South Downs walking weekend: Chalk cliffs of Beachy Head & The Seven sisters.

Start time: 10:30 am
Estimated finish time: 5:30 pm
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 19.8km / 12.3mi
Ascent: 747.1m / 2451ft
Walk leader: David

Join us for one day of walking or two during our weekend break to the South Downs.

The main walk on Saturday takes us from the beautiful Beachy Head Cliffs, past the Birling Gap and across the hilly Seven Sisters. Expect beautiful views out to sea from atop magnificent chalk clifftops.

We will walk across land that was originally joined to France before the waters rose and the English Channel was formed.

Sights will include the red and white painted Beachy Head Lighthouse and the unique Belle Tout Lighthouse as we head towards the Cuckmere Haven beach and countryside hotspot.

From here, we follow the river inland before stopping for lunch in the picnic area of the Seven Sisters Country Park Visitor Centre. Sandwiches, ice cream and cold drinks usually available on-site, where there are also toilets for anyone who needs a loo break.

Then we traverse the verdant Friston Forest before passing two historic churches and going through the quaint English village of East Dean. Watch out for the unique ‘roundabout’ gates, only six of which survive. These ‘Tapsell’ gates are unique to churchyards in Sussex and operate around a central pivot.

From East Dean, it’s only a little way back to the start point, with more beautiful views over the sea as we return.

Dogs are welcome, but it is your responsibility to keep control of them.

Anyone who would like to is more than welcome to join us for dinner in the large Beachy Head pub after the walk.

If you are planning on joining us for the whole weekend, please arrange your own overnight accommodation if you need to. There are plenty of places to stay in nearby Eastbourne, and many hotel and B&B websites to help you choose somewhere. Air BNB, hotels.com and Trivago are just a few examples.

Parking and start point details

We will meet and start the walk at the Beachy Head West car park, Beachy Head Road, Eastbourne.

For people travelling up from Eastbourne, it’s the first car park after The Beachy Head pub, past the large bus turning area. The car park straddles both sides of the road. Please arrive early. If the car park gets full, you will have to park at the larger Beachy Head car park and walk around 0.4 miles to the start point. Please note that this car park is different to the pub car park, which is free for people while they’re using the pub.

The cost of parking is £5.90 to park all day. Please bring coins if you’d like to pay on the day, as this is all the machines accept. You can also pay via the RingGo mobile phone app, where you’ll have to pay an extra 40p. Mobile phone internet reception is also very patchy in that area.

Search for the location ‘46371’ on the RingGo app to find the Beachy Head West car park. They call it: ‘Beachy Head 7 Car Park, Eastbourne’. If you do have to park further away in the Beachy Head car park, search for the location ‘46366’ to find it in RingGo. They call this one: ‘Beachy Head 1 Car Park, Eastbourne’.

What to bring - checklist

An advisory, non-exhaustive list of what to bring on a walk:

🔵 A sturdy pair of walking boots that you have already walked in (essential). 🥾

🔵 Lots of water (essential). Advice: Two 1.5l bottles of water. 💧

🔵 A decent pair of walking socks (or maybe two socks on each foot) - to prevent blisters. 🧦

🔵 Sun cream (weather pending). 🧴

🔵 Rain jacket (weather pending). 🌧️

🔵 Small packet of pocket-sized tissues. 🤧

🔵 Multi-sized packet of plasters - in case of blisters, bramble cuts etc. 🩹

🔵 Backpack for your belongings. 🎒

🔵 Savlon - for any minor insect bites that may occur. 👍