Cuckmere River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | England (East Sussex) |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Near Heathfield |
Mouth | |
• location | English Channel |
Length | 32 km (20 mi) |
Template:Cuckmere River routemap
The Cuckmere River rises near Heathfield in East Sussex, England on the southern slopes of the Weald. The name of the river probably comes from an Old English word meaning "fast-flowing", since it descends over 100 m (330 ft) in its initial 6.4 kilometres (4.0 miles). It flows into the English Channel, and has the only undeveloped river mouth on the Sussex coast. [1]
The river has many tributaries at its upper end, the principal one being the River Bull; and its main channel begins at Hellingly. After crossing the Low Weald area of farmland, the Cuckmere cuts through the South Downs in its own valley. It reaches the English Channel at Cuckmere Haven, between Seaford and the Seven Sisters cliff face. The lower part of its course in the floodplain is marked by meandering. [2] The Cuckmere Valley Nature Reserve is located in the lower estuary portion of the river. The valley is very important for nature conservation. It has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is part of the South Downs National Park. [3]
The Cuckmere Valley civil parish takes its name from the river. In the 19th century, defensive measures were taken to prevent flooding of the upper valley. Shingle was regularly dug from the mouth of the river and the banks were made higher. In 1846, the course of the river was straightened in an artificial cut; the cut mostly prevented flooding upstream, which used to reach to the village of Alfriston. It also provided support for irrigation. [4] In addition, raised river banks, or levees, were constructed to protect areas from flooding.
In recent decades, the area has become a major tourist destination, with tourism contributing to the local economy more than does agriculture. The river also stands at the foot of the current Litlington White Horse carved in 1924.
In 2001, [5] the Cuckmere Estuary Partnership was established as a collaboration of the National Trust, Natural England, Environment Agency, East Sussex County Council, Sussex Wildlife Trust, and various other environmental and conservation groups. They are working together to create long-term plans for the natural area. Government guidelines prohibit continuing to maintain hard flood defences where houses are not at risk. In addition, there is growing scientific evidence that the area would be more ecologically rich if allowed to return to its natural state. The partnership and the Environment Agency have proposed estuary restoration, and have been talking to residents, businesses, and visitors about how to proceed in the future. Presently, a shingle beach and raised river banks prevent seawater from penetrating the uppermost[ citation needed ] areas of the Cuckmere Valley. But the Environment Agency projects that an expected sea level rise due to climate change will increase the already steep costs of physical reinforcement, and current measures will not be sufficient. They intend to stop repair of the levees and to allow the cycle of natural processes, including periodic flooding of the area. The planning collaborators believe that in the long term, restoration of the saltwater estuary and marshes will enrich the ecological habitat, attract more wildlife and improve tourism. [6]
The Environment Agency plans have provoked controversy in the valley, especially among some property owners. Some residents have formed a group called "Rescue the Cuckmere Valley" to try to create an alternative to proposed seasonal flooding. [6] [7] In early 2008 the Cuckmere Parish Council issued a public statement urging the Environment Agency to take less drastic steps in the near term, protecting the Cut while developing longer-term plans over the next 25–50 years. [4]
A levee, dike, dyke, embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure used to keep the course of rivers from changing and to protect against flooding of the area adjoining the river or coast. It is usually earthen and often runs parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines.
East Sussex is a 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 is the city of Brighton and Hove, and the county town is Lewes.
The Ouse is a 35 miles long river in the English counties of West and East Sussex. It rises near Lower Beeding in West Sussex, and flows eastwards and then southwards to reach the sea at Newhaven. It skirts Haywards Heath and passes through Lewes. It forms the main spine of an extensive network of smaller streams, of which the River Uck is the main tributary. As it nears the coast it passes through the Lewes and Laughton Levels, an area of flat, low-lying land that borders the river and another tributary, the Glynde Reach. It was a large tidal inlet at the time of the Domesday book in 1086, but over the following centuries, some attempts were made to reclaim some of the valley floor for agriculture, by building embankments, but the drainage was hampered by the buildup of a large shingle bar which formed across the mouth of the river by longshore drift.
Seaford is a town in East Sussex, England, east of Newhaven and west of Eastbourne.
The Weald is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre, the clay "Low Weald" periphery and the Greensand Ridge, which stretches around the north and west of the Weald and includes its highest points. The Weald once was covered with forest and its name, Old English in origin, signifies "woodland". The term is still used, as scattered farms and villages sometimes refer to the Weald in their names.
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about 260 sq mi (670 km2) across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. The Downs are bounded on the northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose crest there are extensive views northwards across the Weald. The South Downs National Park forms a much larger area than the chalk range of the South Downs, and includes large parts of the Weald.
Wealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England. Its council is based in Hailsham, the district's second largest town. The district also includes the towns of Crowborough, Polegate and Uckfield, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The district's name comes from the Weald, the landscape and ancient woodland which occupies much of the centre and north of the area.
The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Peacehaven, Eastbourne, Hastings, Rye, and Folkestone.
The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers the chalk hills of the South Downs and a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park.
Cuckmere Valley is a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. As its name suggests, the parish consists of a number of small settlements in the lower reaches of the River Cuckmere.
Long Man is a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, which includes the villages of Wilmington, Milton Street and Folkington. The parish is named after the Long Man of Wilmington, a 69.2-metre (227 ft) chalk figure in the parish.
Cuckmere Haven is an area of flood plains in Sussex, England, where the river Cuckmere meets the English Channel between Eastbourne and Seaford. The river is an example of a meandering river, and contains several oxbow lakes. It is a popular tourist destination with an estimated 350,000 visitors per year, where they can engage in long walks, or water activities on the river. The beach at Cuckmere Haven is next to the famous chalk cliffs, the Seven Sisters.
The River Colne is a small river that runs through Essex, England and passes through Colchester. It is not a tributary of any other river, instead having an estuary that joins the sea near Brightlingsea. The river's name is of Celtic origin, combining the word for rock "cal" with a remnant of the word "afon", or river, giving the meaning "stony river". However, another authority states that the river's name was originally Colonia Fluvius, the "waterway of the Colonia": a reference to Colchester's status in Roman times. There are two other rivers in the UK that share the same name.
Arlington is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The parish is on the River Cuckmere, and is the location of a medieval priory, a reservoir and a car racetrack.
The following are lists of recreational walks in East Sussex, England
The Wealdway, Kent and East Sussex, is a public footpath that runs for 83 miles / 134 km from Gravesend, Kent on the Thames estuary, to the A259 at Eastbourne, 3 km north of Beachy Head.
Sussex is a historic county and cultural region in the south of England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, north-east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West Sussex and East Sussex and the city of Brighton and Hove. The city of Brighton & Hove was created a unitary authority in 1997, and was granted City status in 2000. Until then Chichester had been Sussex's only city. By convention, Chichester is Sussex's capital city and Lewes is Sussex's county town.
The western Weald is an area of undulating countryside in Hampshire and West Sussex containing a mixture of woodland and heathland areas.
The Lewes and Laughton Levels are an area of low-lying land bordering the River Ouse near Lewes and the Glynde Reach near Laughton in East Sussex, England. The area was probably a tidal inlet in Norman times, but by the early 14th century, some meadows had been created by building embankments. Conditions deteriorated later that century, and by 1537, most of the meadows were permanently flooded. Part of the problem was the buildup of shingle across the mouth of the Ouse, but in 1537 a scot tax was raised, and a new channel cut through the shingle. By the mid 17th century, shingle was again preventing the region from draining properly, until the new channel was reinstated around 1731. In 1758 John Smeaton surveyed the area with a view to improving it for agriculture. He suggested straightening and widening the river channel, raising the banks around meadows, and building a large sluice near Piddinghoe, to keep the tides out. Some dredging and widening were carried out, but the straightending and sluice were discarded.
The geology of the South Downs National Park in South East England comprises a gently folded succession of sedimentary rocks from the Cretaceous and early Palaeogene periods overlain in places by a range of superficial deposits from the last 2.6 million years. Whereas the South Downs are formed from the Late Cretaceous age chalk, the South Downs National Park extends into the Weald to the north of the range and thereby includes older rock strata dating from the Early Cretaceous including sandstones and mudstones. The youngest solid rocks are found on the southern fringes of the National Park in the eastern extension of the Hampshire Basin and include sand, silt and clay deposited during the Palaeocene and Eocene epochs.