For all information about Natural England's regional offices in the South East, including contact details, news, press releases and events, visit the Natural England website.

Sussex and Surrey

Sussex and Surrey are developed counties and still rich in wildlife. Particularly valuable are the extensive open heaths, the rolling chalk hills of the North and South Downs and the estuaries and river valleys. Many of the urban areas, including the city of Brighton and Hove, contain pockets of land of significance for wildlife and vital to the people who live there.

These counties boast 19 internationally important wildlife sites and 198 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. There are also 6 National Nature Reserves and 60 Local Nature Reserves, which are always open to visitors.

Sussex and Surrey are amongst the most wooded counties in England. Much of this is ancient deciduous woodland which supports some of the finest displays of bluebells in the world. Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve is considered the best example of ancient yew woodland in Britain.

Great tracts of heathland still exist here, and support rare heathland birds and reptiles. The famous white cliffs have unique geological formations, and the spectacular flower rich grasslands of the Downs are of international importance.

Pevensey Levels in East Sussex and Amberley Wild Brooks in the west are two of the finest surviving examples of the great wetlands which once dominated the landscape.