Walk the undulating path over the chalky Seven Sisters and Beachy Head cliffs, part of the 109-mile South Downs Way.
When to get there: Mid morning
What to take: 2 litres of water, good walking shoes, packed lunch, snacks
Length: 13.8 miles
Duration: Allow 7 hours for a leisurely pace with lunch and breaks
I did this walk at the end of last summer and have finally got to writing about this fantastic clifftop walk with its dramatic views.
Hopping onto a train at Clapham Junction, I arrived in Seaford before 10am. Seaford is a sleepy seaside town in between Brighton and Eastbourne. It's easy to get your bearings - just turn right out of the station, right again down Dane Road and follow it down to the seafront or Esplanade as it's called.
A large stretch of pebbled beach trimmed with pastel coloured beach huts greeted me. I was surprised to find there were only a handful of other people out for walks with dogs or just sitting or lying and enjoying the sunshine.
Turning to my left, I walked along the Esplanade, passing the Martello Tower, a watchtower and remnant of the Napoleonic Wars and now Seaford's museum.
Where the Espanade ends, a path begins that ascends a small cliff, the first of many on this route. From the top you can look out over the Seaford golf course and down onto the town.
The sea was a bright, sparkling turquoise that day and impossibly still. Owing to such bright sunshine, the cliffs cast deep pools of shadow - though even on an overcast, blustery winter's day, this walk would definitely be more moody and dramatic.
Cliffs at Seaford
Chalk heath to my left, sprinkled with the colours of summer: wild thyme, yellow gorse, purple ling and bell heather are common in this area.
This was my first view of the Seven Sisters, stretching from Cuckmere Haven to Birling Gap. Meltwater rivers from the end of the last Ice Age is thought to have worn through the chalk, creating the famous, picture-postcard humps of chalk.
I'd consider myself lucky to be able to do this in my old age; just sit in companionable silence with an old friend, taking in the wonderful view.
Descending a set of stairs I continued down the slope and came across this clutch of oft-photographed coastguard cottages at Cuckmere Haven. You may recognise these cottages from the 2007 film adaptation of Atonement. Having your home photographed by a constant stream of passers-by (yes, I'm guilty too), not to mention the worry of a receding coastline must have its challenges. Though having that view (and being the view as well!) goes a long way to making up for it.
The cliffs themselves are frequently used as a filming location; my favourite has to be the (literal) cliffhanger at the end of the first series of the surreal Channel 4 comedy series, Green Wing.
Continuing down the slope, I reached the beach. The river Cuckmere sloughs by, cleaving the beach in half as it runs down to the sea. Having a tendency to forget about referring to trail descriptions and feeling reluctant about parting from the sea, I took off my shoes and waded through, though I understand that this isn't always possible. Although wading through the river cut a significant portion of time off the walk, it is pretty stony underfoot. If you would prefer to avoid doing this, you can cut inland for about a mile or so and cross over the river via a road bridge and make your way back to the beach.
Cuckmere Haven beach and Haven Brow
From the beach, I followed the trail up the first of the Seven Sisters.
Looking back down to Cuckmere Haven beach and Seaford. You can just make out the river flowing onto the beach.
There seem to a few ideas floating around as to the etymology of the name for this collection of cliffs, including a suggestion that seven sisters once had houses in the dip of each cliff. The first I came across the name 'Seven Sisters', was the Victoria line station in north London, where my mum used to live. As a child who had sisters for teachers, I always imagined the 'sisters' to be nuns. Later, I discovered that the Seven Sisters made up a constellation of stars known as the Pleiades and finally realised that the name originates from Greek mythology.
I love a good story - so here's one to think about as you walk along the cliffs.
The Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, were Maia, Alcyone, Asterope, Celaeno, Taygete, Electra and Merope, beautiful daughters of the titan, Atlas who held earth on his back, and Pleione, the protectress of sailors. After a chance encounter with the daughters, Orion the hunter began pursuing them as well as their mother, Pleione. In order to protect mother and daughters, Zeus turned them all into doves and set them in the heavens. You can see the sisters and their mother up there in the stars to this day, trapped in eternal flight from Orion.
In light of the Greek myth, Seven Sisters is an appropriate name for the dazzlingly, virginal white cliffs, bright as stars as they protect us from the sea. You could say that the sisters are lying there slumbering, waiting for a chance to escape one day from Orion's captive gaze.
These cliffs, however, have their own individual names and there are actually eight: Haven Brow, Short Brow, Rough Brow, Brass Point, Flagstaff Brow, (Flat Hill formed due to further erosion), Bailey's Hill and Went Hill.
These seagulls probably get a much better view than us land folk when they launch off the cliff's edge and glide about.
Some of the cliffs are steeper than others - here you can just spy a person at the crest of the hill. The Seven Sisters come to an end at the hamlet of Birling Gap, a collection of a few houses and National Trust cafe. Here you can pick up some refreshment or descend some stairs to the pebbly beach and dip your feet in the sea.
I had wondered where all the people were and here is where I found them - it's possible to drive up from inland and stop here if you don't fancy doing the whole walk.
Looking back towards Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters
Continuing on after Birling Gap, I passed the Belle Tout lighthouse which you can see above in the distance. Now a bed and breakfast, the lighthouse was built in 1832 and superseded in 1902 by the Beachy Head lighthouse. It was later moved inland in 1999, as it was in danger of disappearing with the eroding coastline.
First sight of Beachy Head, or 'beautiful headland'
A cloudless, breathless afternoon...
Low fog along the clifftop meant that the Belle Tout lighthouse was often not visible enough to warn sailors off the rocks, so Beachy Head lighthouse was built in 1902. Three lighthouse keepers maintained it until 1983 when it was automated. Since the improvement of ship's navigational systems, the need for the lighthouse has been diminishing.
Having made good time, I lingered along this stretch for a long time watching groups of people as they arrived, were at first delighted by the view, then edged up to the cliffs - some of them more bold than others.
A scrum of seagulls
After Beachy Head, the path splits and you can follow a path that travels lower down along the coastline but I chose to stay on higher ground that gradually descends into Eastbourne.
First sighting of Eastbourne
The promenade and pier at Eastbourne
If you're catching the train, head inland and Eastbourne station is about a 10 minute walk (I was a little tired by this point so it took more like 15!) Or stay awhile and enjoy the beach and a well-deserved ice cream.
I hope to do this walk again someday, maybe in reverse and at another time of year, to see which character the coast takes.