1. Ross modeling a tube of Colman’s English mustard. We’re making picnic sandwiches on the train out from London Victoria.

2. Beers at the Golden Galleon pub in Exceat. Because some of us were coming from London and others from Brighton, we arranged to meet in the pub. (Starting a walk with a pint is generally not a good idea.)

3. Setting off. This is Yoshi and Yuka on Exceat Hill. The meandering Cuckmere River is in the background.

4. Just over the hill from Exceat is the tiny village of Westdean. We stopped to visit All Saints church here. Detail from the nativity scene on display.

5. Many of the buildings in this part of Sussex feature decorative flint. This is the exterior wall of the rectory at All Saints, Westdean.

6. Yuka climbing one of the stiles near Friston Place. Muddy! Photo by Yoshi Oshima.

7. Posing for a group shot, on the lane near Friston Place. Clockwise from bottom left: Yuka, Anne, Simon, and Martin.

8. Descending the hill into East Dean village.

9. Outside the Tiger Inn, East Dean, on a damp and chilly afternoon. We ate inside where it was warm. Photo by Yoshi Oshima.

10. Yoshi ordering drinks at the bar. Photo by Yuka Oshima.

11. Tomato soup for lunch in the restaurant upstairs.

12. A steep climb after lunch brings us out to the cliffs. This is the view towards Belle Tout lighthouse from East Dean. Because of cliff erosion, the lighthouse was moved several yards back from the cliff edge in 1999, at great expense.

13. A rare Manx Loaghtan sheep in a meadow outside East Dean. Photo by Yoshi Oshima.

14. Yoshi on the path near Crowlink. Photo by Yuka Oshima.

15. Stone wall on the lane down to Crowlink – Seven Sisters cliffs dead ahead.

16. Cows on the clifftops of the Seven Sisters.

It got dark after this. Gave me the idea of doing night walks on this route, at least when the skies are clear. I bet the stars look fabulous from here.

Thanks to everyone who came along on the first walk of 2008. If you’d like to try this route yourself, check the walk profile page.

DW

Joe and I were both pretty hung over from a late night out on Friday, so our first stop on arriving in Seaford was this pastry shop, to grab some breakfast. Very friendly proprietor!

Me lying on the beach at Seaford. The bandaged left arm is because I crashed my bike into a wall in West London while coming home from a gig the night before (I Blame Coco!), dislocating my knee and gouging both arms in the process. So we started the walk gently, with a picnic on the warm pebble beach. Photo by Joe Spikes.

Joe enjoying his “Full English Breakfast” pasty. True to its name, it contained sausages, bacon, baked beans and a fried egg. That cliff in the distance is Seaford Head, where we’re going.

But first we have to walk along the promenade that runs the length of the sea front at Seaford. Check out the funky car.

More pics of the promenade. This is a Martello tower, one of a series of small forts built around England’s southern and eastern coasts in the 19th Century to defend against attacks by sea.

Baywatch, Seaford stylee.

A girl on the beach.

Now we’ve reached the beginning of the chalk cliffs on the eastern end of the promenade at Seaford. Thousands of people have carved their names and initials into the soft chalk of the cliffs here.

And this is the view if you take a step back. Looking east towards Seaford Head.

Climbing the cliff path outside Seaford.

Joe on the cliff path.

Mushroom sighting! We found this tiny puffball on the clifftop path near Hope Gap.

You get a good view of the Seven Sisters cliffs from the beach at Hope Gap. Note the sign warning of rockfalls – that chalk is crumbly!

If you saw this sign for the first time, what would you think it meant?

This is what it’s actually referring to. Heavy equipment being used to shore up the beach at Cuckmere Haven.

A kayak training session on the River Cuckmere at Exceat.

Somebody told me this was Virginia creeper but having looked up its distribution (North America, mostly), I’m not so sure. If you know, tell me! Taken at Exceat Farmhouse.

Inside All Saints chapel in the tiny village of West Dean. I’ve been reliably informed that the embroidery on the green altar frontal is a Trinity Star. It was donated to the church by two parishioners and made its first appearance in 1936. Thank you Jennifer!

Dew on a plant in Friston Forest. I think this is Stachys byzantina, commonly known as Lamb’s Ear or Lamb’s Tongue. But if anyone begs to differ, please do so. Thank you for the ID, Sue!

I also need help identifying this spider.

Friston Church as seen through the swing gate. The footpath cuts through the churchyard here.

Joe again. This is the view down the path to East Dean village. The light is starting to get really good now.

A Camellia on the wall outside the Tiger Inn pub in East Dean village.

After a pit-stop at the Tiger Inn, we headed back west to the sea. This is the road that leads down to the cliffs near Crowlink. Cows ahead in the distance.

The low sun made for perfect silhouettes. Here’s one closer up. It’s a Hereford, a beef cow.

Closer still. Happily grazing away and not taking any notice of me.

Some flowering fuchsias on the path, backlit by the setting sun.

We’re past the little farming settlement of Crowlink now – approaching the Seven Sisters.

Cliff edge. Joe watching the sun go down over the English Channel.

The white chalk of the cliffs looks a very warm red in this evening light.

A couple watching the sunset from the cliffs at Rough Bottom. Time to head back to Seaford and catch the train home to London.

We met some girls on the train back. They were all heading out for a friend’s 18th birthday party in Brighton, and were determined to have a good time. I gave them some chocolate biscuits left over from our picnic.

I think they liked the biscuits. Happy Birthday Ria!

If you’d like to join me next time I do this route, check here for details on dates.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you’d like.

– DW

Sunday was a day of many ups and downs. Kenny, Keitlin, Christopher, Adam, and I travelled out to the Seven Sisters Cliffs, where the rolling hills of the South Downs meet the English Channel. These chalk cliffs are so named because they form a linear series of seven distinct promontories. Our route was short but steep, as we had to keep dipping down into the valleys (or bottoms, as they are known locally) that cut between the cliff summits (brows). For relief and refreshments we visited two pubs along the way – the Tiger Inn in East Dean and the Golden Galleon in Exceat.

As you’ll see, the scenery was quite spectacular!

Brighton station on Sunday morning. We changed trains here for Seaford, where our walk begins.

Keitlin, Kenny, and Christopher, just off the train in Seaford town.

Our first stop was the church of St Mary the Virgin, Friston. It stands on a hill above East Dean village and is built on a Saxon foundation. The remains of an 11th-century window can still be found in the south wall.

This is the view inside. That’s Christopher’s hat balanced on a pew in the foreground, to give you some idea of scale (it’s quite a small church).

These brasses on the south wall of the church commemorate the Selwyn family who lived at nearby Friston Place during the 17th Century.

Keitlin, Kenny, and Christopher on the downhill path into East Dean village. Keitlin has just discovered the joys of stinging nettles for the first time by treading right in a big bunch of them. First aid kit not required this time …

Had lunch on a picnic bench outside the Tiger Inn pub on the village green in East Dean. This was Keitlin’s main course – a mountain of potatoes and tuna fishcakes.

Adam at the Tiger Inn, with a drinks tray that almost, but not quite, matches his surname.

Christopher and his beloved hat. We’re still at the pub. You can see a bit of the East Dean village green in the background.

After lunch we played a game of fetch with these friendly dogs. L to R: Keitlin, Adam, border collie, lab.

The poor black lab in the background always lost out to the wily border collie in the race to catch the toy.

Christopher climbing the steep hill that leads out of East Dean village. White cliffs ahead!

First views of the cliffs. Christopher and Adam at Rough Bottom on the Seven Sisters coast path.

Adam and Kenny checking out the sea views from the chalk cliffs at Gap Bottom. Christopher’s hat blew off here and he very nearly lost it over the edge.

Big sky country. This is Christopher taking a picture at Limekiln Bottom. Two more hills to go before our descent to the estuary at Cuckmere Haven.

Christopher and Keitlin taking photos at Short Brow on the Seven Sisters cliffs. You really had to brace yourself against the strong breeze here in order to get a steady picture.

On the shingle beach at Cuckmere Haven, where the Cuckmere River empties into the English Channel. Close-up of sea kale (Crambe maritima) with the chalk outcrop of Haven Brow in the background.

On the shingle beach at Cuckmere Haven. Unsurprisingly given the weather, we weren’t the only ones here.

Keitlin and Kenny trying to skip stones on the sea at Cuckmere Haven, but the rocks just aren’t the right shape. Photo by Christopher Booth.

Adam was the only one brave enough to go in the sea. Apparently, it was “very refreshing”. In other words, damn cold!

That’s THE END of this walk. Now you can try it yourself. This page has all the details you’ll need.

If you liked these photos, please leave a comment. Kenny, Keitlin, Christopher, and Adam – thanks for coming and hope to see you again sometime!

– DW

Christopher and Keitlin filming the Seven Sisters cliffs, near Cuckmere Haven in Sussex, on the south coast of England. It was a windy day!

– DW

This is a short clip from our White Cliffs Walk of last Sunday. We stopped for a picnic lunch on Exceat Hill, which is a very steep, grassy hill near the Seven Sisters cliffs. After lunch, Rupert and Mattie tried to do a two-person roll down the hill, while hanging onto each other’s ankles.

23 June UPDATE: Welcome to readers coming in from external sites. If you like the video, please do leave a comment.

After the movie, take a moment to check out the rest of this site – just browse some of the “Recent entries” on the right to see pics from our latest adventures. Thanks! — DW

PS To see more pics taken on this day out, go to this post.

I’m going to put a montage of the day’s photos first. Scroll down to see the bigger images (22 in all).

These were some of the day’s better pictures!

Beach huts at Seaford. Four in our group today. I’m behind the camera, and from left to right, that’s Rupert, Matilda, and Aleks.

A sign we saw on the waterfront at Seaford. I would guess the median age of residents here is over 60 – this is a big-time retirement community, and it’s easy to see why.

Bye-bye Seaford. Here we are setting off on the coast path up past Hawks Brow, with beach and town in the background.

Aleks poses for a photo in front of Seaford Head. Basically, if you turn around from where the above picture was taken, this is the view you get.

Matilda and Rupert, and the English Channel. Too close to the edge for me!

Cattle resting by the coast path at Seaford Head. They’re lying down, so where’s the rain?

One of them liked having its head scratched.

What kind of caterpillar is this? Found it – ie. nearly stepped on it – on the path near Seaford Head.

This is called Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare). On coast path near Seaford Head.

Rupert spotting ships from the clifftop at Seaford Head. The cliff edge erosion is the work of rabbits, who live here in their hundreds.

Sorry, tilty shot. This is our first distant view of the clifftops of the Seven Sisters (count the number of headlands, should be 7).

Two pigeons perched on the cliff edge at Hope Bottom. Some of the Seven Sisters cliffs are visible in the background.

Aleks admires the view from the cliffs at Hope Bottom.

Here’s a nice shot Rupert took, of some walkers following the path down to Cuckmere Haven. Seven Sisters in the background again. Photo by Rupert Allan.

What plant are these serrated leaves from? We saw plenty of them alongside the path near Cuckmere Haven, where the Cuckmere River flows into the English Channel.

Ewe and lamb, Cuckmere Haven. Photo by Rupert Allan.

Aleks takes a pew inside the church at All Saints, Westdean, while Mattie reads an inscription on the wall.

This didn’t quite work. I was trying to show off the amazing sandwich Aleks had just made me. Sandwich in foreground, Cuckmere Haven in background, us picnicking in between!

Aleks and me lying on the clifftops of the Seven Sisters at Gap Bottom. Photo by Rupert Allan.

Rupert instructing Mattie on the finer points of how to do a coupled roll down a hill. This they tried right after our huge picnic lunch. It’s a wonder no-one was ill. Pic 1 of 3.

Hill-rolling, pic 2 of 3. Mattie on top this time.

It all ended in tears of course. Do not try this dangerous sport at home!

PS I’ve since posted a short film of this roll.

You can do this walk too! See the walk description here.

Pigeons sheltering from the wind on the cliffs between Seaford and Cuckmere Haven.

Route: Exceat – Westdean – Friston Forest – East Dean (Tiger Inn) – Crowlink – Seven Sisters – Cuckmere Haven – Exceat [walk profile]

The flintstone facing on this cottage in Westdean village is characteristic of this region of Southeast England.

All Saints chapel in Westdean, completely deserted on a wet Monday afternoon.

Inside All Saints chapel. What is the proper name of the cloth hanging behind the carved wooden eagle lectern?

A field of buttercups on the path down into the village of East Dean. The Tiger Inn is just ahead behind the trees in the distance.

Lunch – mushroom soup at the Tiger Inn in East Dean village.

Please help me identify this breed of sheep. Its horns were quite spectacular.

A slug on a step in the path, in East Dean village. There are many varieties in England, but I think this one is a black slug, Arion ater. Quick lesson in slug anatomy: the two pronounced eye-stalks on the right are known as optical tentacles and the two smaller ones below this are its sensory tentacles. The reddish bit around the base of the slug is the foot fringe, and the hole just behind its head is called a pneumostome, which is used for respiration.

The Seven Sisters cliffs. Photo taken a short distance to the east along the coast from the estuary at Cuckmere Haven.

This walk is much more photogenic than these few photos suggest. I am looking forward to going back on a slightly brighter day.

Find out how you can do this walk too! Click here for more info.