please empty your brain below
Beautiful slideshow! It's a little far for me to go (from here in Victoria Canada) but it sure made me envious.

Michael Dunham-Wilkie | 27.09.09 - 6:37 a.m. | #

Ok you have inspired me - I'll do it - I have the book, the boots so all that's required is the motivation.

ganching | Homepage | 27.09.09 - 9:10 a.m. | #

I went to Birling Gap a few weeks ago, and had tea at Belle Tout Lighthouse in the snack bar the new owner has just opened there. I was there the second day he had opened and his new tea urn had packed in!. He seems to be running late with the building work as he had hoped to be open for guests late summer 2009.

He told me that where he has the cafe is not far from the cliff edge and will succumb to erosion eventually. The lighthouse was moved back from the edge a few years ago, but the cafe is tunnelled into the cliff face so cannot be relocated.

Hope he succeeds there, it seems he is taking a fairly big business gamble.
Always a nice spot to visit, and you can get a bus right there from Brighton.

John | 27.09.09 - 9:50 a.m. | #

Lovely pictures DG. It looks like another nice weather day today, as well!

Jayne | Homepage | 27.09.09 - 10:16 a.m. | #

That is probably the finest coastal walk in south east England and this is a great time of year to do it. Another good one is Hastings to Winchelsea, but since the station at the latter is now in effect closed, continuing on to Rye is probably best.

Jon Combe | 27.09.09 - 10:41 a.m. | #

I also stopped at "Touts" cafe, but only for a much needed (very reasonably priced) bottle of water. It's a clever idea to locate the cafe in the old lighthouse's arched basement, and also cunning to funnel all the passing ramblers past the entrance.

I hope the cafe survives (but I can't see them selling much on Tuesdays in February).

diamond geezer | Homepage | 27.09.09 - 11:05 a.m. | #

I started from Eastbourne and walked the other way along the Seven Sisters yesterday. However I went right at Exceat and after a bit of a detour to look at the white horse on the hillside, ended up in Lewes. 26 miles in total.
It was fantastic weather along the coast yesterday.

andrew | 27.09.09 - 4:26 p.m. | #

Fabulous slideshow... thanks for sharing.

Jon | Homepage | 27.09.09 - 4:39 p.m. | #

Wow!! Fabulous weather and stunning pictures. England at its best. Thanks for sharing.

CornishCockney | 27.09.09 - 6:28 p.m. | #

Ever tried the Cornish Coastal Footpath? We managed Lands End to Penzance and then spent the rest of the holiday recovering. Apparently this is wrong and Porthcurno to Penzance in the correct distance for human beings. It didn't help that the rain was horizontal, not the big blocks of granite that you were expected to climb over approaching Lamorna.

Max Roberts | Homepage | 27.09.09 - 8:04 p.m. | #

Make the best of Cuckmere Haven. It, and your favourite meander, will be flooded eventually as part of a managed retreat of sea defences. Unless they change their minds of course. Currently the plan is to stop maintaining the river banks south of the Exceat Bridge and to remove the shingle sea defences at the mouth of the Cuckmere, with the result that the entire estuary below Exceat will become a tidal estuary with shifting muds and reed beds and all the rest. Apparently, this will benefit wildlife and also be much cheaper (I wonder what is the driving force here? birds or cash?).

One of our favourite areas - just a short drive from Graybo Towers.

graybo | Homepage | 27.09.09 - 10:06 p.m. | #

Great shots - great walk - probably the best time of year for it.
Have visited bits of this for many years - will do walk soon.

adam | 27.09.09 - 10:11 p.m. | #

Missed you, damn!

Gladys | 28.09.09 - 12:42 a.m. | #

I was also thinking about your meander. I suppose that, with the managed retreat of sea defences, it is possible that it will cut through. But at the moment I think the formation of an ox bow is impossible. You see, the Cuckmere river flows mainly through the man made channel that runs in a more-or-less straight line from the Exceat Bridge to the sea. There is water flowing into and out of the meanders, but it is tightly controlled by sluice gates so that the level is pretty much constant to facilitate paddling by young people in canoes. Certainly not enough flow to really get the powers of erosion working on the meander neck.

I've also been wondering about the man-made channel. Wikipedia says it was cut to improve irrigation in the area, but I doubt that. I suspect it was made to improve drainage and make grazing on the flood plain possible. I doubt that it would be possible to navigate it and bring boats up to the Golden Galleon, not least because the current is very strong and the "rapids" at the mouth are only peaceful at the turning of the tide.

We consider the Golden Galleon to be fairly horrendous. It is uncomfortably packed on sunny days and service can be poor if you want lunch. There are better pubs further up the Cuckmere valley, although that would entail a fairly long detour if you are walking the cliffs from Seaford to Eastbourne.

graybo | Homepage | 28.09.09 - 9:47 a.m. | #

Great pics! Eastbourne bandstand and the Pier especially...took me right back to my skateboarding, BMXing Saturday mornings, many moons ago...

as | Homepage | 28.09.09 - 10:45 a.m. | #

I get back from the Midlands and find you've been in my neck of the woods! Fantastic, isn't it.

Sarah | Homepage | 28.09.09 - 10:48 p.m. | #

My parents manor so I know that area well - it is beautiful and your photo's do not let the area down. Great pics DG.

ChicagoAddick | Homepage | 29.09.09 - 3:39 a.m. | #

These are lovely photos, DG! It looks another destination has just been added to the ever-growing list for my next trip to the UK.

Josh | 29.09.09 - 11:19 p.m. | #

Thanks DG. I'm Eastbourne born and bred and have lived in E3 for 20 years, so you're ringing my bell, as it were. Try the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe sometime - splendid views of the Seven Sisters, Cuckmere Haven, brings a lump to the throat if you're from Sussex by the sea. Also recommend Poole harbour for breathtaking, glorious views - respect to Sydney but Poole is the northern hemisphere's finest.

Amanda | 30.09.09 - 11:53 a.m. | #











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