Castle Hill Nature Reserve is located directly to the west of Newhaven Fort.  This lovely 13.8 hectare nature reserve has stunning views in all directions from one of the highest local viewpoints.  Castle Hill is a beautiful place to walk and watch for wildlife, with a wonderful variety of wildflowers and many different bird and butterfly species. You can climb up the steep steps through the woods from the Castle Hill car park or take the wheelchair accessible path from the Fort car park.

Habitats
On the top of the cliffs the grass is kept short by a combination of rabbit grazing and management, and this is carpeted in yellow Birds Foot Trefoil and purple Thrift in summer. A good deal of the reserve is Maritime Chalk Grassland and there is a large variety of wildflowers including some orchids, but the unique geology means that there are also pockets of acid soil with a different mix of wild plants. Clay slump areas appear in places, which have hawthorn and bramble colonising.  The north facing slope, consists of a large area of Hawthorne and Blackthorn scrub, which gives a woodland feel. There are many species of lichen and fern within this woody area.

The cliffs form part of a geological S.S.S.I. (Site of Special Scientific Interest), for the internationally important geological formations which consist of chalk overlaid with Woolwich Beds clay deposits. The whole reserve is part of an SNCI (Site of Nature Conservation Interest).  The cliffs are mainly chalk and clay structures, with large slumps where the clay has collapsed following erosion.

Animal and Bird Life
The mixed habitats provide a home for a huge variety of insect life, including nearly 250 species of butterflies and moths, and a number of rare beetles. Look out for marbled white, wall brown, common blue, green hairstreak, and skipper butterflies or the bright red and black burnet moth.

Birds are also an important feature of Castle Hill. Warblers, tits, and other small birds nest in the northern part of the reserve and there is a nesting colony of fulmar and kittiwakes on the cliffs. Many migrating birds also pass through in spring and autumn including wheatears, whitethroats, goldfinch, linnet, songthrush and ring ouzel. Sparrowhawk and kestrel are regularly seen hunting as well as the occasional barn owl or peregrine falcon.

Archaeology and Site History
Castle Hill has been an important centre for human activity and settlement since at least the Bronze Age and possibly even the Neolithic period. The site was developed into a hill fort at between the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age and it may be this that gave the site its name. 

Substantial military coastal defences began to be constructed in the post-medieval period; a process that continued well into the 20th century.  Today, large concrete gun emplacements are very much in evidence on the cliff tops, which date back to the 2nd World War.

Looking after the Nature Reserve
Castle Hill has as an active and dedicated local group, the Castle Hill Conservation Group. They work in partnership with Lewes District Council to enhance the existing habitats and balance needs of recreation and education for local people and visitors. Everyone is welcome to come along and help the group with practical work on the reserves on the first Sunday of the month or to get involved with surveying flora and fauna or organising events.  The Fort and Hill Army, a group of adults from the St Nicholas Centre in Lewes also help to look after the reserve.

For more information contact the Community Ranger on 01273 484408 or visit the Lewes District Council website www.lewes.gov.uk/community/