The 'Sugar Loaf', Woods Corner

'Mad' Jack Fuller (1757-1834) is one of Sussex's renowned eccentrics, and since childhood I have enjoyed and admired the various 'follies' scattered around his former home in Brightling, in the High Weald between Heathfield and Battle. So today, a brilliantly sunny day, I took a drive eastwards across Sussex to take another look at just one of these - the 'Sugar Loaf' - supposed to have been built by 'Mad' Jack in a hurry so that he could win a bet that he could see the spire of Dallington Church from his house (which of course he couldn't).

When I got to the folly this afternoon, I realised that I'd never been right up to it before - nor realised you could actually go inside (though there's not much to see there). Still, it looked very dramatic from the outside, against the bright blue sky with its summer-like wisps of cloud.