I followed the new Old Shoreham Heritage Trail and discovered some of the earliest buildings in Sussex coastal town

The Old Shoreham Heritage Trail was officially launched at St Nicolas Church, the oldest church in Shoreham, on Friday as part of the newly-formed Friends of Old Shoreham's Old Shoreham Heritage Festival.

Brian Sayer from FOldS put together the trail and the map was produced by illustrator and printmaker Karolyn Mnich, who has lived in Old Shoreham for nearly 30 years.

Brian said: "The Old Shoreham area has been a place of settlement since earliest times, with evidence of Iron Age and Romano-British villages and defensive systems on its highest downland areas.

"The village itself is of Saxon origin and was thriving long before it was recorded in the Domesday Book, when it was amongst the largest settlements in the country and the nearest Channel port to London.

"Old Shoreham has always been a major crossroads for people and nature, between inland Sussex, the coast and the sea. Today, it forms the western boundary of the Living Coast urban biosphere and is a gateway to the South Downs National Park."

The trail encourages people to explore Old Shoreham and reveals some of the most historic sites, including a number of listed buildings.

I became a reporter on the Shoreham Herald in 2013 and have been associated with the paper for than 40 years, as a sister title to the Worthing Herald. I was intrigued to find if this trail could open my eyes to anything 'new', being as I have a reasonable knowledge of Shoreham history.

I'm thrilled to say the answer is an emphatic yes! I'm so grateful to Brian for all the information provided on the trail and hope it helps local people realise what treasures they have around them.

Sites are numbered 1 to 18 but I decided to work backwards, starting at what is possibly the most intriguing place mentioned – The Triangle. This little area of trees is so well known as a traffic junction, I expect people give little thought to it's original purpose.

Brian explained: "It’s a tiny parcel of trees at the top of Buckingham Road – passed by everyone but barely noticed. It’s a relic of the driveway to Buckingham House and Buckingham Park from the mid-18th century to the early 1920s, and a time when Upper Shoreham Road and Buckingham Road were tree-lined green lanes.

"I recall it as a kid – it always smelled of mushrooms with stag beetles in flight. I’m intrigued that it has survived and that it doesn’t figure in most people’s consciousness. It probably exists because it’s on an island, too small to build on."

Next I ventured to Buckingham Park, which is famed for its ancient chestnut trees. It is a huge park, created by the Bridger family, who owned Buckingham House in the late 18th century.

I knew the history of the Shoreham Military Camp on Mill Hill, home to 20,000 troops from 1914 to 1918, and I was pleased to find information boards in the park giving more information.

I then trotted round to Woodview to see the preserved ruins of Buckingham House, the last of a succession of great houses that were the economic and social heart of Old Shoreham for more than 500 years.

Along Downsway is the dovecote of Little Buckingham Farm, the only surviving building from the farm, as the rest was demolished for housing in the 1950s. How many people must walk past this every day, perhaps with no idea of its history!

Mill Hill, the ancient road to the north, is, of course, included on the map. Little trace remains of the mills that gave rise to the name now but you can venture up to the Local Nature Reserve for extensive views to the sea and the South Downs National Park. A high bridge over the A27 takes you up to the South Downs.

Venturing back downhill, I sought out Adur Lodge, an 18th century house in The Street. This was the last home of those local landowners the Bridgers. It has an unusually tall 19th century cobbled flint wall and is Grade II Listed.

There are more treats to find in The Street – an 18th century cottage at No. 4 and 5, and Hunter's Moon, a 1583 timber-framed farmhouse, which stood alone in the fields less than 90 years ago but is now two cottages surrounded by housing.

At the end, as you approach St Nicolas Lane, you will find Old Shoreham Farmhouse, dating back to the 18th century but altered in the 19th century. It operated as a working farm until the 1970s.

Old School House, just round the corner, was St Nicolas School in the late 19th century. A new school was opened in 1914 and the building became housing in the 1970s.

Opposite is the gates to St Nicolas Church, dating back to the 10th century but enlarged in the 12th and 14th centuries and restored in 1840.

The two pubs nearby were both once residential properties. The Red Lion Inn was originally a 17th century cottage, the location of Tennyson's poem Rizpah. The property was later an inn and it was extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Amsterdam was an early 18th century house, later cottages. The property was converted into tearooms, then a restaurant in the 1950s.

Tudor Cottage, behind The Amsterdam, is a 16th century house which has been much adapted and at the top of Connaught Avenue are 16th century thatched cottages, which are timber framed.

Cross to the Downs Link to see the Old Shoreham Tollbridge, a wooden trestle bridge and causeway, originally built in 1781. It was rebuilt in 1916 and restored in 2008. A more recent addition, the Airshow Memorial on the east bank, celebrates the life of each of the 11 victims of the 2015 tragedy, one for each arch.

I really enjoyed the trail and burying myself in the history of Old Shoreham. It is a great way of highlighting what the area has to offer and the need to preserve its heritage.

Brian said: "The area has often been under threat from the competing demands of developers, travellers, residents, leisure seekers and nature. Evidence of constant change is everywhere in the natural and built environment.

"FOldS aims to protect and improve the natural and historic environment through community action. This trail provides us with a starting point for a modern catalogue of change."

Karolyn said she has enjoyed many walks on Mill Hill and into town past the flint walls and thatched cottages.

She added: "When illustrating this map of Old Shoreham, I've drawn 18 significant places from the east side of the River Adur across to the east side of Buckingham Park and up to Mill Hill Nature Reserve.

"Many places are historically important but all of them give Old Shoreham its unique and special character. To make the map come alove, I've included a few people, children playing, animals and birds.

"Hopefully the brief glimpse of Old Shoreham will inspire you to walk the trail and discover these places for yourself."

Visit folds.info/about for more information about FOldS.

Old Shoreham Heritage Festival highlights the passion to build a community in the historic heart of Shoreham-by-Sea