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Wealden Greensand
• Large belt of Greensand typified by its scarp/dip-slope topography and by extensive belts of ancient mixed woodland of hazel, oak and birch together with more recent coniferous colonisation and plantations.
• Large sections of the winding Upper Greensand escarpment are noted for their steep 'hanger' woodlands with areas of remnant heath and wet heath.
• Settlements are generally scattered villages and hamlets linked by deep, overhanging, winding lanes with some small, irregular fields remnant of Saxon clearances.
• The Wealden Greensand in Hampshire and West Sussex comprises areas of high ground supporting a mosaic of open heath, beech/ash or oak/hazel/ash wooded hangers - or pine forest in Sussex - and rough grazing. There are broad river valley plains which support arable farming on light soils with large geometric fields.
• In the western Surrey area, the Wealden Greensand is flat with much heathland and former heathland. Towards the east, the slopes become steeper and are generally densely wooded with an extensive oak/birch/pine cover, numerous small woodlands and also 18th century conifer plantations. Farming is predominantly mixed with dairy pastures in small irregular fields with well-maintained hedgerows and shaws. The latter give a wooded feel to the area.
• In east Surrey and western Kent, there are many wooded commons ('charts') with oak/birch woodland.
• Tree-lined winding sunken lanes connecting small settlements built of sandstone or malmstone and the overall undulating and organic land form combine to give a sense of intimacy to the landscape.
• In the east of Kent, the Wealden Greensand has a gentler and more open aspect than the wooded west. This part of the area is also more marked by development with the presence of major towns and communication corridors such as the M26/M25/M20 and railway lines.
• Fruit growing is still a characteristic feature of the Kent Greensand.
• Older deer parks and more recent 18th century parklands are a distinctive feature of the Wealden Greensand with extensive views out over the Low Weald.
For further details on this character area and for an introduction to the region, please see the PDF documents in the box at the top right hand side of this page.
