Uckfield Carnival began 185 years ago and was first organised by shopkeepers on a Wednesday afternoon – an early closing day – before moving to the first Saturday every September.
The full carnival weekend now takes place on the first Saturday of September every year.
This includes fireworks on the Friday evening, a children’s procession on the Saturday afternoon, and a full torchlight procession on the Saturday evening.
The Uckfield Bonfire and Carnival Society spends most of the year fundraising and several months preparing the 3,500 torches required for the torchlight procession.
The procession is supported by other Bonfire and Carnival Societies of Sussex, as well as bands, majorettes, and decorated tableaux.
The Society’s motto is ‘We burn for charity’, and each year the Society donates thousands of pounds to local charities and deserving causes.
The Uckfield Society wears Mexican costumes for the parades. Everyone is welcome to join and attend the meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at Uckfield Civic Centre at 8pm.
You can find out more about the Society by visiting their website, www.uckfieldcarnival.co.uk, or by emailing the Society at uckfieldcarnival@gmail.com.
The Uckfield Chamber of Commerce is a vibrant, active, and lively group of local businesses.
Its current membership is over 200, with meetings six times a year in January, March, May, July, September, and November at venues around the Uckfield area.
The Chamber elects an Executive Committee of between four and 12 members who meet every month.
There are always good networking opportunities. If you are interested in joining a significant body in the community, please contact the Chamber Secretary at the address below:
Ian Noble – Chamber Secretary
Uckfield Chamber of Commerce
15 Horsted Square
Bellbrook Business Park
Uckfield TN22 1QG
Telephone:07801 250668
Email: secretary@uckfieldchamber.co.uk
Website:www.uckfieldchamber.co.uk/
Broadcasting on 105FM 24 hours a day, Ashdown Radio goes out every day of the year to Uckfield, Crowborough, and the surrounding villages of the Ashdown Forest.
The station plays a wide range of music from the last five decades and reports on local and national news, as well as offering travel updates and notices on community events.
Ashdown Radio also plays a big part in the Uckfield Carnival in September and the Christmas Late Night Shopping in December.
Formerly called Uckfield FM before its 2022 rebrand, Ashdown Radio is the voice of Uckfield and the surrounding areas and is proud to say it is one of only two community radio stations in East Sussex.
Advertising, programme sponsorship, and the offer of on-air prizes are just three ways of promoting a company or business.
The station also attends local events, school fetes, sports days, and fairs at a reasonable cost. Further information can be obtained by calling 01825 891105 or by visiting www.ashdownradio.com.
The station can also be contacted via Facebook, or directly to the studio here: www.ashdownradio.com/contact/contact-the-studio
Uckfield and District Twinning Association is an active cultural exchange group with over 100 members of all ages.
They have strong links with Uckfield’s twin towns in Germany and France, as well as a strong programme of youth activities and regular social events.
Uckfield has been twinned with the German town of Quickborn, in the district of Pinneberg in Schleswig-Holstein, since 1989. Residents have regularly been welcomed to the northern German town for the annual Eulenfest celebration, while German visitors have been regularly hosted during the Uckfield Festival.
2011 saw the formal twinning with of Uckfield with its French partner town of Arques-la-Bataille, which sits just four miles south of Dieppe in the Seine-Maritime department of the Normandy region.
In the last few years, primary school groups have stayed with families in France, teenagers have taken part in exchange youth camps, and adults on both sides of the Channel have made friends and enjoyed hospitality.
The Association also supports local teenagers to attend an annual International Youth Camp, which takes place in countries throughout Europe.
In 2010, an organised camp in Uckfield attracted young people and youth leaders from England, Germany, France, Sweden, Latvia, and Finland.
Apart from the formal twinning activities, the Association runs a series of social events, quizzes, and talks throughout the year.
New members are always welcome. Please get in touch if you would like to join them on a visit to Germany or France, to host families from other countries, to recommend a young person to attend the subsidised youth camps here or abroad, or to come to one of their social events.
For more information, please email davidsudbery@hotmail.com or telephone: 01825 733318.
The Uckfield Leisure Centre site is owned by East Sussex County Council and is currently leased to Wealden District Council.
Freedom Leisure manages Uckfield Leisure Centre on behalf of Wealden District Council. It aims to ‘improve lives through leisure’, providing affordable, inclusive and sustainable facilities that the whole community can enjoy.
The Leisure Centre is located on Downsview Crescent.
The site boasts a 25m pool, which has a gently sloping beach and a flume, perfect for families and those who want to swim for fitness.
There is a fully equipped gym, a wide range of exercise classes, courts for squash, badminton and table tennis, as well as a sauna, steam room and cafe.
If you want some time to yourself to exercise, you can book your children into the creche, which is open five mornings a week.
Children’s holiday activity clubs, birthday parties and swimming lessons are also available.
For further information, contact the Leisure Centre with the details below:
Tel:01825 761160
Website:www.freedom-leisure.co.uk
Uckfield Heritage, previously called the Uckfield & District Preservation Society, was formed in 1968, initially to protect and preserve Nutley Windmill and to encourage interest in the local environment.
In 1983, it took over and renovated Bridge Cottage, an important Grade II medieval timber framed house, as a Heritage Centre on behalf of Uckfield Town Council.
Since that time, the Society has continued to expand its activities and has gained a good reputation as a source of opinion and advice in the local history and environment fields.
Within Uckfield Heritage, there is a Local History Group that organises occasional winter talks. Their Nutley Mill Group focuses on maintaining this mill to a high level of working order and welcomes visits and assistance in running this unique heritage site. In addition, they publish a newsletter twice a year and produce information books and leaflets.
In November 2023, Uckfield Heritage’s Charity shop relocated to larger premises at 6-7 Bell Walk, Uckfield. It is open 9am-4pm, Monday to Saturday, and helps to generate funds to promote the works of Uckfield Heritage.
Uckfield Heritage is a voluntary charity and depends on the support of its members. New members are always welcome. For further information, ring the Heritage Centre Team on 01825 760734 or email: admin@bridgecottageuckfield.co.uk
The Volunteer Centre acts as the focus in the community for those wanting to do voluntary work, and also for those needing help of some kind that volunteers could provide.
Much information about voluntary groups and local services is held, as well as information about the local area, including bus timetables, and so on.
Contact details: 79 High Street, Uckfield.
Tel:01825 760019
Email:office@uckfieldvolunteer.org.uk
Web: www.uckfieldvolunteercentre.co.uk
Open:
| Monday | 10am — 1pm |
| Tuesday | 10am — 4pm |
| Wednesday | 10am — 1pm |
| Thursday | 10am — 4pm |
| Friday | Closed |
| Saturday | First Saturday of the month 10am — 1pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
The Citizens Advice Bureau is located within Uckfield Library on the High Street.
Volunteer staff provide free, confidential, impartial, and independent advice on a range of subjects including employment, consumer and welfare benefit rights, plus relationship or debt problems. If they can’t resolve your queries, they know someone who can!
They provide support over the phone from 9.30am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, each week. Their phone line is 0808 278 7811.
The service also provides face-to-face support during the following times:
Monday – 10.00am to midday
Tuesday – 10.00am to 2.00pm
Thursday – 10.00am to 2.00pm
Please note, these sessions are by appointment only, which have to be agreed over the phone.
More details are available on the service’s website – https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/local-citizens-advice/0014K000009EMKvQAO/ – as well as the Wealden Citizens Advice Bureau page here: http://www.wealdencitizensadvice.org.uk/.
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