UCR/BOAT: Blind Lane

Location: 1 Blind Ln, Newick, Lewes, East Sussex BN8 4JT, UK
  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Location: Newick, East Sussex.
  • OS Explorer Map 135, 'Ashdown Forest'.
  • Starting OS Grid Reference: TQ420209
  • Starting GPS Co-ordinates: N50 97' 00" E000 02' 20"
  • Finishing OS Grid Reference: TQ426213
  • Finishing GPS Co-ordinates: N50 97' 40" E000 03' 10"
  • To see: not much.
  • ALWAYS follow the Greenlane Code!

It gets worse the further you go!
Update 13/03/2014: the northern end of the byway seems to have received some maintenance: the hedgerow has been cut right back and a drainage ditch has been dug. Therefore it is now slightly more realistic for motorised vehicles to visit. Still take care when negotiating the trees however (see comments below)!

Original post: Starting in the pleasant village of Newick, the western end the byway is classified as a UCR and serves as a metalled driveway for the tennis club and various cottages.

On passing the last cottage, however, the BOAT section begins as the tarmac ends at a majestic altogether and the hedges that line this green lane begin to close in enough to make it a bit of a chore to drive down, with damage to the paintwork guaranteed. It is, however, almost completely unrutted due to the light usage this green lane obviously sees.

It gets worse the further you go, until at approximately 3/4 of the total length of the green lane it gets really tricky where the negotiation of a bank and some large trees requires one's full attention.

The byway ends on the A272 east of Newick, in the midst of yet more cottages. Yet at this end, despite being signposted as a byway, it is so very narrow and unkempt that it is nearly lost in the hedge and there is simply no way to fit a horse through, let alone a 4x4! To this end, unless this lane is cleared, it is best to avoid it altogether.

This is East Sussex County Council's Byway Newick 15.

A majestic and ancient oak, no mistake.

View Blind Lane in a larger map

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Driven this in a group of Land Rover's, great fun, the north end is narrow and pitches you over by 30degrees, large trees to navigate.

Dempo said...

Glad you enjoyed it, David! When we drove it (in autumn 2012) it was so overgrown that the gap in the hedge demarcating the northern end was barely distinguishable. Thus, and as it was quite a short byway too, it scored relatively low on our marking system. There are a couple of better lanes withing striking distance of this one however, and we made a day of it!

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