Ditchling Common once the King's land as part of the Saxon Manor, is now a Country Park (designated as such in 1974) north of Ditchling

Ditchling

Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling....

 and lies between Haywards Heath

Haywards Heath

-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...

 and Lewes

Lewes

Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...

 to the east of Burgess Hill

Burgess Hill

Burgess Hill is a civil parish and a town primarily located in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park...

 in West Sussex

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

. It covers an area of 188 acre (0.76080968 km²) and can be found at map reference TQ337181. The common is very popular with walkers and particularly dog walkers, partially due to its proximity to the southeastern outskirts of Burgess Hill. There is a sizeable car park, although this becomes difficult to use in poor weather. The country park trail is a mile long (1.6 km) and passes through oak trees, grassland and an area of scrub. There are some willow trees in the scrubland, a lake and a stream. Birdlife in the park includes stonechats, linnet

Linnet

The Linnet is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.The Linnet derives its scientific name from its fondness for hemp and its English name from its liking for seeds of flax, from which linen is made.- Description :...

s, woodpecker

Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....

s, chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

The Common Chiffchaff, or simply the Chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf-warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia....

s, blackcap

Blackcap

The Blackcap is a common and widespread sylviid warbler which breeds throughout temperate Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and winters from northwestern Europe south to tropical Africa...

s and tit

Tit

TIT, Tit., tit., Tit, or Tits may refer to:- Birds :* Tit , of the family Paridae, including tits, chickadees and titmice* Long-tailed tits, of the family Aegithalidae* Wrentit, of the family Sylviidae...

s.
Visible at the northern end of the common is "Jacob's Post". The post marks the spot where the body of an itinerent peddlar, Jacob Harris, was displayed after he was hanged in 1734 for the murder of Richard Miles.

The trail is marked by purple arrows on posts and takes about 40 minutes to complete. In wet weather stout footwear is recommended as the Weald clay

Weald Clay

Weald Clay is a Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock underlying areas of South East England. It is part of the Wealden Group of rocks. The clay is named after the Weald, an area of Sussex. It varies from orange and grey in colour and is used in brickmaking....

 in the area gets very waterlogged. The lake is well used by local fishermen who fish for carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

, perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

 and roach

Rutilus

Rutilus is a genus of fishes in the family Cyprinidae, commonly called roaches. Locally, the name "roach" without any further qualifiers is also used for particular species, particularly the Common Roach Rutilus (Latin for "shining, red, golden, auburn") is a genus of fishes in the family...

. To fish here, an Environment Agency rod licence and a permit is needed.