On June 3rd 2018 we opened up the site (as part of the Steyning Festival) to allow anyone interested to see the work we had been doing. We had two types of wooden target frame built for the occasion (Steve designed collapsible versions for ease of transport) – a 6ft frame, with the SDS logo and a 4ft frame with a typical military target (as used in the mid 20th Century).
SDS logo on the 6ft frame, visible from just beyond the 300 yard firing position
4ft frame with a military target visible above the mantlet, from the valley
The vegetation on the top of the mantlet was very dense, so we had to do a bit of pruning the day before the event, to ensure that the targets would be visible.
4ft target raised into position, viewed from the back stop, looking east towards the firing positions
6ft target raised into position, viewed from the rear
The carriages operate very smoothly and the frames can be raised and lowered with very little pressure, even fitted with the heavy wooden targets.
6ft frame bearing the SDS logo
The final visitors of the day with some of the conservation team
We were really pleased at how many people came up to visit on the day, a number of whom had their own stories of the range. We’d like to thanks them all for coming as well as for their interest and support.