Wednesday 25th June 2025


Day of Discovery

at

Brandy Hole Copse

(event in the Festival of Chichester)

(This webpage was first published on 26th January 2025 and was launched on 4th April 2025.)

We we will continue to update the page as the event draws nearer. Any known "information to come" is written in red.

Please do let us know if you find any broken links, so we can correct these.

The Friends of Brandy Hole Copse invite you to join one or more of a series of walks and activities looking at the life of Chichester’s only designated Local Nature Reserve. From an early morning bird walk to pond dipping or an evening stroll, join a planned activity or let us help you find new ways to explore by yourself. Our Programme explains what's on offer, and whether you need to book.


Information about our Venue can be found here and our Map for the Day is intended to help you find the best way for you to get where you need to be, including explaining any accessibility challenges. (We will check out ground conditions at the start of the week and post an update here.)


Please visit our TicketSource webpage to check availability and to book. For general enquiries about the day/any activity, contact fobhc.events@treesinchi.org. (Everyone is a volunteer and email Inboxes get busy. Please bear with us, but if you don't hear back, we can be contacted via tel. 07788 140698.) You can find our Privacy Policy here.


Finally, we celebrate those who've made this event possible with Our Thanks.


If you don't want to wait until 25th June to visit, please do explore our other Friends' webpages. For latest news and essential information, start here.

Programme

Time

Activity

Led by

Format

From about 10am to 5pm, there will be one or more of our volunteers beside the Centurion Way access to Brandy Hole Copse (our "greet point") with displays and information about what's happening where, and suggestions for self-led activities to try. We look forward to meeting you and to helping you enjoy your time in the Copse, whenever you choose to visit. 

7:45am

Mark (Chichester District Council)

Booking Required (max 12 places)

10am -noon

Bioblitz - find, identify and record life in and around the Copse (Guided Activity)

Sussex Wildlife Trust

Drop-In

10:30 - 11:30 am

Claire (Wild Crayon)

Booking Required (places limited)

11am

How History Shaped the Copse (Walk)

optional: bring your own picnic and stay on to chat

James (Chichester District Council)

Booking Required (max 10 places)

1 - 3pm

Bioblitz - find, identify and record life in and around the Copse (Guided Activity)

Sussex Wildlife Trust

Drop-In

3.30 - 5pm

Oliver (Chichester District Council)

Drop-In

7pm

Oliver (Chichester District Council)

Booking Required (max 12 places)

7pm

Sophie (Chichester District Council)

Booking Required (max 12 places)

Additional activities may be added to our Programme as the day approaches. We will identify these clearly above. If you would like to be involved in some way, please get in touch.

Conditions on the Day ...

... our events refer to "terrain that may be muddy". Writing this at the start of April, after an unusually dry March, paths are generally firm, and we are more worried about water levels in the ponds than about flooded paths and getting stuck in the mud. But things can change, even in June. Our intention is to walk the Copse on Monday 23rd June to get a more accurate understanding of what we will find on our Day of Discovery.
We will post an update here.

7:45am Bird Life around the Copse (Walk)

(ends circa 10:00am)


BOOKING REQUIRED (numbers limited to 12)

Ticket price £4.00 (proceeds to the Friends of Brandy Hole Copse)

To check availability/book, find this event at TicketSource here.


Meet at:             Country Park car park, Old Broyle Road

                            (Please see map.)

 

Join our experienced guide to look and listen for birds within and around Brandy Hole Copse. Habitats include scrub, woodland and ponds/wet areas. If the weather is kind, we hope to spot a few butterflies too.


Please bring binoculars, if you have them. Please wear stout footwear suitable for uneven terrain that may be muddy, and long trousers to protect legs from scratches and ticks as there may be some brushing through undergrowth.


Route includes the reasonably steep slopes of the Scheduled Monument.


Guide:                Mark McManus, Chichester District Council

Tree creeper

Return to Programme.

10:00am Bioblitz - finding, identifying and recording life in the Copse (guided activity)

(ends noon; also 1:00 – 3:00pm)


DROP IN anytime 10am to circa 11:15am

Free

(If you're looking forward to attending, please drop a quick email to Sussex Wildlife Trust Wilder Communities Officer, Jack Thompson, at jackthompson@sussexwt.org.uk to help us plan.)


Meet at:             Centurion Way entrance to the Copse (greet point)

                            (Please see map.)


How do we know what lives in Brandy Hole Copse? What can we find? Why does it matter? Take part in Sussex Wildlife Trust's mini BioBlitz in and around the Copse to learn, or practise, how to conduct basic surveying for a range of species (including birds, insects, and plants). Discover how fun citizen science can be!


Equipment provided (bring your own, if you would like). If you have a smartphone, iNaturalist (nature identification recording) and Merlin (birdsong identification) are useful apps to have installed.


Recommended clothing: stout footwear suitable for uneven terrain that may be muddy, and long trousers to protect legs from scratches and ticks as there may be some brushing through undergrowth.


Host:   Wilder Communities Team, Sussex Wildlife Trust

Return to Programme.

10:30am Introduction to Green Sketching (Workshop)

(ends 11:30am)


BOOKING REQUIRED  please see this link to Wild Crayon's website

Ticket price £15.00


Meet at:             Centurion Way entrance to the Copse (greet point)

                            (Please see map.)


Learn how simple drawing activities can turn a walk in the woods into a magical world of wonder, noticing and slowing down, benefitting our mental health and bringing calm to our busy lives. Join professional illustrator and community sketcher, Claire Watson, to explore techniques, grow confidence and practise observation to enrich your walks. Stay on, if you wish, to practise your skills, join in with the BioBlitz or a self-led activity, bring a picnic, or simply sit, watch and listen for a while.


All materials provided. There will be short stretches of walking as part of the workshop. Please dress for the weather.


Host:   Claire Watson, Wild Crayon

Return to Programme.

11:00am How History Shaped the Copse (Walk)

(approx. 1 hour)


BOOKING REQUIRED (numbers limited to 10)

Ticket price £4.00 (proceeds to the Friends of Brandy Hole Copse)

To check availability/book, find this event at TicketSource here.


Meet at:             Centurion Way entrance to the Copse (greet point)

                            (Please see map.)

 

Chichester District Council’s respected archaeologist explains the man-made contours and features of the Copse and the lives that created them. A Scheduled Monument from the Iron Age, quarrying, and WW2 anti-invasion defences have shaped our 21st century Local Nature Reserve. And when and how did it get its name?

 

A short walk with some reasonably steep slopes on the Scheduled Monument - please wear stout footwear suitable for uneven terrain that may be muddy. Bring your own picnic and stay for conversation afterwards, if you wish.


Guide:               James Kenny, Chichester District Council

Return to Programme.

1:00pm Bioblitz - finding, identifying and recording life in the Copse (guided activity)

(ends 3:00pm; also 10:00am – noon)


DROP IN anytime 10am to circa 2:15pm

Free

(If you're looking forward to attending, please drop a quick email to Sussex Wildlife Trust Wilder Communities Officer, Jack Thompson, at jackthompson@sussexwt.org.uk to help us plan.)


Meet at:             Centurion Way entrance to the Copse (greet point)

                            (Please see map.)


How do we know what lives in Brandy Hole Copse? What can we find? Why does it matter? Take part in Sussex Wildlife Trust's mini BioBlitz in and around the Copse to learn, or practise, how to conduct basic surveying for a range of species (including birds, insects, and plants). Discover how fun citizen science can be!


Equipment provided (bring your own, if you would like). If you have a smartphone, iNaturalist (nature identification recording) and Merlin (birdsong identification) are useful apps to have installed.


Recommended clothing: stout footwear suitable for uneven terrain that may be muddy, and long trousers to protect legs from scratches and ticks as there may be some brushing through undergrowth.


Host:   Wilder Communities Team, Sussex Wildlife Trust

Return to Programme.

3:30pm Life in and around the Water (and the mud!) - Pond Dipping (guided activity)

(ends 5:00pm)


DROP IN (no later than 4.30pm)

Free

Time slots will be limited, if busy, and self-led activities available nearby – do let us know if you intend to attend [we will be creating a TicketSource free event] to help us plan. If expected attendance is high, we will try to expand what we can do.


Meet at:             Brandy Hole Pond (3 nearby entrance points: Brandy Hole Lane eastern; Bristol Gardens; or Centurion Way greet point)

                            (Please see map.)


Brandy Hole Pond is due to get a new pond dipping platform this year, thanks to a grant from Southern Water and permission from Historic England (the pond lies within the Scheduled Monument). If all goes to plan we will have both the new platform and enough water to be able to look for ourselves at what lives in the pond and learn what it tells us about the pond itself. Who are the “baddies”? How can we help the “goodies”? What tells us we’ve got the balance right? Where does the water come from? And where does it go? (We could get quite carried away with this one! Where will your curiosity take you?)


This activity is deliberately timed for the after-school before-dinner slot and suitable for all ages from 4 years upwards. Accompanied children are particularly welcome (parental/adult supervision required). Equipment will be provided. Please dress for the weather. Note that we will provide antibacterial gel and wipes for hands to use after the activity, or bring your own if you would rather.


There may be the chance for small group walks to, and activities relating to, the other ponds at the western end of the Copse, subject to water levels/accessibility and volunteer availability. We’ll update this listing when we have more information, and nearer the time when we can better anticipate water levels/conditions.


Activity leader: Oliver Gammon, Chichester District Council

Return to Programme.

Return to Programme.

Return to Programme.

Our Venue

Brandy Hole Copse is some 15 acres (6.5 hectares) of managed woodland, lying along the south side of Brandy Hole Lane, on the north-western outskirts of Chichester and in the management of Chichester District Council. Its character includes part of a massive bank and ditch system thought to date from the late Iron Age and now designated a Scheduled Monument, an area of sweet chestnut coppicing, and 3 small ponds.


Please note that there are no refreshments nor toilet facilities on site, and limited seating. The nearest public toilets are at Northgate car park (here).


Accessibility

The steep banks of the Scheduled Monument can make walking tricky, if you are not sure-footed, and some areas of paths get extremely soggy. Access between Centurion Way eastwards to Brandy Hole Lane is a cycle path, level and always reasonable underfoot. There is no cycling in other parts of the Copse. There are 2 paths leading westwards from Centurion Way, one along the top of the Scheduled Monument bank and one effectively in the ditch formed when the bank was made and enlarged by 18th century gravel workings; the former has [...] steps; the latter is level until a bank at the west end, although ground can be soft and sometimes flooded. A long-fallen tree spans the lower level path further west, which most people will need to duck under to pass [height].

Map for the Day

One of our volunteers has created a Google MyMap to show the meet points and most likely entrances that you may choose to use. To help you get to where you need to be for each activity, we also describe/illustrate some of the conditions you may encounter. The points marked by a red hiking figure are:


1. Country Park car park

This is the meeting point for our Bird Life around the Copse walk.
Built as part of the first phase of development at Minerva Heights, StreetView shows the entrance to this car park under construction in July 2021: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AraYi9Nc3EhToYfw9 . Access to the Copse is by crossing the Old Broyle Road either at the Old Broyle Road gateway into the Copse, or at the uncontrolled crossing point by the roundabout (near Drovers Lane) and then through informal paths on the adjoining fields. The car park has a height restrictor bar at the entrance; parking is free.
For anyone wishing to explore the wider area, it links to a circular walk around the development to the south and west, including a boardwalk and wetland area off Newlands Lane.

Approximate What3Words location for car park entrance ruler.fairly.perplexed .


2. Old Broyle Road gateway

Nearest entrance to Copse from Old Broyle Road car park. No dropped kerb on west side; unmade paths in Copse. Pedestrian access not checked for mobility scooter accessibility.
See https://maps.app.goo.gl/217hPjVuK4xsDTYj8 for StreetView.


3. Brandy Hole Lane on-road parking

Western entrance to Copse with limited on-road parking (uneven surface, can get busy). Pedestrian access believed suitable for mobility scooters, subject to ground conditions: paths in the Copse are unmade and can get muddy/boggy. Be aware of steep banks (Iron Age earthworks, now Scheduled Monument) which may restrict accessibility to eastern sections of the Copse from here for some visitors.
See https://maps.app.goo.gl/goAF24cK4kambbNGA for Streetview.

Approximate What3Words location resides.sensitive.swing .

There is a cycle rack just inside the Copse (no cycling permitted through the Copse).


4. Centurion Way entrance to Brandy Hole Copse

Our Day of Discovery base ("greet point") from circa 10am to 5pm, this is the What3Words location in the Festival of Chichester brochure: https://what3words.com/toward.grew.natively .
Accessed by foot or cycle only, both along Centurion Way, or from the easternmost entrance on Brandy Hole Lane (point 5 on this Map) or through the Copse from other access points on foot (unmade paths, steep banks of Iron Age earthworks, now Scheduled Monument).

Check: There is a cycle rack on Centurion Way. No cycling permitted through the main area of the Copse (to the west). A cycle path connects eastwards to the Brandy Hole Lane eastern entrance (past Brandy Hole Pond).


To be added to map:

5. Brandy Hole Lane eastern entrance to the Copse

This is a foot/cycle entrance by Brandy Hole Pond. Brandy Hole Lane at this point is narrow and the footway approach is simply marked by a white line rather than a raised pavement. Level access. There is no space for on-street parking.

See https://maps.app.goo.gl/2z4YQ6ZdGi3iSgM5A for StreetView.

Check: There is a cycle rack just inside the Copse and cycling is permitted up to (and along) Centurion Way.


6. Bristol Gardens entrance

This is a pedestrian entrance by Brandy Hole Pond. A gateway arrangement of metal bars combined with an uneven and quite steeply sloping pathway down the inner bank of the Scheduled Monument make it unsuitable for mobility scooters/wheelchairs.
See https://maps.app.goo.gl/dhzv9bm9V7Xni2Pe6 for StreetView.

Our Thanks

The confidence to curate this event comes from the volunteers on the Friends of Brandy Hole Copse Committee, and the members who support us.


We have been blown away by the response of those we've asked to help. In particular, our thanks go to:

  • the various officers of Chichester District Council involved with the Copse who have shown a willingness to give us not just their expertise, but their personal time: Oliver, Mark, James, Sophie;
  • Jack and the Wilder Communities team at Sussex Wildlife Trust;
  • Claire, who is Wild Crayon.

We fully expect this list to grow as the event gets nearer as we have other conversations in progress; other possible activities we might be able to include, and are continuing to work out the practicalities, volunteer availability, and desirability of including these. After all, every day can be a Day of Discovery in the Copse and we want you to return!


The life of a pond or woodland never stands still, and the need for folk to take an interest in the Copse and its wildlife persists as challenges evolve. To join the Friends of Brandy Hole Copse as a member (annual subscription £5), please complete our Membership Form (currently available as a Word or pdf file here ). We would also love to increase practical volunteering in the Copse - if you're inspired to volunteer, there are information on the current programme and forms here.