I represent Markstakes Common, 58 acres of ancient woodland, wood pasture, grassland, common and mire. It’s 6 miles north of Lewes outside South Chailey off Markstakes Lane on the road to Newick. Blink and you’ll miss it! I did.

It took a burst tyre from the road from Haywards Heath to Lewes to bring me onto Markstakes Lane to change the tyre … then wonder where Markstakes Lane would lead me, and if that farm gate where a car was parked up would take me into some woods I’d not visited before. It was early May … the bluebells were out (though fading).

I went up there this morning to check it was still there.

Really, I have to pinch myself because I find the ancient trees (34 on the national Tree Register), the mushrooms I’ve spotted and photographed, well over a 100 – (I now call them fungi of course) the birds, the bats, the bluebells  … and occasional deer – all enthralling. 

Friends of Markstakes Common meet every Monday (except Bank Holidays) to do what a few ponies, some wild pigs and a family of beavers might do otherwise: woodland management that includes grubbing out invasive species, and in specific places removing bracken and brambles – leaving much of the wood/land untouched, also creating leaky dams and so much more

I am standing here to share a problem. 

Being a ‘lost wood’, a hidden gem benefits Markstakes Common – few people know about it. I stumbleupon it quite by accident. That is until recently. Maybe it’s the bluebells, or the reputation it has as the perfect location for professional dog walkers … 

Last March/April the entrance to the woods of Markstakes Lane which can at best accommodate 5 or 6 cars had no fewer than 26 vehicles parked up. Picnic blankets were put down over the bluebells, two picnic fires were left next to ancient, decaying trees, there was a little litter, but potentially more problematic was the dog faeces … 

I reckon the 32 bags I picked either side of  200m stretch in from the entrance gate could have weighed 6kg? Multiply that over many months.

Rain, and muddy paths are in some respects our saviour – I have a dog and dealing with her once covered in mud is no joy! 

Of course, whilst some professional dog walkers do keep their dogs on a lead and pick up after them – they are the exception. I believe there are now 5 to 7 professional dog walkers who bring between 3, 5, 7 even 11 dogs at a time into the woods … and being ‘just a wood’ or ‘the open countryside’ the dogs do as they wish. 

This is sadly the view of many (though not all) of the dog walkers I have spoken to. 

Some are fastidious about picking up after their dog or dogs – they understand and care. 

The problem is that most people think of Markstakes Common as ‘just a wood’ – I believe that once designated as a Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest, whilst it would put the ancient woods and wood pasture on the map, literally, it would also support efforts to communicate and ‘educate’ visitors. 

Someone has used permanent marker pens to write on the gate – ‘clean up after your dog’ and they’ve drawn a dog up to its business. It’ll take more than that don’t you think? 

What we need is … well, what do we need? A noticeboard and regularly updated signage about picking up after your dog, even keeping it on a lead … some think a dog poo-bin’s the thing, yet they are expensive and tend to generate litter rather than reduce it. Take it home should be the policy.