Balcombe & Handcross

Balcombe and Handcross sit in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex. The villages lie on the High Weald ridge with fields, copses and lanes. The A23 runs close to Handcross; Balcombe is bisected by the railway and has Balcombe station. Farming and small businesses occupy former estate land; both villages include a primary school, a village hall and parish church. Nymans sits on the eastern edge of Handcross, a garden and house with plant collections and stone ruins managed by the National Trust, set within woodlands and ponds that shape local footpaths.

Transport links include the A23 and local rail services at Balcombe station, used by commuters and freight passing through Balcombe Tunnel, a Victorian-era bore under the ridge. Local economy mixes agriculture, horticulture and trades; community groups run allotments, walking clubs and regular village events on greens and recreation grounds. The landscape offers a network of public footpaths across hedgerows and acid grassland typical of the High Weald; seasonal changes and management for ash and oak create a patchwork of small fields and veteran trees that define the area.