Wilmington Downs

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

{{Infobox SSSI

|image= Tumulus on Windover Hill summit - geograph.org.uk - 1757553.jpg

|image_caption =

|name= Wilmington Downs

|aos= East Sussex

|interest=Biological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|TQ 544 030}}

|area= {{convert|209.8|ha|acre|abbr=off}}

|notifydate= 1986

|map=[https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271003237%27 Magic Map]

}}

Wilmington Downs is a {{convert| 209.8 |ha|acre|abbr=off|adj=on}} biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Eastbourne in East Sussex.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1003237&SiteName=&countyCode=14&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Wilmington Downs | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 27 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271003237%27 |title=Map of Wilmington Downs|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 27 January 2019}} The site includes a Scheduled Monument, the Long Man of Wilmington, a turf cut figure which may be of prehistoric origin.{{NHLE|num= 1002293 |desc= A turf-cut hill figure known as The Long Man of Wilmington, 914m south-east of Acorn Barn | accessdate= 27 January 2019}}

This site is mainly chalk grassland on the steep slope of the South Downs. It is important for invertebrates, including two protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, the wart-biter grasshopper and the snail Monacha cartusiana. There are also several unusual species of lichens and mosses.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003237.pdf |title=Wilmington Downs citation|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 27 January 2019}}