Ashcombe Windmill is one of those landmarks that seems to belong exactly where it stands. High above Kingston near Lewes, with the South Downs rolling around it, the restored mill already makes a strong subject — but finding a field of poppies in front of it turned the scene into something far more special.
Continue reading Ashcombe Windmill and Poppies near Kingston, LewesCategory Archives: Summer
Monumental Monterey Cypress at Beauport Park
Some trees stop you in your tracks before you even know what they are. This huge Monterey cypress at Beauport Park is one of them — not a neat specimen tree in open parkland, but a collapsed, twisted giant half-swallowed by the woodland.
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Phacelia Sunrise at Rodmell Below Mount Caburn
Some mornings reward the early start. This was one of them: a 3AM rise, still air, a field of purple phacelia, and the first light building behind Mount Caburn near Lewes.
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Oast Houses near Lamberhurst, Kent
Some buildings instantly tell you where you are. In this part of south east England, few do that better than an oast house. The moment those white cowls rise above the rooftops, you know you are somewhere in the old hop-growing country of Kent and the East Sussex border.
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Jevington Church and Firle Beacon from Willingdon Hill
A morning walk from Butts Brow over Willingdon Hill opened up a new view across the South Downs, looking towards Jevington Church with Firle Beacon rising behind it. It is one of those compositions that only appears when you take a slightly different path from the usual route.
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South Downs Poppy Fields 2026 – Following East Sussex’s Wildest Colour Across Four Hills
Every year the same question starts appearing across local Facebook groups and photography pages.
Where are the poppies this year?
Unlike bluebells or lavender, poppy fields rarely stay loyal to one location. Some years they appear in huge numbers, some years almost not at all, and when they do arrive the display can vanish within weeks.
This spring early summer became an unexpected project. One discovery led to another until four separate South Downs poppy fields formed a trail across East Sussex.
From Balmer Down… to Itford Hill… to Beddingham Hill… and finally Firle Beacon.
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Firle Beacon Poppy Field Below Mount Caburn
A sudden splash of red on the South Downs can change the whole shape of a walk. This poppy field below Firle Beacon was not the field I had planned to photograph, but it became the one I could not ignore.
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Poppy Field Below Beddingham Hill on the South Downs
Some seasonal photographs take a bit of effort to reach, but that is often what makes them worth the walk. This poppy field below Beddingham Hill stood out from the A26, but the stronger composition came from getting above and then down into the landscape, where the red flowers could be framed against the wider South Downs view.
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Sunrise Mist from Firle Beacon on the South Downs
Sometimes an early start pays off even when the original plan fails. I had gone out before dawn looking for possible poppy fields, but from Firle Beacon the real photograph was happening in the opposite direction, as the sun rose through mist lying low across the East Sussex landscape.
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Poppy Field Below Itford Hill on the South Downs
A sudden sweep of red poppies can change the whole feel of a South Downs view. Below Itford Hill, near the Firle Beacon ridge, this field stood out from the surrounding greens and distant hills as a brief but striking moment of early summer colour.
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Poppies on Balmer Down, South Downs
I headed up to Balmer Down in late May to scout the poppies and see if the location might work for a wider South Downs landscape photograph. It felt early for poppies, but after the recent warm, dry weather, they were already starting to appear across parts of East Sussex.
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Landscape Photography Review 2025
2025 Photography Year in Review
2025 was a year of working closer to home and learning to respond to conditions rather than chase them. From misty dawns on the South Downs to woodland waterfalls in the High Weald and long exposures on Romney Marsh, this review brings together one standout image from each month — moments that best reflect how and where I photographed across the year.
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