Posts

A Non-Hiker’s Guide to the Seven Sisters Cliffs

/in /by

By Leah Gabriella Cardenas

Just a few days into being in London, many of my classmates brought up the Seven Sisters Cliffs. As more days passed, I began seeing videos on TikTok with tips for hiking the iconic white chalk cliffs. Eventually, my friends and I decided to make the trip.

Despite going to school in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, I’m not much of a hiker. The most I usually do is a long walk on a well-kept path with the occasional slight incline. So when planning this day trip, I made sure to find an easy and short path where we’d still be able to see the cliffs. Now that I’ve been, here is my non-hiker’s guide to visiting the Seven Sisters in East Sussex. 

I took the Thameslink from London Bridge Station all the way to Brighton because my friends and I thought we might as well visit that area too while we were down in East Sussex. However, if you only want to visit Seven Sisters, take the Southern line all the way to Seaford. From either station, you’ll need to take a bus to the Seven Sisters Country Park Visitor Centre. There’s the 12, 12A, and 12X Coaster service.

Once you arrive make sure to use the toilet and get water or snacks before starting your walk. There are three different options for a relatively easy and short walk to different viewpoints of the cliffs.

The first path takes you to the beach right next to the first cliff. From the visitor centre, make your way towards the Cuckmere Inn on Eastbourne Road. Just before the Cuckmere River, turn left at a wooden gate. From there, walk along the river all the way until you reach the beach. Snap your pictures, look for seashells, and take a rest. To get back, go the exact same way you came.

The second way is a little longer and is the one I took. From the visitor centre, walk towards the Cuckmere Inn on Eastbourne Road. Then, cross the Exceat Bridge and turn left into the inn’s car park. Walk through it to the path entrance which is a wooden gate. After a few minutes, there’ll be a diversion in the path at which you can go three different ways. I’d recommend turning left. This path is a little uneven, however, you’ll get to walk along the Cuckmere River until you reach the beach. Once you get to the beach, you can make a right and walk up a slight hill to the Coastguard Cottages. This viewpoint allows you to see the cliffs peaking out from behind them. Then, if you walk to the other side of the cottages, you’ll see all seven cliffs. You can go back the same way you came or make it a loop by taking the path closest to the cottages. Going this way, you might get to see cattle and sheep. Eventually you’ll end up back at that first diversion in the path. It took my friends and I about 30 minutes both ways excluding time to stop and take pictures.

The last option is part of the Country Park Trail. From the visitor centre cross Eastbourne road and head to the left towards the wooden gate by the bus stop. This path will also take you to the beach and bottom of the first cliff, however, it is less direct. You might pass by cattle, sheep, and horses. This is also the way to start the cliff hike from the visitor centre end so it is likely to be more crowded. If you’re feeling a little adventurous, try to hike up the first cliff to get a different view. Then, go the same way you came to get back.

Though the full 8 kilometer hike from the visitor centre to Beachy Head can take up to six hours, there are plenty of easier ways to enjoy the view. An hour walk there and back is much more realistic for many people. Still, come prepared with water, snacks, sunscreen, and a camera. Check out the Seven Sisters official website for additional information.

Retreating from the City: The Seven Sisters Cliffs

/in /by

By: Jake Keller

After a few weeks of getting lost in the bustling metropolis of London, I was ready to take a break from the city. The Seven Sisters offered me an idyllic escape along the southern coast of England. It only took around two hours to get there, and the sights were truly breathtaking.

I departed from Victoria Station around 12:30 p.m. with my travel companion, Simran, and we embarked on a train ride to Eastbourne. It was a charming town with a few shops and restaurants, but I only saw a small part of it as we rushed to catch our bus. There’s an option to take a 13-mile hike beginning at Eastbourne, but we opted for the 7–8 mile route from Birling Gap. The trip to Birling Gap requires a bus from Eastbourne. We accidentally got on a hop-on-hop-off bus, and although it was a little more expensive (£12), the upper deck’s open top offered us fantastic views.

Birling Gap has a visitor center and a café, which offers your last chance to purchase food; however, we had decided to pack our own. It was a little unclear where to go next, but we eventually found a gravel road that led us to the cliffs. A heavy shroud of fog made visibility limited; it felt as if we were in the clouds. I slowly walked toward the edge and peered down at the ocean as waves crashed onto the shore. It was stunning. 

The first half of the hike took us over the Seven Sisters themselves. As the name suggests, there are seven peaks. The trek is a pattern of walking uphill and then treading down a steep decline. The haze was thick, but we could still see the sisters’ faces protruding over the infinite sea below. An hour or so passed before we reached the halfway point: Cuckmere Haven.

The path dipped down and led us toward a rocky beach. The sky was gray, almost like a storm was near, but a few people still swam in the water. We were in a valley between the Seven Sisters and their neighboring cliffs, with a river dividing them. We explored the beach for a moment but decided to make our way forward in pursuit of a picnic spot. As we approached the river, we realized there was no bridge. I checked my map and saw that the nearest bridge was a mile down the Cuckmere River.

At first, I was annoyed by this unexpected detour, my stomach grumbling, but as we ventured into the countryside, my spirits shifted. There were pastures full of cows and sheep, backdropped by the distant cliffs. The rolling green hills seemed never-ending, and the sun began to peek through the clouds. On our way back toward the sea, after crossing the bridge, I stopped to photograph bunnies snacking on the grass.

When we finally made it back to the cliffs, the weather had turned. We continued our hike and looked back at a clear view of the peaks we had traversed. We found a spot above the cottages at Cuckmere Haven and settled in for our picnic. It was perfectly serene, and we had a stunning view of the Seven Sisters. We were in no rush as we tried to take it all in.

Onward we went to the town of Seaford, where our train home was set to depart. The conclusion of the hike was much flatter. I felt euphoric and continued to look back at the gorgeous cliffs now behind us. On the horizon, the sky was painted with shades of tangerine and cerulean, and we walked toward it. Our hike came to an end, and we took the train back to the city. The day was complete, and my heart was full.