In October, the Dorking group’s usual monthly walk took place at Knepp in Sussex which is famous as a rewilding project. Once an arable farm, since the early 2000’s, the area has been allowed, in a managed way, to revert back to nature and is now famous for its wildlife. We decided to take the long 6 miles walk round the periphery and we were blessed with a beautiful autumn day.
Not only is there beautiful countryside but historical treasures too as we passed the Knepp mill pond, constructed as an enormous hammer pond for the nearby iron workings around 400 years old. At one time it was reputed to be the largest artificial waterbody in southern England but now a perfect location for wildlife. We did find some happy rusty-coloured Tamworth piglets who were snuffling along, digging up the grass for more wildlife.
There are storks which successfully breed there but sadly, they were none around for us to see. There were longhorn cows and some sturdy ponies to keep us happy. Due to a collapsed bridge we had a detour so ended up with a slightly longer walk than anticipated, but that gave us an excellent excuse to enjoy our lunch afterwards at the café.