The Long Man of Wilmington

Vom nebenan gelegenen (kostenlosen) Parkplatz kann man den Long Man bequem nach ca. 5 Min Fußweg erreichen. Auch wenn er bereits von der Bundesstraße gut sichtbar scheint, so ist er aus der Nähe doch noch um einiges interessanter.
Ein toller Ausgangspunkt für Wanderungen. Sofern man etwas zu Essen und Trinken dabei hat, denn am Parkplatz selbst bzw .auf dem Weg war nichts und niemand. :)

The walk up to the long man is absolutely beautiful, well worth it. There are lots of other nice things to do nearby as well, like Berwick church, and there are lots of nice places to walk in the surrounding villages.

I grew up in this village, with its majestic chalk man looking down over us each and every day. When we were youngsters we used to be able to take our sleds up on a snowy day and whizz down over the Long Man but over recent years they have taken much better care of him and now have fencing erected to preserve him.
The walk is quite steep and if you are not too sure-​footed, it would be best to just admire the view from the lower levels as both access points (either to the left or to the right of the Priory carpark exit) are very rough. muddy and pitted by horses hooves.
Pagans celebrate around the Long Man on specific pagan/​wicca «holidays», such as Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain (Hallowe’en) including the equinox celebrations although obviously they are also not allowed on to the figure itself.
No-​one really knows where he came from ‘tho many theories exist. Locals believe he is an older figure, along the lines of the White Horse in the West Country but whatever, he is a powerful image and draws many many tourists to the area each year. He rests in a dip in the Sussex Downs, in many respects sheltered from the worst of the weather from inland and the coastal region (which is only a few miles away).
There are plenty of pathways and walks across the Sussex Downs, for example starting off in Polegate and walking across to the River Cuckmere at Exceat, a beautiful walk, which will bypass our Long Man.

The Long Man is one of several chalk figures cut in the landscape of southern England, and along with the Cerne Abbas giant, one of only two human figures. At over 70m tall, the Long Man is Europe’s largest representation of the human form and the second largest in the world. The figure is formed from trenches dug into the ground to reveal the chalk substrate below.
History
So who is he? His age has long been a mystery and is the topic of fierce dispute. The first recorded image is a drawing made in 1710, which showed him with facial features, a helmet-​like head and his feet pointing outwards. It showed the outline as more of an indentation in the grass than a solid white line. Subsequent 18^th century drawings depicted the ‘staffs’ as being a scythe and a rake, although evidence on the ground does not support this — nor the theory that, like the Cerne Abbas giant, he once had genitalia.
An archaeological analysis in 2003 of the chalk on the hillside gave a mid-​16^th century date, although some excavations have produced Roman pottery from the trenches, implying a pre-​Roman date. Similar Northern European depictions of helmeted figures with staffs or spears appear from the Iron Ages to the Viking periods and on Roman coins. If he is pre-​mediaeval, it is however strange that there is no reference to the figure in the records of the nearby Wilmington Priory. We will probably never know for sure, but there’s no doubt that he cuts an imposing figure on the landscape.
Whatever his origins, the current image was formed in 1874 when outlined in yellow brick by Rev. W. de St. Croix of the Sussex Archaeological Society, although even then it was realised that the new outline distorted the original image. In 1891 the bricks were replaced with white versions, painted regularly to keep him fresh, but was rather ignominiously painted out using green paint during World War II to prevent him being used as a landmark by enemy planes! In 1969 the outline was remade using concrete blocks into the form we see today.
Practicalities
There’s a car-​park just south of the ruined Priory in Wilmington village, from where a public footpath take you right up to the figure. There are excellent views from a wide area of the surrounding countryside.