Blunts Wood and Paiges Meadows Nature Reserve

Emma Chaplin
, 16 March 2026
Blunts Wood and Paiges Meadows Nature Reserve
Paiges Meadows © N Geddie

We spoke to Sue Hand, volunteer for one of Sussex's many fine community groups - the Friends of Blunts Wood and Paiges Meadows Nature Reserve.

Tell us a bit about the reserve itself

Blunts Wood and Paiges Meadows is a Nature Reserve in Haywards Heath. The area was identified as a strategic gap between Cuckfield and Haywards Heath in 1996, and designated a Nature Reserve in 2004. The total area is 68 acres, so it’s big. There are two deciduous woodlands, some of which appears on the Ancient Woodlands map. There are eight meadows, five ponds and an ancient hedgerow. Historically, the area was productive woodland and the ponds are thought to be the result of clay extraction. The meadows were pastoral farmland.

Small Coppers on the reserve © P Boyle

And the Friends group? 

The Friends Group was formed in 1997 to improve and restore the habitat. Our Chair is a founding member, and still leads the monthly working party. There are around 40 members who receive the quarterly news. Of those, around 10 regularly work on the reserve.

Marbled White on the reserve © P Boyle

Are you looking for new members?

Yes, absolutely. New volunteers are very welcome. No experience is necessary, tools are provided and mid morning refreshments. We meet on the third Saturday of the month, mornings between 9 and 12, in the car park at Blunts Wood Crescent. Any and all help is gratefully received.  

Some of the Friends of Blunts Wood & Paiges Meadows Nature Reserve

Tell us about some of the wildlife found there and what you do to support it

There is a diverse range of habitats. Our mission is to support the best possible habitat for all wildlife. During the winter months, there is much coppicing to be done, we are rewarded with swathes of Wood Anemone and Bluebells in the spring. The meadow edging of bracken and bramble and the removal of overly dominant Ragwort, and recently a little Himalayan Balsam, are all kept in check to encourage the summer glory of the meadows. 

Wood Anemones © Derek Middleton

We encourage surveys and recording of species. In 2025, a butterfly survey concluded the site is a haven for butterflies, 27 species were recorded. We identified ways to support the butterfly habitat and they have now been adopted across the reserve. We would love to see more field work for other wildlife. Future projects include work on our ponds to make them more wildlife friendly, especially for Great Crested Newts and other amphibians.

What are your favourite areas and why?

The view down across the valley from the benches in South Meadow, with dragonflies hovering round the abundance of flowers. The woodland in spring, as the Anemones emerge and birdsong is the only sound. Ashurst Mead, a meadow at the bottom of a valley, a quieter area with an abundance of flowers such as the Spotted Orchid.

For more information, and current dates for meeting, please contact Sue [email protected]

Here's our map of Sussex community groups 

Are you part of a Sussex community conservation group you'd like to add to our map? Please email [email protected]

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782502529.36840 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782502529.39840.0299Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782502529.39850.0002Server address: 216.73.217.174
1782502529.39860Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782502529.39860Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/blunts-wood-and-paiges-meadows-nature-reserve
    [s] => blunts-wood-and-paiges-meadows-nature-reserve
    [1] => blunts-wood-and-paiges-meadows-nature-reserve
)
1782502529.39890.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782502529.40.0012 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782502529.40220.0021 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782502529.40280.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782502529.40480.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22322668
1782502529.40530.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22322668
1782502529.40590.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-26 19:35:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-26 19:35:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782502529.40720.0013 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='blunts-wood-and-paiges-meadows-nature-reserve')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 19:35:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782502529.40970.0025 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782502529.41040.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3905 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 19:35:00'
1782502529.41130.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782502529.4120.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782502529.41270.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=36 LIMIT 1
1782502529.41320.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=50 LIMIT 1
1782502529.4140.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782502529.41420.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782502529.41510.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 19:35:00' AND postSlug='blunts-wood-and-paiges-meadows-nature-reserve'
1782502529.43550.0204Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782502529.4360.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782502529.43760.0016Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782502529.43780.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782502529.43880.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782502529.44010.0013 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782502529.44380.0037 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782502529.44450.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782502529.44660.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782502529.44670 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782502529.44750.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782502529.4480.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782502529.45130.0033 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782502529.45250.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782502529.45320.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782502529.45580.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782502529.45670.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782502529.4590.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782502529.45940.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782502529.45970.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782502529.46050.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782502529.4610.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='blunts-wood-and-paiges-meadows-nature-reserve')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 19:35:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782502529.46320.0023 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782502529.46380.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782502529.46680.003Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782502529.46790.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3905 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782502529.51830.0504 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782502529.51860.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782502529.51880.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782502529.51950.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782502529.52020.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782502529.52070.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782502529.52270.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782502529.52320.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782502529.5250.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782502529.5260.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782502529.52660.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782502529.52710.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782502529.52930.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782502529.52990.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782502529.53170.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782502529.53520.0035 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782502529.53580.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782502529.53630.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782502529.53870.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782502529.53930.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782502529.54120.0019 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782502529.54370.0026 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782502529.54430.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782502529.54470.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782502529.54680.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782502529.54730.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782502529.5490.0017 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782502529.55010.0011Request time: 0.1839
1782502529.55020Process time: 0.1838
1782502529.55020Memory: 1.6504