The family, friends and colleagues of former Ashdown Forest CEO, James Adler, walked 128km (79 miles) to raise funds for Ashdown Forest, starting from Climping beach on Thursday 25th April and ending on Ashdown Forest on Sunday 28th April. More than 50 people joined the last 2km of the walk, which culminated in a celebration gathering under the canopy of the iconic Friends Clump.

James died suddenly in May 2023 at the age of 42. In the relatively short time that he was in role, James was instrumental in developing the vision for Ashdown Forest’s future, focusing on the protection and enhancement of its unique landscape.

James was passionate about the Forest and had been working on a strategy to safeguard Ashdown Forest and its biodiversity for future generations. He was also deeply involved in establishing and growing the Weald to Waves project, a nature recovery corridor across Sussex that is vital to forging connections for our fragmented wildlife and boosting biodiversity alongside food production and thriving communities.

Day 1 of James' Walk began at Climping gap on the south coast

Photo: Beth Morgan

A group of James’ family, friends and colleagues undertook the walk from the south coast at Climping to Ashdown Forest, led by friend and wildlife guide, Tom Forward, who was joined by James’ partner Jenny, and two of his friends, Dan and Matt. A further 27 people joined for large parts of the walk, with approximately 25 others joining at Millbrook East for the last 2km.

The walk also shone a light on the Weald to Waves initiative, a nature recovery corridor across Sussex that is vital to forging connections for our fragmented wildlife and boosting biodiversity alongside food production and thriving communities. Led by James, Ashdown Forest has been a key partner in the project from the beginning and was one of the seven landowners who signed up to the first memorandum of understanding in 2022.

Following the epic walk, more than 150 people gathered at Friends Clump to pay tribute to James.

A fund has been set up in James’ name, with all proceeds supporting The Ashdown Forest Foundation. The fund has so far raised well over £6,000.00. Donations can still be made via a dedicated JustGiving page. Details of how the money will support Ashdown Forest will be shared in due course.

Our thanks go to photographer Craig Payne who captured these images from the final leg of the walk and the celebration gathering at Friends Clump.