| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | East Sussex |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TQ 437 099 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 165.0 hectares (408 acres) |
| Notification | 1986 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Lewes Downs is a 165-hectare (410-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Lewes in East Sussex. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and a Special Area of Conservation. Part of it is a national nature reserve, part is Malling Down nature reserve, which is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust, and part is Mount Caburn, an Iron Age hill fort which is a Scheduled Monument.
This south-facing slope on the South Downs is ecologically rich chalk grassland and scrub. Flora include the nationally rare early-spider orchid and it also has a diverse invertebrate fauna and an important breeding community of downland birds.
References
- ^ "Designated Sites View: Lewes Downs". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- "Map of Lewes Downs". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 116–17. ISBN 0521 21403 3.
- "Designated Sites View: Lewes Downs". Special Areas of Conservation. Natural England. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- "Designated Sites View: Lewes Downs (Mount Caburn)". National Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- "Malling Down". Sussex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- Historic England. "Hillfort, bowl barrow and associated remains on The Caburn (1014527)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- "Lewes Downs citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
50°52′16″N 0°02′28″E / 50.871°N 0.041°E / 50.871; 0.041
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