Old Lodge

Open vistas of heather, with areas of pine woodland, set in the Ashdown Forest

Old Lodge lies in the heart of Ashdown Forest, and its character is subtly, but noticeably, different from the true lowland heath of Iping Common. The geology is slightly different, but more importantly it sits about 500 feet higher, and that’s enough to make it markedly cooler. Old Lodge has something of the ‘feel’ of a place one might associate with the north west of Britain.

Old Lodge Nature Reserve is free to visit, but we are only able to care for Old Lodge with the support we receive from our members. Please consider becoming a member today.

Old Lodge Car Park on Ashdown Forest

The Conservators of Ashdown Forest own the car park that many of our members and visitors use when visiting Old Lodge nature reserve near Maresfield in East Sussex. Charges to park in the Old Lodge car park now apply.

In 2021, The Conservators ran a public consultation on their plans to introduce parking charges throughout their 40 car parks across the Ashdown Forest.

Sussex Wildlife Trust requested a waiver for our members using the Old Lodge car park but sadly this was not granted. 

We do not charge our members, supporters or the public an entrance fee to visit any of our 32 nature reserves across Sussex and this will continue. Sadly, the car park at Old Lodge is outside of our control.

We do hope that the parking payments are not deterring our members from visiting this beautiful nature reserve.

Postcode:
TN22 3JD
Grid ref:
TQ469306
Reserve size:
74 hectares

In this section

Reserve profile

Dogs

What you might see

Getting around

Grazing

News

Our Exmoor Ponies

Our Exmoor Ponies

16 February 2026

With Lunar New Year beginning in February, and this year’s zodiac animal the horse, we celebrate the great work our Exmoor ponies do for our Old Lodge Nature Reserve.

Read more
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