The Cockshut wetland
From Cockshut Road gate, Lewes
- distance
- 1.4 km
- the stile score
- Not yet
- the time isn't given
- Circular
Farm animals on this walk
- Grazing areaSheep at The Cockshut Stream (Lewes Wetlands)From Thu 1 Oct, no end date givenSheep are conservation-grazing at the Cockshut Stream. The council asks for dogs on leads when visiting.A seasonal grazing notice: Lewes District Council (Instagram), read Mon 5 Oct. Animals may not be here all of this time.
Animals move, and reports may be missing or out of date. No report doesn't mean no animals. The signs on the gate and what you can see on the day come first. Dogs must be on a lead near livestock (Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, as amended from 18 March 2026). Every report near Lewes. Seen animals here? Tell us.
Hello from the sticker at The Cockshut wetland. Here's what we know, for you and your dog. More dog-friendly places nearby
Cleo & Bonnie haven't logged this one yet. The line is ours, drawn on the paths OpenStreetMap has round the wetland. The rules are the project's own.
The stiles
Lewes footpath 4 is signed at kissing gates, on the OpenStreetMap survey. This line has not been walked for the site, so there is no stile count.
Livestock
The project's Instagram on 1 Oct 2026 said sheep were conservation-grazing the Cockshut this autumn, and asked for dogs on leads while they are there.
The ground
Flat. The project says the paths are not surfaced, can be muddy, and may not always be open, with raised walkways and footbridges. There are no facilities on the site. The west side of this circuit is a grass path of about 120 metres on the map, between the south path and the western footbridge.
For dogs
Dogs are allowed. There is no Lewes byelaw and no dogs-on-leads order for the Cockshut, so this is not a no-dog zone. The project's own visiting page says to stay on the marked paths, and that dogs must be on a lead and out of the water, even a dog with a good recall. That is for other walkers, the protected wildlife and the chalk stream. The wet meadow is in the Lewes Brooks Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the council asks for leads so ground-nesting birds are left alone. While sheep are grazing this autumn, leads are for the sheep too: letting a dog worry livestock is an offence. The dog order that does apply is the district fouling order: pick up on land open to the public.
Walked it with your dog? Tell us how it was
Mud, animals, how busy: a few taps. The answers (never your words or name) show here for three weeks, to help the next walker.
The route
Start Cockshut Road gate, Lewes
The line is on our map. It follows Lewes footpath 4 from the Cockshut Road gate, round the wet meadow, and back to the same gate. It is the length of that line, not a distance the project publishes, and it has not been paced out on the ground.
Lewes Dogs. The rules are the Cockshut Stream Restoration Project's · Rules read 6 Oct 2026 from the project's visiting page. Sheep note from its Instagram, 1 Oct 2026. The line is OpenStreetMap paths, read 6 Oct 2026.
If something goes wrong out there, an adder bite, a lost dog, a vet at night: help and emergencies.