Four interpretation boards, organised by the Ilex Conservation Group, have been installed in Goring.

One is on the sea wall in the centre of Goring Gap, while the others are spaced along the mile-long Ilex Avenue, a boulevard of trees linking Goring with Ferring.

The boards, part of an initiative to make the public more aware of the special character of Goring Gap, will be unveiled by the Mayor of Worthing, Councillor Eric Mardell, on Tuesday, January 7.

They cost £4,800 and were funded with contributions from Awards For All Jubilee Fund, West Sussex County Council, and Goring Gap Preservation Trust.

The project manager was Michael Tanner from Ferring, a key member of the Ilex Conservation Group committee.

The boards, illustrated with pictures of birds, butterflies and plants, are mounted on substantial stands made from oak recovered by the Environment Agency from old breakwaters.

They are protected with toughened glass and treated with an ultra-violet screen to minimise bleaching by the sun.

Goring Gap is one of the few coastal strategic gaps left in West Sussex and is unusual because farmland comes down to the sea.

The Grade II agricultural land is under constant threat from development and requires ongoing vigilance to ensure its preservation.

Covering 180 acres, it provides important habitat for many resident species of insects, birds and mammals.

It also serves as a vital roosting ground for wading birds deprived of their feeding grounds at high tide.

At least 160 bird species have been recorded in the gap over recent years.

Ilex Avenue stretches for almost a mile from St Mary's Church, Goring, in the east, to the Manor Farm ruins and Ferring Village in the west.

It is considered by many to be one of the finest boulevards of its kind in the world.

The Lyon family, who lived at Goring Hall, planted the avenue in about 1840 to form carriage entrances to the hall from the east and the west.

The lodge house, which marks the original north and main entrance to the hall, has been restored and can be seen in Fernhurst Drive.

Ilex Avenue is formed from more than 400 evergreen holm oaks (Quercus ilex). "Ilex" is derived from the fact that the immature leaves are spiny and similar to those of holly, whose Latin name is Ilex Aquifolium.

In 1935, Ilex Avenue was gifted to Worthing Borough Council to be held in trust for the town "as a public walk and pleasure ground in perpetuity".