Hilltop reserve

People have clearly been busy up here: it's a little area of hilltop, just above the Old Road through the village, with a steep little stepped path leading up and opening out to a huge sky and a wide view of the Exted valley. A few years ago it became a local nature reserve, with mown paths, seats with views and some planting of new trees. It's chalk downland, and there are lots of grasses and wild flowers, insects and birds; people come here to walk their dogs or just to sit and gaze. It's not a very large space, but it's a good place to have so close to the heart of the village.

These piles of cut wood, shavings and tangled prunings looked to me like a piece of land art, their shapes and textures reminiscent of Andy Goldsworthy's cairns of wood and stones.