Saturday 2nd May Malling Down Nature Reserve, Lewes

It was a nice day and we needed a reason to go to Lewes so it wasn’t just a ‘go and collect Andy’s beer from Beak Brewery’ trip. I suggested a visit to Malling Down nature reserve where Large Tortoiseshell butterflies had been spotted.

We were rewarded with a number of different species of butterflies (no LTs identified) some of which I was able to photograph! We also heard loads of different birds - Greater Whitethroat was a new one for me. We heard and saw ravens too, such a loud and weird call they have! Well worth the trip. The reserve itself is lovely with lots of footpaths and some interesting pits. If you walk to the top (steep, narrow paths) you get some stunning views which apparently you can see right across to Eastbourne and Hastings to the west and Brighton and Worthing to the East according to a friendly local we got chatting to. Finished off with a beer and some chips at Beak.