Introduction

December 2025 was dominated by wet, cold and overcast weather across East Sussex, which quietly shaped the direction of my photography. With wider landscapes often flat and uninviting, the focus naturally shifted into woodland, following streams and revisiting places that only reveal themselves after prolonged rainfall. The result was a month spent exploring seasonal waterfalls across the High Weald, interspersed with a handful of coastal and observational shoots.

This post brings together those December walks and discoveries, from hidden ghylls and temporary cascades to a final New Year’s Eve sunset at Beachy Head.

The video below follows the month in sequence and gives the full context behind each visit.

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Rye Harbour: Chasing the December Sunset

The first trip of the month took me back to Rye Harbour. I had a clear idea in mind: the winter sun dropping behind the Mary Stanford Lifeboat House, with Cliff End and the High Weald fading into the distance across the low-tide beach.

In December this is about as far south as the sun will set, so it was a chance to observe the alignment even if it wasn’t quite perfect. A blustery afternoon of rain, sunshine, rainbows and fast-moving cloud made it worth the trip, and the light briefly broke through to create this dramatic scene.

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Beckley Woods Waterfall – High Weald

After weeks of cold, overcast and windy weather, Beckley Woods felt like the right place to go looking for something different. December had already brought a lot of rain, and when conditions are poor for general landscape photography, waterfalls often come into their own. I’d discovered several small falls here earlier in the year, but everything was bone dry at the time. This trip was a deliberate return after sustained rainfall.

This waterfall is the standout. There are others scattered through Waterfall Wood in Beckley Woods, but most are either smaller, less photogenic, or not as free flowing. Conditions underfoot were very wet and muddy, making wellington boots essential. A tripod and polariser were also needed, although the cold and damp caused a few issues with focusing, depth of field, and lenses repeatedly steaming up. Not an easy shoot, but one that finally rewarded the patience.

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Dallington Stream Waterfalls – Dallington Forest & Brightling Down,

With December continuing to be wet, cold and overcast, I stayed with the waterfall theme and returned to the Dallington Stream as it runs through Dallington Forest and over the slopes of Brightling Down. This is another location that only really works after prolonged rainfall, when small drops and cascades begin to appear along the stream.

There are several waterfalls scattered along this stretch, but they’re not easy to find. Most sit a little off the main paths, often down steep, muddy banks where footing can be awkward and slippery. In winter conditions, wellington boots are essential, and a tripod is needed to work carefully with longer exposures. A polariser also helps here, cutting glare from wet rock and moving water.

None of these waterfalls are large, dramatic drops, but together they form a quiet sequence of small cascades that suit the subdued light of December. It’s a place that rewards persistence and careful footing rather than casual wandering, and another example of how wet weather can open up photographic opportunities when wider landscapes feel closed in.

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High Weald Woodland Waterfall near Battle

The next walk took me into High Weald woodland near Battle in East Sussex. A follower had tipped me off about a small waterfall here after seeing some of my other waterfall posts on TikTok.

The walk followed the stream through the woodland and, for most of it, felt like a wild goose chase. It wasn’t until right at the end, just inside the woodland and not far from a public footpath, that the waterfall finally appeared. In fact, there were two small falls close together, tucked neatly into the bank.

The main waterfall turned out to be a real little gem. To get a clean composition, I had to carefully remove a few overhanging holly branches that were obscuring the view. Conditions underfoot were wet, as expected, making wellington boots essential. A tripod and polarising filter were also needed to control reflections and settle on an exposure of around half a second. A quiet, rewarding find, and a reminder that sometimes the best spots only reveal themselves right at the end of the walk.

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Ashdown Forest Waterfalls After Heavy Rain

December’s prolonged rainfall briefly transformed parts of Ashdown Forest, bringing several normally quiet woodland streams into full flow. This created a short window where hidden waterfalls appeared, shaped by sandstone ledges and clay-bound soils that shed water quickly once the ground is saturated.

Over a single walk, three very different falls revealed themselves: a hidden plunge fall deep in a ravine, a stepped cascade beside a footpath, and an unnamed woodland drop further downstream. None of these are permanent features. Outside wet periods they reduce to little more than damp channels, making timing far more important than distance or effort.

This was a good reminder that some of the most interesting landscape moments aren’t seasonal or predictable. They’re conditional. Catch the forest immediately after heavy rain and it offers something rare and temporary; miss that window and it quietly resets, leaving little sign of what was briefly there.

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Marline Valley Ghyll Waterfall

This month I discovered another hidden waterfall deep in the Marline Valley near Hastings, after a tip-off from a follower on social media. I’d explored the valley before for the bluebells, but this one sits well off the main routes, tucked down in a steep ravine that’s easy to miss unless you already know it’s there.

After sustained rain the stream drops into a sheltered plunge pool, with mossy sandstone and ferns giving it that classic ghyll feel. There’s also a crumbling concrete edge in front of the pool and older carved graffiti on the sandstone wall nearby, suggesting it was once a known local spot and may have been reinforced to slow erosion and hold the pool together.

It’s a brilliant find, but it’s also fragile terrain — steep, muddy and slippery underfoot — so I’m keeping the exact location off public posts. The precise pin is included on my supporter waterfall map, and I’ll be adding a few more new waterfall locations over the coming weekend while conditions are good.

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Crowhurst Woodland Waterfalls – High Weald, December 2025

Later in December I headed to Crowhurst after receiving some feedback on social media suggesting there were waterfalls worth exploring in the area. I did find the first one, but it turned out to be the least photogenic of the lot — sitting at the bottom of a pond with multiple distractions around it and no clean access without stepping into the plunge pool. Still, it was useful to locate something I hadn’t seen before.

Rather than stop there, I decided to follow the stream downstream, which led into private woodland. It was here that the walk paid off. Deep in the trees I came across a much more attractive waterfall, tucked away and well sheltered from the elements. Although it was a cold day overall, these enclosed woodland pockets create their own microclimate, and it felt noticeably milder down by the water.

This second waterfall was a real gem — small, quiet, and completely hidden from view unless you’re prepared to explore beyond the obvious spots. Moments like this are why I enjoy these winter walks so much: following watercourses, taking chances, and occasionally being rewarded with something genuinely special.

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Burgh Wood Waterfall – Hurst Green

I’d come across this waterfall before while scouting Burgh Wood during spring, looking for bluebells. With the recent period of heavy rainfall and the ongoing waterfall project, it felt like the right moment to return and see what it was doing in winter conditions.

This waterfall is the largest I’ve come across so far while exploring High Weald woodland streams. The scale of the rock face and the way water spills over the ledge makes it stand out from many of the smaller, more delicate falls scattered across the area. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived the weather had shifted. After four or five drier days, the flow had already reduced to a thinner curtain rather than the powerful drop it can produce.

Even so, the structure of the waterfall is impressive, and it’s clear how ferocious it becomes immediately after prolonged rainfall. This is very much a periodic feature — catch it at the right moment and it dominates the ghyll; miss that window and it quietly retreats back into the rock. It’s one I’ll be revisiting again after the next sustained spell of heavy rain.

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Beachy Head Sunset – New Year’s Eve 2025

The final shoot of 2025 was a return to Beachy Head on New Year’s Eve, watching the sun drop into the Channel from one of the most distinctive viewpoints on the Sussex coast. From this angle, the sheer chalk cliff lines up cleanly with the lighthouse below, pointing directly towards where the sun sets at this time of year.

The conditions made it a technically challenging image. I had to bracket for both sky and shadows, but with the long exposure involved it wasn’t practical to rely on a full HDR merge. Instead, the final image was built using masking in Photoshop to balance the exposure across the scene. High tide would have simplified things by hiding the messy shoreline, and there are elements I’m not completely happy with — the contrails in the sky, the exposed beach, and the sense that the composition could be cleaner.

Still, this visit was as much about observation as execution. Understanding exactly how the sun lines up from this vantage point at the end of December is valuable for future shoots. It felt like a fitting way to close out the year: standing on the cliff edge, working through a difficult scene, and logging the conditions for another return under better light and tide.

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Conclusion

December was a month defined less by grand conditions and more by timing, persistence and attention to detail. Prolonged rainfall opened up short-lived opportunities across the High Weald, revealing waterfalls that only exist for brief windows before retreating back into the woodland. Many of the most rewarding moments came from following streams, revisiting half-remembered locations, and accepting that not every walk would deliver a photograph.

Closing the month — and the year — at Beachy Head felt appropriate. It was a reminder that photography is often as much about observation as results, understanding light, alignment and conditions for the next return. 2025 ended with muddy boots, full memory cards, and a growing map of places worth revisiting when the timing is right.