May 2025 – Sussex Landscape Photography

May has been a standout month — warm, mostly dry, and full of new life across the High Weald. I’ve spent most of the month exploring closer to home, mainly around Crowhurst and Brightling. From early misty mornings to late spring sunsets, it’s been a great chance to slow down, revisit old spots, and find new ones.

This review features a mix of stills and video from across the month — woodlands, buttercup fields, distant views to the South Downs, and a return to Jack Fuller’s follies. It’s all part of a new routine: monthly photography wrapped into one post, and now one video.

🎥 Watch the May Photography Vlog
Prefer to sit back and take it all in? This video features the best photos and footage from May — no narration, just peaceful countryside scenes from across the High Weald, all with calming music and on-screen locations.

Click play below and enjoy a quiet visual journey through Sussex in late spring.

Caldbec Hill Battle Sunrise

Driving along the A2100 past Battle, I’ve often noticed strong sunrise colour over Caldbec Hill. I’d walked this area before but couldn’t recall any clear focal points for lining up a shot.

This May, I went back for a sunrise check. There’s a public car park right next to the hill, so access is easy. Conditions were a bit hazy, and apart from silhouetted trees, not much to anchor the sunrise composition.

I did manage a clean frame of Battle Abbey poking through the treetops — a possible telephoto option, though there’s a lot to exclude in the foreground.

I also found a lone tree on the brow that could work as a sunrise foreground, but it doesn’t read as “Battle.”

Plenty of walking options from here, especially into Great Wood. Worth another look on a clearer morning.

Spring Wood, Mountfield – Garlic and Beech

Back in May to revisit a thick garlic patch near Mountfield. On the approach, I spotted a mature beech I’d missed before — standing out among younger regrowth. No idea why this one was spared, but glad it was.

I worked the scene handheld. Light wasn’t ideal, but I found a strong composition with side light on the trunk, leaves, and some bluebells. That fallen branch could’ve gone, and the bluebells were a bit thin here, but still worth it. Will likely return in better light.

Garlic and Blossom Layering

Deeper into Spring Wood, off the main path, the garlic gets thicker. One standout feature this time was white tree blossom hanging over the garlic — gave the look of fresh snow cover. Framing was tricky with so much going on, but worth exploring.

First DSLR Video Test

Tried video mode on the Canon 5D Mark IV for the first time. Kept it to FHD to match phone footage. No stabilisation though — footage was shaky. Clear that handheld won’t cut it; tripod or gimbal needed. Battery also drains fast in video mode.

Focus Stacking Test

Returned later with my smaller tripod (centre column removed) to shoot low with a wide angle. Light was calm, so I focus stacked for sharpness across the frame. Shot at base ISO.

What I didn’t notice until reviewing was shifting dappled light — likely caused by wind in the canopy or passing cloud. Lesson learned: shoot in full manual when stacking to avoid exposure shifts.

Mermaid Street, Rye

Had to return to Rye for storage, so made a quick detour to Mermaid Street. It was a bright, warm May morning — strong sun, not ideal for photography, but hard to resist the charm of this historic street.

May is usually a good time to catch the floral displays outside the houses, but they hadn’t really appeared yet. Still, the cobbled street and timber-framed houses always make it worth a shot, even in harsh light.

Planned to walk along the River Rother afterwards, but the inland footpath was closed for flood defence work.

Powdermill Wood, High Weald Countryside

Stayed local with a loop from Powdermill Wood near Battle, taking new footpaths towards Crowhurst. May delivered full bloom — fields thick with buttercups, grazing cattle, and glimpses of oast houses across the landscape.

These wide angle shots need a smaller aperture even F/16 which is not a problem on a bright sunny day. Should zoom into the image on the small screen and check focus and sharpness before moving on.

Always worth checking the high ground — found a new vantage point looking back at Battle Abbey. Switched to the 400mm lens for compression. A buzzard flew across the frame, but although I was focused at infinity and had fast shutter speed, depth of field meant the bird came out soft.

Returned a few days later to extend the walk — more potential compositions here, especially under better light. OS Maps remains one of the best tools for finding hidden local routes. Some of the best scenes this May were right under my nose.

Darwell Hill, Brightling – Buttercups & the Mad Jack Loop

Returned to Brightling to walk the full Mad Jack Fuller loop and visit all his eccentric High Weald follies. I first did this route back in 2017, but this time I came to film — each folly is now featured as a short on YouTube and Facebook.

One thing I missed on that first visit: the incredible view east from Darwell Hill, looking toward the reservoir. This May, it was covered in buttercups — made the shot.

Didn’t get any strong stills of the follies themselves, but got plenty of video. Check out the full video below.

I checked PhotoPills after — the sun rises in that direction, so I’ll return early one morning to try a sunrise shot with the buttercups backlit. Could be worth the 4am start.

High Weald Sunrise, Darwell Hill

True to my word, I returned to Darwell Hill a few mornings later to shoot the May sunrise over Darwell Forest and the reservoir. The forecast looked good for a 4AM start, and after a decent night’s sleep, I was up for it. Only a 20-minute drive from Hastings to Brightling.

I got completely soaked in the early morning dew. A low bank of cloud sat on the eastern horizon — pretty common — but once the sun cleared it, I got a nice sunburst. Grateful, too, for a bit of cloud in the sky and some valley mist to work with.

What let it down was the midground — I really wish the buttercups ran all the way down the slope. Lower down, there were plenty of daisies swaying in the breeze, but no view to pair them with.

Telham Hill Crowhurst Park Loop

Still exploring more footpaths around Telham Hill and Crowhurst in the High Weald. No set composition in mind — this was just about getting outdoors for a morning walk. But new paths, even close to home, often reveal something unexpected.

Up on Telham Hill, a stunning westward view opened up — the South Downs visible all the way from Firle Beacon to Beachy Head. I took several frames, but a 3-shot pano worked best. When merging panos in Lightroom, watch the aspect ratio — wide frames can look awkward unless rebalanced. I cropped this to 16:9 to suit the scene.

It’s a classic High Weald view — and right on my doorstep. The woodland stretch could really shine in autumn, especially during golden hour. But it’ll need careful timing — don’t want the foreground in shadow. Big sky like this needs some cloud texture too.

Brightling Temple Sunset

Each return visit to a location reveals more about the landscape. I’d come to realise that Brightling Temple and the nearby Needle might work well for a sunset shot, though both are on private land with limited access.

I planned an evening hike from Brightling, aiming to shoot the temple at sunset. It’s a visual sunset rather than a true one — the temple sits around 150m elevation, while I’d be about 50m below. That means the sun “sets” behind it around 8PM — well before actual sunset at 9PM. So instead of golden hour glow, the light throws the temple into silhouette.

Forecast called for clear skies, so the goal was a sunburst as the sun intersected with the temple on the horizon. But some NW cloud rolled in, and the sun dipped behind it before the alignment hit.

Still, the clouds gave me dramatic light. Shot at around 250mm on the 100–400mm lens, f/8. Not the perfect setup I hoped for, but a strong silhouette with an atmospheric sky nonetheless.

Crowhurst Park, Misty Morning

A misty start was forecast, so I returned to the Crowhurst Park viewpoint overlooking the South Downs — a spot I’d recently discovered. I wanted to test the composition in different conditions and will revisit it across the seasons.

I began with another 3-shot handheld panorama. The goal was to include the South Downs ridgeline in the background. Zoom in too much and the pano stretches awkwardly — aspect ratio gets tricky fast.

The light was fairly flat with the sun rising behind me. I also took a single-frame composition including the barley field in the foreground. It adds texture and interest but pushes the Downs into the distance. It’s always a trade-off.

I’ll be shooting this scene regularly now — different times, seasons, and weather. There’s a lot of potential here.

May 2025 – Monthly Summary

This month’s photography has been focused almost entirely on the High Weald, particularly around Crowhurst and Brightling. It’s been one of the most enjoyable stretches of local exploring I’ve done in a while — varied landscapes, good light, and plenty of new compositions to work with.

Staying closer to home has had its benefits too — less time on the road, more time out shooting, and a noticeable saving on petrol. The High Weald continues to prove just how much there is on the doorstep if you go looking for it.