Willingdon Down is a biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
west of
Willingdon, a suburb of
Eastbourne in
East Sussex
East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
.
Part of it is a
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
causewayed enclosure which is a
Scheduled Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
This steeply sloping site on the
South Downs is species-rich chalk grassland, a nationally uncommon type of habitat. The dominant grasses are
sheep's fescue and
upright brome and uncommon plants include
field fleawort,
bee orchid,
round headed rampion,
green winged orchid and
burnt orchid.
The site is public open access land.
References
{{SSSIs East Sussex
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex