Beachy Head

Looking back to Eastbourne	The steep bit up to Beachy head	Beachy head lighthouse
Looking west towards Belle Tout from Beachy Head	Birling Gap	For the South Downs Way - follow the acorn.
The Seven Sisters	Cuckmere haven	Meanders in the river Cuckmere

By road the journey to Eastbourne from Crawley takes about 1 ½ hours. Go through Ashdown Forest to Wych Cross. Turn right onto the A22. Keep going for about 10 miles or so until you go past the Harley Davidson shop at Golden Cross. Go past the turning on the left for Gun Hill and take the next right turn into Camberlot Lane. Turn right at the end of that road at the school. Go straight on past Arlington Reservoir (or stop in and look for Ospreys) go straight over the mini roundabout and then head straight on for Alfriston. Just before you get to Alfriston take the left turn (easily missed) that points to Litlington. Cross the river and bear right and turn right at the next T junction (Tea rooms up on left). Take this scenic road all the way to Exceat. Turn left at the T junction onto the A259 (a bus stop is on this corner) and when you come down the steep hill into East Dean, take the right turn to the Seven Sisters Sheep Centre. Follow the most scenic road in Sussex through Birling Gap and over Beachy Head (not literally you fool!) and take the next right at the T junction down towards Eastbourne. Remember to take the next right (fork) to end up at the western end of the seafront and the start of the South Downs Way.
You can also get the train which costs about £13 from Crawley to Eastbourne. The walk directly from the station through the town to the start of the SDW is about a mile, but in the summer you can get a tourist bus from the station which will take you to the start. Alternatively you can get the number 13 bus, which will take you straight to Beachy head although we highly recommend walking up.
The Ordnance Survey Landranger map that covers the walk is number 199.

At the start of the SDW, at the far western end of the seafront, there is an ice cream and tea shop. Ignore it and just get started. Instead of going straight up the hill on the well trodden South Downs Way in front of you, take the path immediately left to head for Cow Gap. This route follows the cliffs the whole way and meets up with the SDW again, so you can't get lost.
Feel free to be totally gobsmacked by the flaunnae (made up word) living and growing on the downs, take in the views of Eastbourne and do the REALLY steep last bit up to Beachy Head (to teach yourself a ruddy good lesson, you lazy swine!). This will be the hardest bit of the whole walk, so congratulate yourself when you get to the top. Feel free to insult the lazy tourists who have driven up there and eaten chips!
Wash your sweaty little head at the toilets at Beachy Head and refill your water bottles. Do not drink beer: you've got lots of work to do yet. Keep walking along the cliffs: smiling, sweating etc and keep looking out for peregrines, but DO NOT walk over the cliffs or get too near the crumbly edge. Make sure you get views of the lighthouse at the base of the cliffs.
At Birling Gap have some tea, eat, refill your water bottle (there is a drinking water tap outside the toilets) and empty your bladder. After Birling Gap there are 8 small hills to climb (The Seven Sisters) and they are brilliant! Don’t be scared: by the end you will be wanting more, trust me.
The path continues up a gravelly drive behind the toilet block, follow it up to a little fenced-in group of trees but make sure you don't miss the left turn (signposted SDW) through the squeaky gate and back up along the cliffs. Check your compass here, you want to be continuing west not north.
Now you are on the famous Seven Sisters and they are spectacular. Yes, they are steep but they are reasonably small. Take your time and enjoy them. We find it is very hard to remember what number hill we are on. See how you get on.
On sighting the spectacular Cuckmere river with its famous meanders, you have several choices.

1. Follow the SDW for only a few yards before taking the stile downhill into the "Access Land". Follow the path downwards past the WWII pillbox and through the gate. Turn left, back towards the sea, go through the gate and take the path right through the shingle. This path goes between the meanders and the canalised section of the river and ends up at the Golden Galleon pub (check your map for full details). Alongside are all sorts of waterways and channels, so look for wading birds, little egrets and kingfishers.

2. Continue on the SDW to Exceat and the visitors centre with great views of the meanders. Make sure that when you reach the concrete path, you take the SDW diagonally NE across the field up onto Exceat Hill. From up here you will get great views of the river.

3. On reaching it, continue on the concrete path to the visitors centre.

The walk takes at most 6 hours if you: stop at Cow Gap beach for a while, identify as many of the birds and plants as you can, stop regularly to admire the stunning views, kiss girlfriend/wife/other half at all of the kissing gates, stop to eat, drink, rest etc and basically take a relaxed amble.
There is a bus stop just by the Golden Galleon (on the opposite side of the road to the pub) and there are plenty of buses back to Eastbourne. There is a bus back that leaves just before 6pm on Saturdays. There is another bus stop by the visitors centre at Exceat (5 minutes walk from the pub). The bus back to Eastbourne costs about £2 and takes 15 minutes. It stops just outside Eastbourne railway station and also at the pier (check with the driver). If you need a local taxi, the number is 01323 720720 or their rank is at the train station.

Don’t take too much food. Have some chocolate for emergency energy and lots of fruit (fresh or dried or both. Dates are very good and so are nuts). Bread, cakes, crisps etc are a bit too filling for the terrain and you end up getting dozy trying to digest it as you walk. You will find that you eat far less than you would imagine. The important thing is water, so fill up whenever possible.
There is food & drink to be had at Beachy Head, Birling Gap and Exceat visitor centre (closes at 5.30pm) as well as the pub at the end of the walk.

If you need any more information then just ask. The walk is always fantastic but if you go in the late spring or summer then all of the downland flowers will be in bloom and it's even better.

Make sure you always stick rigidly to the countryside code, stick to the paths (to avoid disturbing breeding birds and animals), don't start any sort of fire, including disposable BBQs, and don't leave ANY litter. Parts of the downland along the walk are maintained by grazing animals, so always shut gates after you and keep your dog on the lead. There is a £1000 fine for not clearing up after your dog and make no mistake, farmers in Sussex will shoot dogs if they see them sheep worrying.

Accommodation
If you've done enough walking for the day by the end of this walk, then there is a small campsite nestled in the downs adjacent to Cuckmere Haven at Foxhole Farm (01323 870280). You need to book in advance and they only accept about twenty tents at a time, but the location is superb. If you want to go on a bit further before stopping for the night, then there is a Youth Hostel 3.3 miles further along the SDW at Frog Firle, which is to be found by crossing the river just before Litlington. You can also camp in their garden.
If you're looking for something really special and are prepared to pay for the privilege, then you can now stay at Belle Tout Lightouse.

This first map shows the route from the ice cream kiosk to Birling gap (Red). The other choice of route is in green and goes straight uphill from the kiosk.

This map shows the continuation of the route from Birling gap to Exceat. It's impossible to get lost!