Barnham and Eastergate Parish Council

Biodiversity Corridors 1. Rife 3 2. Wandley’s Lane to Barnham Road 4 3. Wandley’s Lane to Barnham Lane 5 4. Church Lane, Eastergate to Church Lane, Barnham 7 5. Barnham Lane and Nanny Copse/Lake Lane to Church Lane, Barnham 8 6. Canal Path 9 7. Brook Lane cycle track and rife 10 8. Lake Lane to Road and South of Barnham Windmill 11 9. Map of the Corridors 13 1. Aldingbourne Rife

This chalk stream marks the parish boundary with Aldingbourne and is a continuation from the mature tree line on Fontwell Avenue and the watercourse from after it flows through Eastergate village. A well-used path runs alongside the rife to the railway line and the vegetation continues southwards past the Lidsey works, under the Bognor line and the viaduct, feeding into the Lidsey Rife and the sea by Butlins. The popular stretch from Eastergate village to the railway has a variety of reeds, other water-based plants, scrub and willow trees,alongside a stretch of meadow and lines of more mature trees. The whole corridor is a haven for wildlife. In the summer over 10 species of butterfly along with dragonflies and damselflies can be spotted, in addition to the field birds such as swallows, martins and skylarks and warblers in the reedbeds. To the east of the rife, there are some drainage channels flowing through the fields.

Eastergate and Aldingbourne green corridor Aldingbourne Rife looking south

from railway 2. Wandley’s Lane to Barnham Road

Starting from the tree-lined Wandley’s Lane, this corridor includes a footpath between Eastergate Lane and Barnham Road that is enclosed by rich hedgerows and well- established trees. It is the home of a number of dormice. Dormouse houses have been created for their protection and are visible on some lower branches. The path is adjacent to an old orchard which has become a rich habitat for mammals, birds and insects. Foxes and rabbits are commonly found there.

Footpath from Barnham Road to

Eastergate Lane Old Orchard from footpath 3. Wandley’s Lane to Barnham Lane

This corridor links Wandley’s Lane to Barnham Lane in a route through equine pastures, past Wandley’s Copse, through glasshouses, across Eastergate Lane, and bordering farmer’s fields to the Barnham- road. It marks the border between parishes and the northern edge of BENP’s built-up area. The corridor has several well-established trees where rooks, carrion crows, jackdaws and starlings regularly roost. There is a substantial orchard at the northeastern side of Downview Road frequented by jays and woodpeckers. At the eastern end it forms the top end of Hedge End Wood, where woodpeckers can be heard and bats frequent. The whole area is patrolled by kestrels, sparrowhawks and buzzards.

Orchard at NE of Downview Road Green Corridor to east of Downview Road Rural scene at north end of Barnham village near Barnham Lane 4. Church Lane, Eastergate to Church Lane, Barnham

This path links the original villages and the current Conservation areas, from Manor Farm, via St Philip Howard school. The first stretch forms the boundary of Manor Farm’s arable fields and follows a drainage ditch enclosed by bramble and other scrub where several species of butterfly sun themselves in the summer. The footpath proceeds to cross the two railway lines and ends up crossing the Barnham Rife to arrive at an open section of Church Lane. The green corridor splits after the Chichester line and follows Barnham Rife to Highground Lane, where there is a resident buzzard, which is a sure sign of small mammals.

Path from Eastergate to Barnham looking north

Footpath from Church Lane crossing Barnham Rife 5. Barnham Lane and Nanny Copse/Lake Lane to Church Lane, Barnham This Corridor starts and ends with two strands. On the west side, it begins where Barnham Lane enters the parish close to Hedge End Wood, lined with well-established trees, oak, field maple, ash, hawthorn and a protected rare Judas tree; and on the east the dense stretch of ancient woodland named Nanny Copse and the chalk stream that runs from Walberton and then follows Lake Lane, joining the Barnham Rife culvert under the Farnhurst Road recreation area before emerging behind Dial Close. Nanny Copse and the trees that spread from it alongside and through the Lake Lane gardens create a rich habitat for an extensive variety of bats and woodland birds. At the south side of the railway, the combined rife has carved a route along the west side of Church Lane and Barnham Court along Highground Lane on its way to the Lidsey Works, attracting egrets, herons and mallard along its length, and great spotted and green woodpeckers in the high trees around the manor house. The second strand follows Church Lane to the Church, taking in the eastern side of the woods and hedges on the east side of the manor house and the churchyard.

Nanny Copse and Lake Lane from Barnham Lane

Barnham Rife from Highground Lane 6. Canal Path The route of the old Barnham Canal forms a green corridor from Tilebarn Farm on Hill Lane to the Lidsey treatment works. Some stretches have been filled in, but the route is clearly visible and a footpath follows it all the way, forming a link in the network of paths for people as well as wildlife. There is a hedgerow of thorn bushes attracting songbirds and butterflies from Tilebarn Farm to Barnham Court Farm, and to the west there is a rich corridor of scrub and woodland patches, alongside reeds and long grasses in the dip of the former canal. Here flocks of long-tailed-tits and chaffinches are often to be found. By the Bognor line rail crossing the path, a densely wooded section continues south on both sides of the track and westwards until it opens out at the Lidsey plant.

Canal path from Barnham Court Farm

Canal path to the west from railway 7. Brook Lane cycle track and rife This cycle track from St Mary’s Church to Hoe Lane, Flansham, is also popular with walkers and birdwatchers. It follows the route of two drainage ditches and is surrounded by meadows which flood most winters and provide a relief to all the settlements downstream. When flooded, the meadows become the habitat of waders and ducks, particularly shelduck and lapwings. The path and ditches are surrounded by reeds, populated by reed warblers, sedge warblers, reed buntings and sometimes snipe. Swans and mallard are often to be seen in the water. In the hedges of mature hawthorn, blackthorn and elder there are often flocks of chaffinches and the occasional whitethroat and blackcap. Roe deer wander over the fields and smaller mammals such as weasel, field vole and moles can dart across the path. Until recently water voles have been recorded. In winter the area is popular with fieldfares and redwing.

Northern end of cycle track towards canal Rife on Brook Lane to the North East 8. Lake Lane to Yapton Road and South of Barnham Windmill This area covers two green corridors at the eastern end of the parish, beginning at Lake Lane, both crossing the main railway line and Yapton Road, merging at the footbridge over a drainage ditch on the boundary with Yapton, which goes on to merge into the rife on Brook Lane. The northern end is marked by two footpaths, linked to those from Walberton, one bisecting horticultural buildings and the other on their eastern edge, both with railway crossings (one of which has been closed for some time awaiting repairs). The western path follows a dense strip of thorn bushes, dotted with ash and oak trees to the Windmill, whilst the eastern path is not maintained, although the green corridor is still clearly visible.

South of Yapton Road, the western corridor consists of the hedgerow, orchards and well- established trees, lining Hill Lane to Tile Barn Farm, then the scrub lining a drainage ditch from the old canal heading southwards. The trees from the eastern corridor can be clearly seen next to an equine centre continuing with a hedgerow to the footbridge. The hedges and scrub have a mixture of small birds including stonechats, as well as red admiral and peacock butterflies, and crows, gulls and the occasional skylark can be seen in the fields.

Footpath from Yapton Road to Lake Lane Eastern green corridor from Yapton Road

Hill Lane to the north 9. Map of the Corridors