Just outside of Brighton, nestled in the heart of the South Downs, lies a ghost village: the lost hamlet of Balsdean.
I paid it a visit today. 1/9

A short walk over the hill from the northeast edge of the city, you can find a ‘hidden valley’. Apart from the occasional dog walker & sometimes a cyclist, you’re on your own. If you’re lucky, there’s no one there at all. 2/9

Beneath your feet are numerous fox earths & badger setts, & signs that this is a busy & sometimes brutal place for non-human animals. 3/9

At the bottom of the valley are the remains of farm buildings. This is Norton Farm. 4/9

But Norton Farm is just an echo of what used to be here.
Balsdean was once a thriving village, complete with a manor house (that for a while used as an asylum) & a chapel. 5/9

However, in 1939, the village was taken over by the Ministry of Defence & the residents were moved out.
Canadian & British soldiers used it in preparation for fighting in mainland Europe.
All that remains now are the shadows of foundations where buildings once were...6/9

...and this: a small plaque that reads:
‘This plaque marks the site of the altar of the Norman church of Balsdean’.
7/9

It’s a beautiful place that - in common with other abandoned villages like Tyneham (Dorset) & Imber (Wiltshire) - has a moving quality not found in the midsts of modern habitation. 8/9

So inspiring is it that musicians Grasscut wrote an album - 1 Inch: 1/2 Mile (2012) - designed to be listened to as you walk around the valley.
Next time I visit I’ll be wearing headphones.
But right now I’m going to sip a beer & think of the lost village just over the hill 9/9

[Appropriately enough, I chose a beer brewed in the heart of the South Downs itself: @BedlamBrewery’s amber ale, The Dame]