Cissbury Ring at Sunset

Cissbury Ring holds a special place in my heart—it's one of the largest Iron Age hillforts in England, sitting prominently on the South Downs with commanding views across Sussex. I've photographed this lone tree on the summit many times, but this July evening delivered something extraordinary.

I'd hiked up to the ring in the late afternoon, watching the sky develop as the sun dropped lower. The clouds were perfect—high and scattered, the kind that catch and hold colour spectacularly. As sunset approached, the entire western sky ignited in shades of gold, orange, and pink. The tree, standing sentinel at the highest point of the ancient fort, became a powerful silhouette against this vibrant backdrop.

What I love about this composition is the layering—the tree in the foreground, the ramparts of the Iron Age fort beneath it, then successive ridges of the South Downs fading into the distance. It's a scene that speaks to both natural beauty and human history. People have been coming to this hilltop for over 2,500 years, and standing there that evening, watching the same sun set that countless generations before me had witnessed, was genuinely moving.

When you look at this photograph, I want you to feel that connection to place and time—the enduring strength of this ancient hillfort, the resilience of the solitary tree, and the timeless beauty of a Sussex sunset painting the sky in fire above one of England's most historically significant landscapes.