Sunday, September 27, 2009
Seaside postcard: Seaford → Eastbourne
Yesterday, because the weather was great, I took myself off to the Sussex coast for a long walk along the chalky clifftops. I started at Seaford (one of the old Cinque Ports, just past Newhaven, 90 minutes from Victoria), then yomped up and over to Cuckmere Haven (unspoilt river valley, requires major inland diversion, home to my very favourite meander), then walked the breathtaking chalky switchback of the Seven Sisters (Haven Brow, Short Brow, Rough Brow, Brass Point, Flat Hill, Baily's Hill, Went Hill Brow), then stopped for an ice cream at Birling Gap, then pushed past the builders at the Belle Tout lighthouse (it'll be opening as a mini-hotel later in the year), then stood on the top of Beachy Head (keeping an eye out for the suicide-prevention vicar), and finally descended into Eastbourne (promenade, bandstand, pier, old people). Altogether, 14 fantastic leg-aching miles.
But I've written about most of this walk before (back in 2007, here), and I have no desire to write up the whole thing again. So instead I'm offering you 30 photographs to give you a flavour of my day out (slideshow here), with plenty of accompanying text should you be interested (one photo at a time, starting here). If you don't mind a tough six hour trek, and aren't worried by walking along potentially crumbling chalky clifftops, I can't recommend it highly enough.
www.flickr.com: my Seven Sisters gallery
• There are 30 photos altogether. If you don't fancy looking at them one at a time, you can view the whole lot in two pages flat here.
• I've put together a Google map of my walk here, so that you can follow along.
• Let's see who else has done this same walk... aha, Andrew has [photos] and Paul has [photos].
• Directions for the walk are in the Time Out Book of Country Walks Near London Volume 2 (but it's perfectly possible to walk it without).
• If you want to cut the walk short, the number 12 'Coaster' bus runs (very) regularly from Exceat, while the 12B stops (on Sundays, and summer Saturdays) at Birling Gap and Beachy Head.
• Just go, one day.
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