Talk:Ditchling Beacon

References to blog posts in relation to Bryophytes
I am going to reference some posts from established and recognised blogs with regards to the many rare Bryophytes that are present on Ditchling Beacon - http://analternativenaturalhistoryofsussex.blogspot.com/2013/02/dubius-records.html and http://northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2014/02/moss-bros.html. I have no doubt of their reliability. I will also be in contact with the records office.
 * I have contacted the Sussex Recorder for Bryophyte, Sue Rubinstein, who has confirmed the records and added some more. Paolo Oprandi (talk) 18:24, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

Third-highest point?
When I saw this assertion, and knowing that Butser Hill in Hampshire is the highest point, naturally I went looking for the second-highest point. Most refernces I found on the web give Ditchling as the second-highest. I can't find any entry on Wikipedia that identifies an alternative. Are we quite sure of these facts? --King Hildebrand 17:25, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
 * (Reply copied from my talk page)
 * My initial source was this website, but I have since confirmed the exact location of the second-highest point: Crown Tegleaze, at 253m; ¾ mile slightly W of due S of the village of East Lavington. This website describes a walking route and confirms the height, although (conveniently!) incorrectly shows C.T. as the highest point on the South Downs; the grid ref is SU941148 (only six-figure - sorry), as per the online Ordnance Survey map here.  The associated down is called Littleton Down, and this website  quotes: "Littleton Down: Summit name is Crown Tegleaze. The highest point of the South Downs in Sussex, though not quite a Marilyn because Butser Hill (in Hampshire) is higher."  I'll add this to the article.  Thanks for picking up on this!  Hassocks5489 18:33, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Hi, I’ve been trying to find the 3 highest points in Sussex and came across this page.
 * It looks like Ditchling Beacon ties with Linch Down in W Sussex! https://www.themountainguide.co.uk/england/linch-down.htm Veebs3 (talk) 20:15, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070105203722/http://www2.prestel.co.uk:80/aspen/sussex/ditchling.html to http://www2.prestel.co.uk/aspen/sussex/ditchling.html#arch1
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20061207041302/http://www.allaboutsussex.co.uk:80/default.asp?id=placestovisit306 to http://www.allaboutsussex.co.uk/default.asp?id=placestovisit306
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070528042609/http://www.sussexwt.org.uk:80/reserves_ditchling.htm to http://www.sussexwt.org.uk/reserves_ditchling.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070105203722/http://www2.prestel.co.uk:80/aspen/sussex/ditchling.html to http://www2.prestel.co.uk/aspen/sussex/ditchling.html#arch1

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Querying the coordinates
Hello

This is first post, so please forgive any unintended slips of protocol.

The coordinates of Ditchling Beacon are given on this page as 50 deg 54 min 02 sec N 0 deg 06 min 25 sec W.

Google Maps shows this point as somewhat to the south of the main path, so I checked on the Ordnance Survey site, which gives a decimal version equating to 50 deg 54 min 7.2 sec N 0 deg 06 min 25.95 sec W.

Those OS coordinates equate to a point on (or very close to) the main path (the South Downs Way), which is what I'd have expected.

Apart from the rounding in the final figure, the only difference is the seconds coefficient of the latitude figure. Has this possibly been mis-typed?

If all this sounds rather academic, I've been trying to find the location of the original Iron Age hill-fort that housed the beacon in 1588 when it was lit to warn of the approaching Spanish Armada. I've been in touch with the National Trust, who said that not only are there no remains of that fort, but there are also no records of where it was originally sited.

So can someone please confirm where the current Wikipedia coordinates came from? Where they just a simple mis-typing of the OS reference, or is there something deeper here that I'm missing?

Also if anyone has any further information on the location of the original beacon I'd be most grateful to hear from you.

Many thanks

Bobnovelist2017 (talk) 13:36, 26 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Thanks for your comment. I've checked the OS site's coordinates and they look more accurate – right on the path just west of the car park.  I will change them in the article accordingly.  I have a number of Sussex-related books, so I will have a look through them at some point and will let you know if I find anything substantive about the hill-fort.   Hassocks  5489 (Floreat Hova!)  10:29, 28 September 2017 (UTC)

I don't have time to pursue it just now, but Ditchling Beacon was lit for Queen Elizabeth's Siver Jubilee in 1977. I was there (so too was Vera Lynn) - my recollection is that a beacon was lit in Windsor and then successive fires all over the country from watching beacon hills. We watched anxiously to the north for our signal and then set our fire. My (dim) memory tells me that it took something like half an hour for the signal to travel the length of the country. Of course I can't put this in the piece because it's Original Research until I can find a reference or two. Cross Reference (talk) 15:50, 13 December 2018 (UTC)

I found a reference to the chains of fires; but no specific mention of Ditchling Beacon. Will look some more. https://www.nytimes.com/1977/06/07/archives/100-bonfires-mark-elizabeths-jubilee-100-bonfires-blaze-across.html Cross Reference (talk) 15:53, 13 December 2018 (UTC)