This latest installment in an occasional series is a bit of an anomaly, and the title is a real misnomer as Buchan Country Park is far from secret (as you can see from the crowded car park) and its not even actually in Crawley.

I think the entrance, visitor centre and a small amount of land may be within the Crawley boundary, but most of the park lies on the other side of the A264, accessed by crossing a footbridge. The first four places I visited had a feeling of solitude, and for all I know Buchan Park does at other times, but on a Sunday afternoon you can hardly move for dog-walking families.

Nothing wrong with that if you are after fresh air, exercise, a safe environment for the kids and pleasant looking surroundings: its only a problem if you are after some solitude and peace.

I had never been to the park before and did not know what to expect. That is one reason why we brought Charlie’s new stunt kite with us. It turned out to be a silly place to take a kite – mostly forest and the biggest clearing was on an incline. Maybe next week we will go over Broadfield Park or Beachy Head and give it a try.

The park is large. 170 acres of woodland heath and meadow according to the county council website, and we didn’t see more than a small fraction of it in the time we had.

Just before you cross over the A264 there is a footpath which leads off to Target Hill, immediately after crossing the A264 there is a path leading off into the woods, but if you carry straight on you are met with the impressive sight of the lake, with its duck shed and sluice all built in faux-medieval turret style. Paths lead around both sides of the lake, into the woods, and everywhere.

And everywhere there are carvings. Fallen trees have been carved into animal shapes, and even the stumps of trees are carved.

Some of these are a bit twee while others suggest the Blair Witch Project, but they all make the place fun for younger children. All the paths are well maintained and clear, and the bits of woodland I went through were well managed compared to some of the other places I have been recently.

For my tastes, the bits I went to were perhaps ostentatiously over-managed and not wild enough, but its a subtle thing. At least there were no ice-cream sellers, metal playgrounds or other modernities. It will take many visits to explore the whole park and I’ll bet there are plenty of corners which are a lot more untouched.

Mind you, I’m still a big kid at heart myself, and quite enjoyed some of the carvings.

I could have got some interesting photographs on a better day, or if I had taken the trouble to learn how to use all my camera’s features properly.

At this time of year the sun is so low and bright that it tends to wash out most of the pictures I take so that the sky turns out white and everything else is bleached. And if that doesn’t happen, it is so hard to avoid your own 10-metre shadow impinging on the shot.

It did not help that we went later in the day, sometime after 1pm. I’m sure I will be back later in the year when the light is better and the place is greener.

And now I have just about exhausted all the ‘secret places’ which are either in or adjacent to Broadfield. Just one more place I can think of, apart from tiny little places or any that have been kept secret from me. For future Sunday walks I will have to venture further afield – or should that be further Ifield?