Long Man of Wilmington

The Long Man is a 70m-tall chalk hill figure cut into the steep north face of Windover Hill, and honestly a drone is the best way to appreciate him — from the footpath he foreshortens into nothing, but from 60–80m out and slightly above, the figure, the scarp and the patchwork Weald behind all line up beautifully. Winter is the best season: low light rakes across the hillside and picks out the terracettes and the outline blocks, and the summer haze is gone. TOAL from the small car park by Wilmington Priory or from the open access downland flanking the figure, and fly to the hill rather than hiking onto it. The figure itself is a scheduled monument in the care of the Sussex Archaeological Society — never land on or near the outline, and treat it like the fragile archaeology it is. The bowl under the scarp is a wind trap; a southerly pouring over the top produces serious rotor exactly where you want to hover, so pick a calm day or a light northerly. Rarely more than a handful of walkers about midweek.