Editing Brighton and Hove (section)

==== Waterhall downland ====
[[File:Sweet Hill, near Patcham, Brighton, The old farm house.jpg|thumb|left|Sweet Hill, near Patcham, Brighton, The old farm house]]
[[File:Varncombe_Hill_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1640421.jpg|thumb|Varncombe Hill]]
To the west of the A23 and north of Westdene and the A27 is '''Waterhall''' ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 284 087}}), and its lost 18th century farm is now the site of football and rugby pitches. The Waterhall Golf Course has just been given over to a version of rewilding which involves the restoration of species-rich chalk grassland<ref>{{Cite web|title='Wild cats to elephants, hippopotamus and wolves' – rewilding a golf course|url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/18737148.plans-rewild-waterhall-golf-course-brighton/|access-date=1 October 2021|website=The Argus|date=22 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref> There is still a significant population of adders. By the bridlepath just downhill of the old clubhouse there are the damaged remains of a [[Bronze Age]] round barrow ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 283 087}}) which has long acted as a marker on the old parish boundaries. Since the cessation of golf play [[Campanula rotundifolia|harebell]], [[Succisa pratensis|scabious]], [[Caltha palustris|cowslip]], [[Rock rose|rockrose]], [[Betonica officinalis|betony]], [[Round-headed rampion|Sussex rampion]] and [[Hippocrepis comosa|horseshoe vetch]] have flowered ebulliently. There are large old anthills and [[Chalkhill blue|chalkhill]], [[Small blue|small]] and [[adonis blue]] and [[brown argus]] butterflies, and all three species of Forester moth. At the corner of the Saddlescombe Road and the turn-off to the golf clubhouse, there is a sarsen stone ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 278 090}}) marking this point in the medieval boundary between [[Patcham]] and [[West Blatchington]] parishes.<ref name=":2" />

To the north is '''Varncombe Hill''', which borders the [[Newtimber]] parish. Its south-west facing slope({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 280 099}}) is heavily scrubbed-up, though lovely old pasture glades survive. [[Rockrose]] is one of the commonest flowers here, with some of its associated fungi. The west facing slopes of Varncombe Hill ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 279 105}}) were sold by Brighton Council with the rest of Saddlescombe Farm to the [[National Trust]], but the Trust did not dedicate them as [[Access land]], though they qualified and the National Trust had the power to do so.<ref name=":2" />

To the east of Waterhall is '''Sweet Hill'''. The Hill has a flowery bank on its western slope ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 286 091}}), a bushy [[lynchet]] and an old dewpond site on its brow. The [[Sussex Border Path]] takes you north to '''Pangdean Bottom''' and the [[Pyecombe]] parish. Pangdean Bottom is the west of the A23 and is rented by a tenant farmer from [[Brighton and Hove City Council]], who have owned it since 1924. It includes ancient chalk grassland slopes where there are still chalkland flowers and butterflies. In late summer, the valley's north side has one of the largest populations of [[Autumn Ladies'-tresses|autumn ladies-tresses]] orchid has been recorded, together with a large population of the white variety of the [[Prunella vulgaris|self heal violet]]. The scrub at the head of the valley is old and diverse, with [[Viburnum lantana|wayfaring tree]], [[Clematis vitalba|old man's beard]], [[honeysuckle]], [[hazel]], and [[gorse]].<ref name=":2" />

In July 2021 the Sussex-based 'Landscapes of Freedom' group, together with [[Nick Hayes]] and [[Guy Shrubsole]] of the 'Right to Roam' network, organised a mass trespass in protest against the lack of public access to this valley and its management for game bird shooting, which has badly affected its chalk grassland wildlife.<ref name=":0">Bangs, David (2018). ''Land of the Brighton line : a field guide to the Middle Sussex and South East Surrey Weald''. [Brighton]. {{ISBN|978-0-9548638-2-1}}. {{OCLC|1247849975}}.</ref> Over 300 people walked from Waterhall, Brighton, to Pangdean Bottom in protest.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hundreds attend mass trespass for the right to roam|url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/magazine/sussex_walks/east_sussex_walks/19467688.mass-trespass-attended-300-brighton-downs/|access-date=6 September 2021|website=The Argus|date=26 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The public are actively discouraged from walking in the area and scrub has been allowed to grow on the pristine downland, whilst other parts have been ploughed out.<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 July 2021|title='Mass Trespass' tradition given new lease of life|url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/mass-trespass-tradition-given-new-lease-of-life|access-date=5 September 2021|website=Morning Star|language=en}}</ref>

To the north of the city boundary in this area is the [[Pyecombe|Pycombe]] parish.