Forest bathing at Flatropers Wood

Flatropers Wood is a 38 hectare Sussex Wildlife Trust reserve just outside Beckley in the far east of the county. It is mostly oak and birch, with sunny rides, heathy clearings, ponds and alder-lined streams. Many of the oaks were planted in the 1700s for shipbuilding, and you can still see the old sweet chestnut coppice and the pollarded hornbeams along the boundary banks.

Access is from Bixley Lane, a small unsurfaced road off the A268 west of Peasmarsh, with room for a car or two in the lay-bys. The paths are fairly flat, which makes this a gentle wood for slow walking, but they get muddy in winter, so boots are a good idea. Bluebells and wood anemones cover the ground in spring; in summer the rides are busy with butterflies and bees. Listen for great spotted woodpeckers drumming and ravens calling overhead.