Southdown sheep wool and cereals due to rising volumes of imports from the British Empire was accompanied by the Wet Years - a six-year period of cold, wet weather with little sun. In the Second World War, the South Downs were commandeered for military training, only fringe farms being left to produce milk for the towns. Sheep farming declined further after the war, although it is now being encouraged again through the designation of the downland as an environmentally sensitive area, and the restoration of arable land to sheepwalk. The Southdown has been placed on a watch list by the Rare Breeds
Southdown and Eridge Hunt Southdown and Eridge Hunt The Southdown and Eridge Hunt is a United Kingdom foxhound pack, with hunting country within the counties of Sussex and Kent. The Southdown and Eridge Hunt was formed on 1 May 1981 by the merger of the previously autonomous hunts, the "Southdown Hunt" and the "Eridge Hunt". The hunt covers country with two distinct territories, which is a result of the merger of the two former hunts. The western country is bordered to the north by the A272 road and to the south by the sea, going as far west at the border of Steyning and