Stanmer Park

About

With its beautiful woodland walks and extensive open lands, Stanmer Park is just as perfect for a family picnic as it is for a kick about with your friends or those looking for a bracing walk over the Downs.

Situated next to Sussex University on the outskirts of the city, Stanmer is a perfect example of the vast open countryside available in Brighton and remains one of the city's most visited parks.

Stanmer Park is home to a varied range of plant and wildlife. Birds that have been sighted in the park include buzzards, kestrels and owls and mammals such as foxes, badgers and deer are a common sight. You'll also find an array of insect life, many species of fungi, as well as chalkland plants such as orchids and cowslips.

Proud Country House and Stanmer Church

As well as ths historic Proud Country House, the parkland also houses the knapped flint Stanmer Church. The church in its current flint form was built in 1838, but records of a church on this site date way back to the 13th century. The church is open to visitors every Sunday (excluding Christmas Day when it falls on a Sunday) from 2-4pm during winter and 2-5pm from when the clocks go forward in Spring (around late March). The church is also open to groups by arrangement.

Just past Stanmer House, on the left, you'll discover Stanmer Nurseries within the old walled kitchen garden of Stanmer Park. A hidden gem of the area, the nursery has been producing plants for our city's parks since the 1950s and now offers home-grown plants to the general public to purchase.

Stanmer Organics and Earthship Brighton

Stanmer Park is also home to Earthship Brighton - a cutting edge 'green' building, constructed using waste car tyres and other recycled materials. The Brighton Earthship was the first to be built in England and regular tours are available.

The Earthship lies on the site of Stanmer Organics, a community non-profit organisation, which uses 17 acres of council land cultivated  horticultural, agricultural and educational purposes, using only organic growing techniques. Stanmer Organics hold annual community events, such as Apple Day every September, where visitors can discover all about apples through a range of fun activities and events.