Weather hasn’t been great in England for a week or so but luckily it cleared up for our big day last week. You may remember that we are currently housesitting down in Hove for the summer but we also agreed to cover another sit for a few days up in East Grinstead.
How is that going to work I hear you ask. Well exactly the same as last summer when Jo headed off for the week to look after that sit whilst I remained in Hove. Simple. So Thursday was the big day and we decided on a day out down on the coast before Jo left for her week.
Seaford Head
Just a few miles from Brighton and Hove to the east is the lovely little town of Seaford which is right next to the famous Seven Sisters. So a short hop to South Hill Barn in the Seaford Head Nature Reserve and we were off in the sunshine to explore.
Down South Hill towards the famous Coastguard Cottages for a bit of a picnic first. Those cottages have featured in so many big films and TV series you know, they don’t look much at the moment but the views and the atmosphere have a certain something. Seen any of these?
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Atonement
- Luther
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
- Foyle’s War
- Green Wing
and of course the most famous of all …… Worzel Gummidge!
Amazing huh? Apologies in advance for virtually every photo showing the cliffs of the Seven Sisters but no excuses as they are absolutely stunning, especially in the glorious sunshine.
The Seven Sisters
At the bottom of South Hill past the cottages and the Cable Hut we hit the beach and Cuckmere Haven. It was fairly busy with families and couples enjoying the weather but the beach is completely split by the Cuckmere River so there is no way of walking over to the Seven Sisters Country Park at all unfortunately. The white cliffs dominate though as they look spectacular.
They are called the Seven Sisters due to the seven chalk cliffs rising out of the English Channel and mark the beginning of the South Downs National Park. From west to east the peaks are called;
- Haven Brow
- Short Brow
- Rough Brow
- Brass Point
- Flat Hill
- Baily’s Hill
- Went Hill Brow
Apparently there is an eighth peak slowly being created by gradual erosion of the sea. Flagstaff Point can be seen between Brass Point and Flat Hill but I have to say that we spent ages trying to figure out which one was which and just got more confused the more we looked.
Hope Gap
From the beach we headed west along the coastal path around Seaford Head, past the golf course inland and down to Hope Gap. A tiny beach at the bottom of what looked very dodgy wooden stairs covered in beautiful little rockpools. Wonderful views from here too.
Bizarrely we had watched a film on Netflix only a couple of days previous starring Bill Nighy and Annette Bening set in Seaford called ‘Hope Gap‘. What were the chances? A gentle English drama about an older couple set in a quintessentially quaint English seaside town, lovely film.
On to Seaford
The cliff path along from Hope Gap towards Seaford passes through some wonderfully named locations like Cliff Bottom and Pope Rear Green (sound like a tragically unsuccessful folk rock duo don’t they?). Then past Buckle Church and Yellow Falls onto Seaford Head with it’s views down onto the town.
With the sun streaming down we headed back to the South Hill Barn car park before parking on the esplanade and wandering around Seaford for an hour or so. Lovely place but we were disappointed not to see Bill Nighy anywhere!
Separate Ways Yet Again
Soon it was time to head back to Hove where Jo dropped me off before driving an hour north to East Grinstead to look after the lovely Maisie and her house for a week (Maisie in ‘Wet’ Sussex and The 9 Hour Housesit ). It’s a lovely place to be and a really comfortable house but we weren’t looking forward to being apart again. Not too long this time I suppose.
12/08/2021
JWalking 
what a great place for an outing..Love to go there sometime.
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It was a lovely day out especially as the sun turned up to brighten our day.
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Those white cliffs are really something, the British coastline is spectacular. Also love the Martello tower, they are fascinating. There’s a property show- I think with George Clark- where someone converts one to live in. Definitely makes for a unique address.
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I think a few of the Martello towers are now private residences. How cool must that be? How expensive too!
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Would love to take a walk along that stretch if coast sometime and admire those chalk cliffs. A lovely informative read!
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It’s such a beautiful area and so unspoilt. No modern development anywhere which is amazing. A fabulous place to visit.
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Definitely stunning scenery, those white cliffs are gorgeous. I’ll look out for that movie too, it sounds worth watching.
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Scenery is outstanding and the whole area so unspoilt and natural. Film was really good, guess it may turn up down under eventually.
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You had a great day for this walk and how lovely is the scenery. I looked up the movie but it’s not available on our Netflix. I’ll keep checking.
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It was a lovely day out and the film is like an advert for the area. We’ll worth watching but I know Netflix has different content in different countries.
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What a fabulous day you had! Hope the time flies for you this week 🤗💕
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Great day out thanks Jo and doing okay so far this week. Not nice being apart again but it’s not too long, I should make it!
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🤗💕
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Looks like you had a lovely day. Only a week and you’ll be back together again 🙂
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Brilliant day, such a beautiful part of the coast. A week’s not long at all but I am a bit hopeless without Jo.
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Stunning scenery, you could never have too many photos of those cliffs. Now where did I put that Foyle’s War boxed set?
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Some places just need to be photographed don’t they? Get the Foyle back on!
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Absolutely gorgeous! A great day out (except for the parting at the end).
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It was a brilliant day out, such wonderful scenery. The parting was sad but not for too long.
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One of the people I wrote my MA thesis about was an MP for Seaford (in the 18th century), so I get intrigued every time I hear it mentioned. I’ve been near it, but never actually stopped, so it’s great to finally know what’s there!
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It’s a lovely little town, the sort of place we could see ourselves living but looks a bit expensive. We’ll worth a visit especially as it’s so close to such lovely parks.
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Beautiful and still unspoilt
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Exactly that’s why we lived it so much.
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Man up! You should be celebrating that Jo is confident enough to leave you on your own again! Stay safe!!
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Tough times again but survived (just).
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Enjoyed this Jon. Another trip back for me. Spent many a time over the years, visiting Seaford and the Downs. Great pictures. What a difference it makes when the sun is shining!
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It’s a lovely part of the world isn’t it? Beautiful scenery and a lovely quiet town. Wouldn’t mind moving there but it’s a little expensive.
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