Uckfield

Uckfield is a small and pleasant Wealden town on the River Uck, which periodically causes trouble for some of Uckfield's 15,000 residents by flooding.

Church Street contains the most interesting buildings in Uckfield with several of them dating in part from before the Georgian era and plenty of other finer Georgian houses. The original church was a thirteenth century chapel which has now been replaced by a Victorian church.

Uckfield has pretty good shopping and a large farmers market which takes place once a month and which has a strong emphasis on the sale of locally produced food and other produce.

Uckfield history

Uckfield emerged as a bridging point over the River Uck, but by 1800 the population of Uckfield was barely a thousand. The village was a popular resting place for pilgrims following the ancient route between the two great cathedrals of Winchester and Canterbury.

Festivals and events in Uckfield

As well as taking part in the inevitable bonfire celebrations that are such a part of East Sussex life, there are two main events in Uckfield each year.

Uckfield Festival in July is a Festival with a difference because of the high emphasis on performances and exhibitions by Uckfield residents. The Festival brings out representatives from many of the town's different groups and there is a very varied programme of events as a consequence.

And Uckfield Carnival takes place in September. The carnival was started by shopkeepers in 1827 and the carnival culminates in a spectacular torchlit parade and bonfire.

Attractions near Uckfield

The Lavender Line is a much-loved railway, restored by local volunteers, which runs across a mile or so of East Sussex countryside just south of Uckfield.

The Capability Brown designed gardens of Sheffield Park are two miles west of Uckfield.

Other interesting places around Uckfield include:

• West Park Local Nature Reserve is a smallish area of mixed woodland and grassland which also has a patch of orchid-rich marshland - the reserve is also home to unusual mosses and liverworts;
• Hempstead Meadows Local Nature Reserve, which is tucked just behind the high street in Uckfield town centre;
• Harlands Pond at Harland Farm which is a hot spot for toads and frogs;
• Nightingale Wood, near Harlands Farm where the woodland is carpeted by bluebells and anenomes in springtime;
• Uckfield Millennium Green, a nature reserve on the site of a former brickworks; and
• Horsted Place, a spectacular Victorian Gothic mansion south of Uckfield near Little Horsted which is now used as a hotel.