A special reunion took place among people who fought tooth and nail to protect the South Downs and create a National Park.
Some of the surviving members of the South Downs Campaign gathered at The Three Horseshoes, in Elsted.
Without their determination, the South Downs National Park might never have existed.
The creation of a National Park was first mooted in the 1920s when public concern was mounting about the threats to the downland.
It would take decades before calls for a National Park along the ever-expanding south coast conurbation gathered pace and, following two major public inquiries, hundreds of meetings and passionate campaigning from local communities, the South Downs National Park finally came into being on 31 March, 2010.
As the National Park celebrates its 15th anniversary, Margaret Paren, the National Park Authority’s former Chair and a major protagonist in the fight for the South Downs, said: “It hardly seems possible that the National Park is 15 years old, though there are many who believe it has always been there.
“It was a long hard slog to achieve that status for the South Downs. For those of us who were involved it is especially important that those who live or work in the National Park, or visit to enjoy its special qualities, recognise what a truly exceptional place it is and how the area benefits from that status.
“We are all looking forward to the next big milestone, the 20th anniversary, when the National Park will have been in place for as long as the South Downs Campaign existed!”
Pictured above (left to right) are Christopher Napier, Robert Cheesman, Robin Crane, Margaret Paren, Chris Todd and John Templeton.