Cross-In-Hand Amenities Society
Custodians of Darch’s Wood for the benefit and enjoyment of the community, and helping preserve and protect the lands and buildings of Cross-in-Hand.
Registered Charity 269818
18 Dec 2020
Working Parties during Tier 2
11 Dec 2020
Working Party 12/12/2020
We have made huge progress with the section of wood that we’ve been working this year and, taking into account the disruption caused by Covid, the improvement that has been made has to be seen to be believed.
Despite the two huge bonfires last week, there’s still plenty of brash to drag and burn and, with 100 new trees soon to arrive as a starter for our woodland regeneration effort, we’ve an extensive opportunity for exercise and fresh air. Christmas approaches at a frightening lick, and it would be great if we could fit in a couple of sessions before the new year.
To this end, if you can spare an hour or two; the next jolly is scheduled for this Saturday 12th December. Again, social distancing will be the norm, so if you can bring your own tools (gloves essential) it would be preferable - if not, we can loan loppers, rakes, saws etc.
Meet at the pond at around 11:00 - follow the smoke.
1 Dec 2020
Post-Lockdown 2 Working Sessions!
As we stagger from the gloom of Lockdown 2 and stride purposefully into the sunlit uplands of a Tier 2 recovery where-in the unicorns dwell, I’m pleased to announce that the Society can resume its Saturday work sessions in the wood, albeit socially distanced.
At the moment, we have successfully cleared a vast amount of the invasive Cherry laurel, and the daylight streaming into that section of wood is amazing; the significant regrowth of clonal young Aspen that we’ve already seen making the most of that 'new' light is going to look an absolute treat in the Spring.
However, we are left with a huge amount of brash that needs clearing and burning before we see the real benefits of those clearance efforts - we need YOU!
We’ll split the current section into areas and, in order to comply with Tier 2 regulations, the plan is to have no more than 6 individuals working an area with a competent adult responsible for each.
The forecast is changeable but, if you can spare an hour or two, the next session is this Saturday 5th December.
Social distancing will be the norm, so if you can bring your own tools (gloves essential) it would be preferable; if not, we have a stash of loppers, rakes, saws &c. to loan .
Meet at the pond at around 11:00: just follow the smoke!
2 Nov 2020
Saturday Work Parties CANCELLED for November
With the November lockdown upon us I’m afraid that, in line with Government guidance, we will have to cancel our scheduled Saturday work sessions for the whole of November
It’s a great shame, especially when we consider the progress made on our last two outings, but the safety of our membership remains paramount.
The wood remains open for those who wish to exercise. All we ask is that folks continue to respect social distancing criteria and adhere to the clockwise walking directions.
With the high winds experienced recently there have been a number of trees blown down; the majority of these have been noted and we’ll do our best to get them cleared as soon as possible.
If anybody spots a fallen tree or one that looks to be a danger to the public, give Mike a call on 01435 866253 and we’ll add them to the list to be cleared.
Stay safe and stay well.
22 Oct 2020
Working Party 24/10/2020
Social distancing will obviously be the norm (we certainly have the space!), so if you own tools, please bring them (your own pair of gloves and decent, sturdy footwear are essential) it would be preferable; if you don't have your own tools we can loan loppers, rakes, saws etc.
The plan, as usual, is to meet at the pond at around 11:00 - look out for the smoke.
7 Oct 2020
Winter 20/21 Work Parties
October approaches and the cherry laurel and rhododendron ponticum are (rightly) quaking in their roots!
If you can spare an hour or two, our first session will be on Saturday 10th October and we’d be as delighted as we always are to see you.
Covid-19 is obviously an issue, but one that we should be able to work with if we maintain social distancing (and avoid any undue kissing and cuddling). If you can bring your own tools (gloves and decent boots essential) it would be preferable; if you've none we can loan loppers, rakes, saws etc.
The plan, as usual, is to meet at the pond at around 11:00 - look out for the smoke.
Post Script: We had a successful trial earlier in the year making our own Darch’s Charcoal (see below). We have a stack of dried timber from previous sessions and will be firing up the retort (cooker) early on to make another batch while we get on with the general clearance work.
25 Apr 2020
Spring Flowers

Birds are singing vigorously to demarcate their breeding territories, insects are emerging and mating, and the woodland flowers are daily becoming an ever greater sight to behold. Beginning with violets and wood anemones, the forest floor is soon awash with lesser celandine, glorious bluebells, the unusual lords-and-ladies (or cuckoo pint!) and greater stitchwort, to name but a few. All are timed to bloom before the canopy closes, which then prevents as much light from reaching the woodland floor.
Our eyes are currently trained on the areas cleared of the ever present (and infernal!) invasive, non-native cherry laurel and rhododendron this winter to see if the restored penetration of light to the forest floor in these areas causes any dormant seeds to germinate. On your walks through the woods, have a look out to see what you can find, and please comment below to let us know your sightings!
Please remember to continue to employ social distancing in the woods, and to walk round in a clockwise direction.
29 Mar 2020
27 Mar 2020
What To Look For In Spring
24 Feb 2020
Working Party Report: Saturday 22nd February 2020
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The bivouac and firepit. No idea where it came from; any takers?
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On arriving, committee member Mike had already got a good bonfire going despite the wet ground and was making good progress against the matted twists and tangles of the invasive Rhododendron ponticum and Cherry laurel. Myself and my husband James joined the group to make five, including fellow committee member Jenny and her dog Poppy, who was busy collecting sticks and wondering what on earth we were all up to!
We were joined later in the day by another local resident, Lucy, and between us we cleared another good section of laurel and rhododendron that has completely taken over parts of the woodland. By clearing it, we will increase the space and light for native woodland species to thrive once more and regenerate naturally which in turn will increase biodiversity, not only in the wood but in the surrounding countryside too!
We were treated to a close view of a sparrowhawk that flew out right in front of Mike and James. We also encountered a beautiful little goldrest, heard first by James and spotted shortly after hopping about in the branches above our heads as if to inspect our work.
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Signs of spring; the bluebells are on their way! |
There's not much better than the unique afterglow of a day spent working in the outdoors and giving back to nature and the community. We have just a few more sessions left before we have to stop as we come into bird nesting season and it would be great to see some good volunteer turnout. We welcome newcomers whether you have half an hour or a whole day to give. We usually have some spare tools, or you can bring your own loppers, and there's always a job for everyone, no matter age or ability.
The next working parties are on 01/03/2020 and 15/03/2020. We meet by the pond from 11am. If you have any questions about the working parties please do get in touch.
23 Jan 2020
3 Nov 2019
Dedication: John Plant, Chairman 2013-2019
3 Oct 2019
Winter 2019/20 Volunteer Working Groups
2 Oct 2019
27 Sept 2019
Darch's Wood Archaeological Survey
Prior to this survey, only one archaeological site had been identified in the woodlands; the Roman (?) iron bloomery. This field survey identified a total of 26 features, not all of them strictly archaeological ones but were important to the understanding of this historic wooded garden landscape. Apart from the known Roman bloomery site in the woods, the earliest archaeological evidence is the eastern boundary bank and ditch which dates back to when the cultivated land was cut out of the wider Wealden woodland; when that was we can only speculate at present.
What was striking about this woodland survey was the lack of usual woodland management archaeological features, from charcoal platforms and saw-pits to mine pits and internal boundary banks. With its steep sides and deeply incised ghylls, this would have always been an extremely difficult wood to work for timber and charcoal, even before it was ready for extraction!
However, what the wood lacked in the usual woodland archaeology, it gained in its obvious later use
as a Victorian and Edwardian ‘pleasure ground’ in this part of the southern extremity of the High Weald. This development of the garden and wider landscape at Heatherden started in late Victorian times and continued into the early Edwardian period. The 1987 storm obviously did considerable
damage to the planted aspect of this woodland, but some specimen trees still survive.
For anyone, including local people, with even the most basic interest of the history of Darch's Wood and the community of houses which surround it, this is an illuminating and fascinating read.
9 Sept 2019
Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting, 2nd October
Lucas Memorial Hall, Waldron, TN21 0QT
Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019 at 8.00pm
You are invited to attend this extraordinary general meeting of the Society, called because it was impossible to complete business at the last AGM held on April 24th, 2019 due to the sudden death of the chair, John Plant.
This is a brief, but important meeting of the membership to elect a new chair and committee and to decide how to commemorate John’s life and his significance for the Society. We need 15 paid-up household representatives to be quorate.
- Election of chair, vice chair, treasurer and secretary (trustees of the Society);
- Election of committee members;
- Deciding on a suitable memorial to John Plant, chair 2013 to 2019. The provisional committee has been in discussion with John’s family and will have proposals to put before the meeting;
- Update of work scheduled for Darch’s Wood and autumn work parties.
6 Sept 2019
Tribute to our Chairman John Plant

John worked tirelessly for the local community. He fought to protect and preserve Darch’s Wood, giving what sometimes seemed like limitless time and energy towards fighting planning applications which would have had an adverse effect on the woods, or getting stuck in with path building, archaeological surveys and rhododendron clearance. His passion for and dedication to the woodland is evident when you walk through the woods today and look around you. The progress in the woods over the last few years has been remarkable, slowly but surely being restored to provide a sanctuary for nature and people alike. The result is a testament to John’s hard work and commitment.
Before he died, John received an official invitation to the Queen’s Garden Party in recognition of his services to the community. He passed away before the event but we can all agree that this was a well deserved award, one that he was proud to receive. His family attended on his behalf and enjoyed a memorable day at Buckingham Palace.
We will all very much miss working alongside John, both personally and professionally. His warm nature, his sense of humour, extensive local knowledge and dedication to the society over his six years as chair will be a tough act to follow. However, we are determined to continue the excellent work that he started.
We plan to plant some native trees in the woods, alongside an oak post with a commemorative plaque as a memorial to John.
19 Jan 2019
Volunteer Working Groups

The Society was immensely pleased to see many local people and dogs (and not-so-local people/dogs!) turn up and contribute their time and sweat felling, burning, pruning and sawing, doing their best to help us return the woods to their former glory. We are truly grateful to each and every person (and dog!) who turned up and worked so hard, and a great deal of fun was had by all.
Special thanks must go out to Tom who today came with a small chainsaw and, himself, cleared as much of to the infestation as the whole working party managed the week before! A remarkable feat, and the difference is self-evident. Further thanks to Nigel who, with his electric reciprocating saw, was only stopped when his battery ran flat...
More Volunteer Working Groups are planned to go forwards (weather permitting), as advertised on our Facebook page. If you would also like to join us in keeping fit, helping give nature a chance to thrive, meeting new people and simply have a ball in these beautiful woods, why not grab your bow saw and loppers and join our group? You'd be warmly welcomed.
21 Dec 2018
HISTORIC DOCUMENTS - No. 5
HISTORIC DOCUMENTS - No. 4
HISTORIC DOCUMENTS - No. 3
HISTORIC DOCUMENTS - No. 2
9 Nov 2018
HISTORIC DOCUMENTS - No. 1
The committee (and others) should never walk in the woods without tools of the trade, in hand or belted on. The most important are a hoe to do gutters and clear streams and a hand clipper. After that a saw, slasher etc, to take care of things fallen across paths.
The bridges should be watched at all times to see that the water flows through correctly. Bricks should be replaced at once if vandals have prised any out.
As for money for brick work etc, you should perhaps get some donations in addition to rent from the Church House, and if this is not enough, I would consider a charge of £4 or £5 a year from people who use the wood. That is done by another woodland trust not far away.
The ex-pond should be cleared on the east side of the stream ready to go ahead when and if the time comes for re-instatement.
7 Nov 2018
Archaeological Study of Darch's Wood
If anyone has any historic information about the wood, be it documents, photographs or just memories, we would be keen to hear from you.
4 Jul 2018
Wealden Local Plan
This is YOUR BEST opportunity to comment on road safety, lack of infrastructure and amenities, planning, and all the other issues that affect the community of Cross-in-Hand.
You may view the plan and the agenda for the sub-committee meeting (being held on 5th July 2018) via the following link:
28 Feb 2018
Rhododendron Clearance - next steps
The next stage is to clear the ground of all the sticks and debris left behind, and we have already cleared much of the area around the pond with help from a number of volunteers. There is much more to be done, and we are going to have regular sessions on the third Sunday of every month between 11am and 4pm, where we hope some of our regular users if the wood will help out. The more that help, the quicker we can clear the debris and set about grassing the cleared areas and seeding wildflowers.
As part of the clearance effort, we aim to create a new path running alongside the stream from the other new path we constructed last year down to the pond using the wood chippings from the rhododendron. So the more people that help, the quicker you get your new path!
The soil in the areas cleared of rhododendron is too acidic to seed at the moment, so we are going to create a small test area where we will spread granulated lime on the ground and then seed it with grass. The results will hopefully speak for themselves.
15 Jan 2018
Sussex Express Isenhurst Junction Article
With support from our Parish Council, Wealden Councillor Jonica Fox, and County Councillor Chris Dowling, the Amenities Society has been trying persuade East Sussex Highways to do something about the accidents and congestion along this stretch of road.
We would hope that the press coverage will jolt East Sussex Highways into doing something about this stretch of road before someone loses their life, but we aren't holding our breath.
16 Dec 2017
Supporting Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare
We have been in touch with them to try to get more ducks for the pond in Darch's Wood, so it seems right to ask our members and visitors to the wood to support a fellow local charity by voting for them.
The voting process takes less than 2 minutes and would make all the difference to Raystede and the animals who live there.
Simply click the link below, register then search for Raystede and vote for their #Heartbreak2Happiness film.
Click here to vote for Raystede now
Planning Application
Details of the planning application can be found on the Wealden District Council Planning Portal under reference WD/2017/1859/F.
We have been very careful to make sure that the car park area will not have any impact to existing trees and hedges, and trust that our members support the proposal.
11 Dec 2017
Thank You to the Heathfield Co-op Store
December Newsletter
Members will receive their own copy of the Newsletter by email or in the post.
18 Oct 2017
Project New Footpath on Schedule
We will be back on Friday to do some more work, but in the meantime there is no reason why you can't walk along the new path to look at what we have done so far.
Dangerous Tree Felled
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Note the hole! |
It had such a large hole in the trunk that you could see right through it and, being alongside the public footpath in the wood, we felt that it was a priority issue and took action straight away.
Whilst it was being felled the tree split in two and we found its core to be totally rotten, so it could have fallen at any time.
Thanks to Chris Davis and his team at Agrifactors Ltd. for their speedy response to our report of the potential danger.
11 Oct 2017
New Signs in the Wood
Our aim is to help new visitors to the wood to find their way around.
If people find them useful we will add some more.
There are currently five signposts - can you find them?
New Path in the Wood
1 Oct 2017
High Weald AONB Unit Questionnaire
It will help the AONB Unit develop a better policy to conserve and enhance the High Weald AONB, and the information will be used to inform the High Weald AONB Management Plan 2019-2024 which will be published in March 2019.
If you want your say, please click on this link to the High Weald AONB Survey.
The survey should take no more than 10 minutes, and all completed forms will be entered into a draw to win two family tickets to the Spa Valley Railway.
18 Sept 2017
Wheelchair Access to the Wood
Whilst at present we are unable to provide unimpeded access to the wood for wheelchair users, if you would like us to make special arrangements to enable someone in a wheelchair to visit parts of the wood, please contact our Chairman, and we will try our best to accommodate your wishes.
Sussex Conservation Volunteers
To find out more about the Conservation Volunteers, contact them on 01424 444675
The Community Volunteering Charity
If you would like to be kept up to date with information about
their work in South East England, please let them know by subscribing to their-newsletters here
Royal Society of Public
Health - Health and Wellbeing Award winners
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Registered in England as a limited company (1933576) and as a
charity in
England (261009) and Scotland (SCO39302).
Registered Office: Sedum House, Mallard Way, Doncaster DN4 8DB |
Volunteers Needed for Path Repairs!
Email cihamsoc@gmail.com or contact one of our Committee if you can help.
Path Repairs
Thanks also to Toby Thompsett who ably assisted by his dad Steve and fellow committee members Janet, Mike and John to lay planings on the narrow path under the rhododendron near the bridge last weekend.
15 Aug 2017
Old Common - Parish Council Refusal
The Parish Council Planning and Highways Committee recommended refusal of the planning application at Old Common at a well attended meeting on Monday 14th August 2017.
Many arguments were put forward by residents objecting to the proposal, with the numerous road safety issues, the encroachment into the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and its proximity to the ancient woodland being just some of the many reasons given.
Our Chairman, John Plant, spoke specifically about the adverse impact on Darch’s Wood. The Amenities Society has not been approached by the developer even though the application makes numerous references to draining surface water from the site into the wood, and constructing a new gate to provide direct public access into the wood.
We believe that the increased volume of water flowing into the woodland would cause additional erosion and would have a detrimental effect to the streams and the pond. The proximity of two public accesses behind the church renders any need for additional accesses unnecessary. Together with the noise and light pollution, and the resulting vehicle emissions so close to the ancient woodland, the Society also recommended refusal.
9 Aug 2017
Sussex Lund
The Sussex Lund grants programme, launched by Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing, supports small-scale, practical projects that improve the ecology and landscape of the High Weald.
For further information about Sussex Lund click on this link to sussexgiving.org.uk.
8 Aug 2017
Dogs & Ducks: Update
We have lost one of the three female ducks that we introduced, but we suspect that she didn't stay close to the others, strayed too far from the pond and was probably taken by a fox. The remaining ducks do seem to be thriving.
Thank you to all those who have been helping feed the ducks. We will keep this up on a permanent basis, at least until next spring. If you would like to be involved in a regular feeding scheme please email us at cihamsoc@gmail.com. We will provide the duck food free of charge.
Planning Application at Old Common
The Amenities Society has been approached by concerned neighbours and will be looking to work with the individuals concerned to assist them in providing fair and balanced responses.
As the proposed site backs on to Darch's Wood, the Committee will be considering its own thoughts over the next couple of weeks before submitting a response on behalf of the Amenities Society.
The application can be found on the Wealden Planning website www.planning.wealden.gov.uk under reference WD/2016/3063/MAO, where you can submit your own response to the Wealden Planning Officer for or against the proposal. The deadline for submissions is 1st September 2017.
26 Jul 2017
Esso Service Station
25 Jul 2017
Grant from Sussex Lund
19 Jul 2017
Roadworks update for next week
There will be some restrictions on parking on part of Heathfield High Street to try and keep traffic flowing whilst the diversion is in place, but just to complicate matters, the main diversion route via Hailsham Road will have roadworks between the traffic lights and Ghyll Road for one day on 25th July.
7 Jul 2017
Little London Road planned closure 24th July
The closure notice is from 7am on Monday 24th July until 5pm on Friday 4th August, although the work is expected to be completed within 5 days starting 24th July.
The diversion route will most likely be via Maynards Green and Heathfield High Street, so expect gridlock in the town.
Residents of Back Lane and Firgrove Road should also brace themselves for increased, and speeding, through traffic avoiding the diversion route.
Back Lane closed from 10th July
The advance notice posted in the lane some weeks ago refers to road closure for BT work, so there may be more closures still to come.
14 Jun 2017
Advance Notice of Road Closure
The alternative route for through traffic diversion will be via New Pond Hill and the A267.
The work is scheduled to start on 3rd July and last up to two weeks.