Exploring the Notable and Veteran Trees of Lewes crossing the town from Convent Field and Railway Land, to St. John sub Castro and The Pells.
We’ll pass through meadows, twittens, churchyards and commons, encountering trees that are notable, veteran, and, in some cases, well on their way to becoming ancient. These are not merely old trees—they are ecological time capsules, hosting mosses, fungi, beetles, birds, bats, and lichens in a web of life that deepens with every season.
Our Route
Start: Meet at The Linklater Pavilion, RLWT.
End: Wiley’s Bridge, with the option to return via Southover Grange and Western Road.
Expect some wet grass and uneven ground to start, transitioning to urban pavements and woodland paths—Lewes hills included. Walking boots or sturdy trainers advised. Bring water, your phone, and if you’re a keen tree hunter, a tape measure.
The Trees We’ll Meet
At each stop, I’ll introduce the Woodland Trust’s classification system:
Notable Trees: large for their species but younger than 150 years Veteran Trees: exhibiting ancient features like hollowing trunks, fungal hosts, or a stag-headed crown Ancient Trees: irreplaceable in age and ecological complexity—these are the elders of our landscape
We’ll also highlight which trees are included in the Ancient Tree Inventory (ATI), and discuss what it means for a tree to be a Tree of National Special Interest (TNSI).
Highlights of the Walk
Convent Field
A surprising grove of White Willows lines the western boundary—39 in total, many with girths over 3m.
Tree 1: Veteran White Willow (3.25m) Tree 7: Dead White Willow with bracket fungi and heart rot—an emerging habitat Tree 11: A Notable Beech (3.73m) marking the boundary with Cockshut stream
These willows are sculptural and staggering. Some are coppiced, many hollow, all hosting life at multiple scales—from saproxylic invertebrates to fungi like Ganoderma applanatum and Trametes versicolor.
Mountfield Road to the Railway Land Wildlife Trust
Look for two Notable Ash trees, one with a wide base and hollowing trunk (Tree 13), the other retrenching naturally with age (Tree 14).
On the Railway Land, an enthusiastically managed local nature reserve, there are Crack Willow (2.84m) and a Hybrid Black Poplar (5.3m)—a rare species already lost in other parts of Sussex, Swamp Cypress and Sycamore.
Style’s Field & Broomans Lane
In this shaded enclave, there’s a Notable Mulberry (1.89m) and a fine Holm Oak. Just a few metres away, a stately London Plane rises (4.11m), its bark mottled with age, shedding in puzzle-like flakes.
Trinity St John sub-Castro
This churchyard contains a cluster of Notable Sycamores, including:
Tree 20: Sycamore with a girth of 10m—possibly the largest in central Lewes Tree 23: Holly at 5m—remarkably large for its species Also: Ash, Horse chestnut, ivy-clad lime, and signs of past management.
The Pells Recreation Ground and the Lido
Here there are oak and veteran London Plane, and down one side of the pool Hornbeams dominate—some are pollarded, some multi-stemmed, others towering and upright.
Trees 27 & 29: Veteran Hornbeams, 2.44m and 3.1m respectively Tree 30: Notable Hornbeam (2.87m), leaf-shadowed and robust
Final Stop: Wiley’s Bridge and the Wild Black Poplars
These are some of the rarest trees in Britain. Three specimens near the riverbank are marked as:
Tree 31: Notable Wild Black Poplar (4.17m) Tree 32: Notable Wild Black Poplar (4.1m) Tree 33: Veteran Wild Black Poplar (4.0m)
Growing near the water’s edge, these trees are home to everything from beetle larvae to nesting owls.
Across the Ouse, and worth a visit with permission of the owner, is a private arboretum with older trees including an ancient Wild Black Poplar with a girth of over 6m and exotics planted over 100 years ago.
Why These Trees Matter
These trees provide continuity in a shifting landscape. Their hollow limbs and decaying trunks are not symptoms of disease—they are sanctuaries.
Each cavity may host bats, beetles, woodpeckers, or solitary bees. Each fallen branch offers nourishment for fungi, moss, and the next generation of life.
Closing Thoughts
As we walk, I invite you to consider what it means to share space with trees and what the provide. Shade in summer rhat lowers the street temperature, a habitat for hundreds of animals. They out love us. They wait, adapt, endure. And they reward those who pause long enough to notice them.
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