Oh, to be in England ….

90 Years Ago
Sussex Agricultural Express
27 April 1934

Uckfield Comments

Oh, to be in England, now that April’s there, wrote the poet. He must have been thinking of Sussex, and, who knows, perhaps that part of it which is Uckfield.

Officially, no longer a town, Uckfield is now free to describe itself a large village (but it won’t) with all the charm of a village and the advantages a town, set in one of the most beautiful parts of the Sussex countryside.

The country around Uckfield is indeed very beautiful at this time of the year. The young rabbits are scampering in the woods, the squirrels are seen once again, and the trees are green with fresh young leaves. That is all, with the exception of the oak and the ash, for we cannot tell yet whether we are to be soaked or splashed.

Piltdown Common, Ashdown Forest and other places are a blaze of golden yellow gorse. Everywhere there is life and colour. As a prophet is not honoured in his own land, so also it may be that the people of Uckfield and the surrounding district do not appreciate the beauty of the locality in which they live.

The eyes of visitors are keener, and to them the neighbourhood of Uckfield has much that is charming and beautiful.