Seven Sisters and more...

Eastbourne to Seaford - 10 December 2012

Magnificent. We had been waiting for the right day to do this walk and the cold north wind has bought clear sunny weather so we put the plan into action. Starting out at 7-30am we reached Warren Hill on the outskirts of Eastbourne at 9-00am and parked up. As we left the warm comfort of the car we nearly drove straight back home again because the wind was bitter and we had serious doubts about whether we had the right clothing. However, with all layers on including hats, hoods and gloves we set off - and how glad we were.

The path took us along to the coast then west towards Beachy Head. This monument is to the many aircrew in WW2 who flew over the white cliffs at Beachy Head and used them as a signpost home.

The lighthouse at Beachy Head is a national Icon but it is now disused - anyone want to buy it! The cliffs are 530ft high here and it was a little off-putting to see many small crosses marking the point where "jumpers" commit suicide.

The next marker is the Belle Tout Lighthouse and lookout station which sits on top the hill that overlooks Birling Gap, a small hamlet tucked into a valley cut down to sea level. This lighthouse was moved further away from the cliff edge in 1999 to stop it falling into the sea. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Tout_lighthouse

Birling Gap nestling down in a small cove. The Seven Sisters hills start here!
Fortunately the cafe was open and so a round of coffee and bacon sandwiches was perfect fortification for the hard slog ahead.

HEADLINE NEWS: 3 PENSIONERS PUT SEVEN SISTERS TO BED IN UNDER TWO HOURS...

We had wondered whether at our age we could even manage one sister and then we argued about who would have the spare seventh one should we actually manage two each but when it came to it they were no match for "los 3 Amigos" and we traversed this very steep but intensely beautiful set of hills in about 90 mins. The "last Sister" sits beside Cuckmere Haven where the river Cuckmere has cut through the chalk South Downs and reached the sea.

We reached Cuckmere around 12-30 - a perfect time for a liquid lunch...

The plan was to catch a bus back to the car from here but as we left the pub Trevor said " you know Seaford is only over that hill there, maybe a couple of miles" and like the idiots we are Ivan and Richard nodded and followed on. Well it was 1.5 miles just to the reach the sea and then we had two more climbs up and over what must have been the sisters big brothers! It was pretty and we did get some great views back towards the Seven Sisters we had climbed earlier but the legs took some moving. However, 5 miles later we did reach Seaford and it was a joy to sit down on the bus.

The Seven Sisters from the west side of Cuckmere Haven

Seaford approach...









After the bright sun of the day the late afternoon turned into a terrific light show for us.

This was probably our best walk so far and certainly one we will repeat in the Spring. It was nicely demanding and the mix of sea air, wonderful views and great underfoot walking on soft grass made it a delight. Looking at the stats below it also showed the effort needed!

Stats for the day were ...

Date	Steps	Distance (mi)	Time (min)	Calories	Average speed (mph)	Elevation gain (feet)	Elevation lost (feet)	Max Speed (mph)
10/12/2012	26,446	14.8	364	2,061	2.4	3,560	3,698	12.7