Balcombe Estate (W.Sussex)

At the heart of Balcombe Estate is Balcombe Place, “a shining example of a large country house set within stunning grounds, with far reaching views of the South Downs. Balcombe Place is a property to be envied and desired and is here for your exclusive use.” Wow. The hyperbole is strong with this one, as Yoda might say. If (and it’s a big ‘if’) the website is to be believed, this is perhaps the best place in the entire Universe to get married. Oddly, the hyper-ventilating copy on the Balcombe website doesn’t mention its less happy links with shooting and fox hunting. Which seems odd as the Balcombe Estate shoot supplies its own farm shop on Bowders Farm (“sells game meat produced on the estate”), and a number of hunts ‘enjoy’ the ‘stunning grounds’. There are more examples than this site has space to list going back years but, for example, recent HIT Reports include the West Sussex Hunt Sabs finding a joint meet of the Crawley and Horsham Hunt with the Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent Hunt in October 2020 and finding the Crawley and Horsham Hunt there in November 2023;  East Surrey Hunt Sabs found the OSB and Crawley & Horsham Hunts unboxed at Bowdens Farm and Balcombe Place Stables in October 2023; Surrey Hunt Sabs found the Crawley & Horsham Hunt, riding (without hounds) around the Balcombe Estate again in October 2023…