big thank you to everyone who joined us across our Dark Skies Festival events 💫
📸: Marco Wong
Huge well done to Mandy Turner, who took the top spot in the mobile phone category of our 2025/26 Astrophotography Competition!
“Moon Halo”, captures the refraction of moonlight from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere, creating a ring effect.
Amazing work, Mandy! 🤩
Winning the 'Dark Skyscapes' category in the 2026/26 Astrophotography Competition was Lorcan Taylor-Hood!
“A Window to our Galaxy” captures The Milky Way filling up the window and stretching up and over an old ruin near Eastbourne.
Congratulations, Lorcan! 💫
Congratulations to Carl Gough, who was awarded runner-up in the 'Dark Skyscapes' category of our 2025/26 Astrophotography Competition.
The image “Eclipsed” stunningly depicts a partial lunar eclipse next to Arundel Castle.
Fantastic work, Carl👏
Winning the 'Deep Space' category in the 2025/26 Astrophotography Competition was Jellyfish Nebula, by Nigel Stanbury, showing the remains of a supernova located 5,000 light years away.
Congratulations Nigel - a stellar shot! 🤩
Congratulations to Tom Elphick, who took the runner-up spot in our 'Deep Space' category is the 2025/26 Astrophotography Competition!
“Winter’s View Orion” was captured under the deep, ink-black skies of Ditchling Beacon.
Well done, Tom! ✨
Winning the “Life at Night” category in our 2025/26 Astrophotography Competition was Richard Murray’s shot, “Snail Trail to the Stars”, capturing a snail beneath The Plough asterism.
Congratulations, Richard - you really snailed it! 🐌
EVENT UPDATE - Amberley event on 18 Feb postponed ⚠️
Due to a Met Office yellow weather warning, the Dark Skies Explorer Event at Amberley Museum is moved to Friday, 20 February. Tickets remain valid, and activities will still run from 6:30pm-9pm.
📸: Chris Nesbit
Congratulations to Ian Brierley, who has been awarded Runner Up in the ‘Life at Night’ category of our 2025/26 Astrophotography Competition!
“Four Horses of the Apocalypse” captures a golden moment at Cissbury Ring with four horses in silhouette by a full moon.
Well done, Ian!🌕
The results from our 2025/26 Astrophotography Competition are in! We'll be announcing the winners across our channels this week! 💫
Taking the top spot as overall competition winner was “Ancient Light”, by Michael Steven Harris.
Congratulations Michael! 🤩
The Long Man of Wilmington is one of the most iconic symbols of the South Downs 🙌
There are many theories about the age and history of the Long Man - from a Prehistoric fertility symbol to a 4th century Roman emperor.
📸: Darren Holes
Badgers are usually monogamous and pair for life, which can be as long as 15 years.
This species is somewhat gregarious, and several pairs will live in harmony in the same complex of burrows.
📸: "An evening embrace" by Richard Murray.
#ValetinesDay
Even on a grey and wet walk, there are still glimmers to be found.
📸: Rebecca Saunders
Toads in the road. We repeat... TOADS IN THE ROAD! 📣
Toads are migrating slightly earlier this year (likely thanks to the mild, wet weather) and many of them will be crossing roads as they move between their habitats.
A little caution can make a toad-ally big difference🐸
📸: Peter Brooks
On the slopes of Black Down, miles of secluded walks lead through ancient oak, chestnut and beech hanger woodlands, and flower‑rich meadows.
The 280m-high hill top is the highest point in the National Park and boasts views across five counties and out to sea.
📸: Chester Tugwell
The 2025/26 Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding call is still open! 👋
Submit your Expression of Interest by 31 March 2026!
🔗 Find out more and apply now: www.southdowns.gov.uk/community-in...
📸: Anne Purkiss
"The night sky is a library of stories that we have been telling ourselves for thousands of years." - Neil deGrasse Tyson 🌙
Discover the South Downs Dark Night Skies in our 360 degree video: youtu.be/_y_0QoJOmkg?...
📸: Giles Smith
Our Dark Skies Festival starts this week! 🦉
Did we mention we're also celebrating the 10th anniversary of our designation as an International Dark Sky Reserve?
🔗 See what's on: www.southdowns.gov.uk/events/event...
📸: Carl Gough
This post comes with sound effects... SQUELCH.
We know it’s tempting to try and dodge the muddy bits, but please stick to the path 🥾
📷: Elaine Higgins
On the heaths in early February, visitors get their best opportunity to hear woodlarks sing.
In 1986 there were just 250 breeding pairs in Southern England. Thanks to heathland restoration projects, the bird has recovered well, with over 3,000 breeding pairs across the UK.
📷 Derek Middleton
There's something special about winter sunrises 😍
📍Bury Hill
📸Stuart Williams