Lewes Downs

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox SSSI

|image= The Coombe, Malling Down Nature Reserve - geograph.org.uk - 292081.jpg

|image_caption =

|name= Lewes Downs

|aos= East Sussex

|interest=Biological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|TQ 437 099}}

|area= {{convert|165.0|ha|acre|abbr=off}}

|notifydate= 1986

|map=[https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271002952%27 Magic Map]

}}

Lewes Downs is a {{convert| 165|ha|acre|abbr=off|adj=on}} biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Lewes in East Sussex.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1002952&SiteName=&countyCode=14&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Lewes Downs | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 16 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271002952%27 |title=Map of Lewes Downs|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 16 January 2019}} It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I{{cite book|editor-first=Derek |editor-last=Ratcliffe |title=A Nature Conservation Review|volume=2 |pages=116–17 |authorlink=Derek Ratcliffe |publisher= Cambridge University Press|location =Cambridge, UK |year=1977|isbn= 0521 21403 3 }} and a Special Area of Conservation.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK0012832&SiteName=&countyCode=14&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Lewes Downs | series= Special Areas of Conservation|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 10 January 2019}} Part of it is a national nature reserve,{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=1006091&SiteName=lewes&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Lewes Downs (Mount Caburn) | series= National Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 10 January 2019}} part is Malling Down nature reserve, which is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust,{{cite web|url= https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/visit/malling-down |title= Malling Down |publisher= Sussex Wildlife Trust |accessdate= 20 December 2018}} and part is Mount Caburn, an Iron Age hill fort which is a Scheduled Monument.{{NHLE|num= 1014527 |desc= Hillfort, bowl barrow and associated remains on The Caburn | accessdate= 16 January 2019}}

This south-facing slope on the South Downs is ecologically rich chalk grassland and scrub. Flora include the nationally rare early-spider orchid and it also has a diverse invertebrate fauna and an important breeding community of downland birds.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1002952.pdf |title=Lewes Downs citation|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 16 January 2019}}