Walks in England: The Masts of Truleigh Hill

My walk today takes me up the top of Truleigh Hill, between Worthing and Brighton in Sussex, five miles north of the coast. There on the summit, during the Second World War, stood a radar station. It, along with others on the Home Chain Low group, detected German bombers and their escorts long before they arrived above our shores during the Battle of Britain.
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I am Richard Vobes, the Bald Explorer, exploring Britain. Check out my website at: www.BaldExplorer.com
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[@raybeverton9969]

Thanks Richard, very interesting. Many years ago, while working in Croydon, I operated Radio-Telephone equipment where I could access a relay transmitter on Truleigh Hill - your video took me down a strange "memory lane" !!

[@RichardVobes]

Excellent

[@trevorwright6165]

loverly walk richard thank you so much cheers from trev

[@RichardVobes]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mamtadave3128]

Thank you so much for this nice trail, lots of information. Thanks !!!

[@RichardVobes]

Mamta Dave My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@ducktack1]

Just found your channel. Having moved to Goring in 1997 but having windsurfed at Sussex Windsurfing since the early 80's I've always loved this part of our great country. Only problem now is everyone else has found out our little secret. Hence the madness of building on any plot of land possible. Love lookingg at old pictures of Goring especially as some parts are still the same such as Ilex Way etc. Keep the local vids coming, love them

[@RichardVobes]

Oh the swines are building everywhere - soon it will all be gone!

[@MrTdr01]

Another great video. You can actually walk up to what looks like on old 50’s detached house. This is the entrance to the nuclear bunker. It is now very securely protected. In the 80s two teenagers broke in. They walked down the steps of the shaft and came to the blast door. This was locked. They came back another day with tools and banged the hinge pins out. The huge door then fell on one of the them, he died later. Great vid!

[@RichardVobes]

Thank you - yes I heard about the kids in the bunker, but I didn't know that he had died. Terrible. Thanks so much for watching.

[@JeremyMalies]

Hi MrTd01 - I'm interested in your info re the two teenagers in the '80s. Do you have any more details? Possibly a year? It must have been in the Argus - I'm happy to trawl through back issues.

[@glynhorton4923]

Great video, interesting history about the radar station. And going all the way up that hill to find a boat there! The great thing about exploring - finding the unexpected.

[@warminghurst]

Always been in West Sussex, The old (pre-1974) boundary was between Edburton and Fulking. Now between Hassocks and Ditchling at foot of Downs

[@RichardVobes]

warminghurst Thanks for clearing that up :)

[@LJ-tk8zx]

That boat belongs to a friend of my dads he has a boat building business

[@davidbarlow350]

John lawrence Noah?

[@johnmurrell3175]

If you want to find out more about the WW2 radar development including a plan of what was on Truleigh Hill get a copy of 'Building Radar' by Chris Dobinson pub by English Heritage. The CHL chain was also used for monitoring shipping. Truliegh hill also housed a 'Gee' radio navigation system. I believe only two of the towers for the Chain Home Low were metal - the others two were wood. I have been trying to find out more about the tower manufacture as the owner of the company who made them lived in Kingswood, Surrey very close to where the mysterious 'Radio City' was on the top of Reigate Hill. I have not been able to determine where they were manufactured - there seems to be no evidence of the company owning a factory.

[@MrGreatplum]

What an informative and interesting video - you also chose a cracking day for it! 😀

[@RichardVobes]

I was lucky with the weather! :)

[@chrismccartney8668]

Another whole story on the observer corp and all evolving communications to get info to where it is needed with telephone teleprinter networks and dispatch riders all working together...

[@danielsedgwick5476]

Very interesting.

[@RichardVobes]

Thank you sir.

[@ramibu239]

Thanks for the history lesson - interesting to learn how ahead of the Germans the English were during WWII. Looked like a beautiful late fall day for a walk - such lovely green rolling hills.

[@RichardVobes]

We do have such fabulous places for walks!

[@brianfield792]

Hi Richard,have walked up to masts on several occasions,but came up from Bramber,parked in car park at bramber castle and came up the monarchs way and on to the SDW, fantastic views all around ,lovely walk, brian in bucks,

[@RichardVobes]

It is lovely up there!

[@PortsladeBySea]

Gr8 film full of WW2 history...it’s important we don’t forget. I’m slowly working through your library of films...you have made millions of them! 🤭

[@RichardVobes]

I do keep churning them out! :)

[@andyalder7910]

Came here after your upload this morning. Seems there were just two masts there for Chain Home Low and two others added after the war for Chain Home Extra Low. Would have been too close to one another if all 4 were for CHL.

[@RichardVobes]

It's a great spot and you see why they erected those masts.

[@regulator67bj]

Lots of facts and information as always, next stop "google" to find early photographs, good to see you had the company with another camera system at 8.0.

[@RichardVobes]

Ah yes the shadow is a bit of a giveaway! :) Thanks for watching.

[@tomebers8683]

There was a house up there owned by an old lady and apparently she wasn't to nice to her horses and one ended up getting shot after the RSPCA visited

[@RichardVobes]

Oh dear - I thought for a moment you meant the old lady got shot.

[@tomebers8683]

@@RichardVobes no no all good as far as I know

[@scottfw7169]

Slippery leaves on the path, railways have that trouble too. Brings to mind this from about ten days ago on BBC's website, "Dry ice 'could stop leaves on line rail delays' 8 October 2019 Every autumn, about 50 million leaves land on the UK's railway lines, making them slippery and forcing trains to go slower, Network Rail has said. It says leaves act "like black ice" and cost the industry £345m a year. Engineers at the University of Sheffield have developed dry ice for removing leaves and will test this system on five routes this autumn. "

[@RichardVobes]

Golly - I didn't know that. Thanks for watching.

[@pettra1]

Interesting trail prior to coming on to the South Downs Way in this video. I don't know this trail at all. Is the start of this particular trail at either Edburton or Fulking, or elsewhere? I remember also with affection seeing the radio masts on Truleigh Hill from where I used to work, at the now closed former sawmills on the Mackley Industrial Estate in Small Dole. Halcyon days sadly missed.

[@RichardVobes]

You are right - the beginning of this trail is from the road skirting the north of the south downs between Edburton and Fulking - pretty much directly south of the radio masts.

[@SimonBrown]

For a minute I thought you'd discovered the Ark on Mount Ararat.

[@RichardVobes]

Close :)

[@seancooper9233]

Great video, Richard! Further details of Truleigh Hill transmission tower (tower, as opposed to mast, as it's self-supporting - Masts have guy stays/wires) and the site can be found at tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/truleigh-hill.php ;-)

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks Sean - I love it when I learn extra stuff - like the difference between a mast and a tower. :)

[@seancooper9233]

At Stoke Holy Cross, south of Norwich, the tower which has the Norwich DAB antenna system mounted on it is also a former Chain Home radar tower ('tower #4'). Further info re. that site at both tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery and www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/military-sites/28617-raf-stoke-holy-cross-permission-visit.html - Keep up the great and interesting videos... Would be good to see some from Norfolk/East Anglia! ;)