| Distance: 11.4km (7-8 miles) |
| Toilets: visitor centre at the start, national trust café at Birling Gap |
| Start: Visitor centre, seven sister park |
| End: Visitor centre, seven sister park |
| Highlines: White cliffs |
| Hidden gem: East Dean village |
Overview
Seven sister is one of the most popular walks as a day trip from London. It’s well connected by public transport and it have the view. It’s always a good choice on a sunny day. There’re quite a variation of the routes, you can walk the 13 miles linear from Seaford to Eastbourne (the most popular route), or you can do the Seaford circular without go onto seven sisters (click here for more details on that), Or this one; which you take the bus to the visitor centre at Exceat, then go directly onto the cliffs. This is the shortest walk to complete seven sisters, if you are exhausted after the hills, there’re 3 bail out points on the loop back with buses from Birling gap(Coaster 13X 9th June – 30th June only, at the time of writing), East Dean(13, 12, 12X) or Friston(13, 12, 12X) to get you back to Seaford train station. Please check the bus and train time table before travel.
Places of interests
Seven sister park
The name comes from the 7 peaks (now 8, flagstaff point is the newest addition due to sea erosion) between Exceat and Birling gap. If you do the Seaford to Eastbourne walk, there will be quite a few more ups and downs before and after seven sisters. The valleys are created by summer meltwater carved into the chalk during Ice Age. Fresh landslides keep the chalk stunningly white. So please stay away from the cliff edge, as they can give away any time. (Here’s a BBC news article showing one of the recent cracks)
Birling Gap
This is where national trust café is, with car park and bus stops. You can go down to the beach at Birling gap. But I have to confess I never done that. Walk down steps and have to walk up again?! I climbed enough hills at that point. (Also need to watch the tide times and stay away from cliffs, remember the landslide) It’s just not that appealing to me. What appealed to me was the information board evidence the fast erosion there.
East Dean
A lovely village with flint wall cottages. Tiger Inn is a great pub to chill out. Around the village green, there’s also a deli. The house on the green is the retirement home of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes with a blue plaque to prove.
Westdean
A small hamlet with a long history, a 2009 archaeological evaluation dated some settlement there back to 2700BC. Domesday book recorded house ownership before Norman time. The dovecote at dovecote garden is a building from Medieval era. You can book a archaeology tour for their open weekend on 13/14July2024.
Walking Routes
Get the bus from Seaford library (not Seaford station bus stop) As there’re 13X, 12 and 12X from Seaford library, only 12X from Seaford station. Tap your contactless card for the £2 single bus fare. Get off at Seven sister park stop (this is where the visitor centre and facilities are)
There’re two cafes at the visitor centre: the sit down Salt Marsh and Grab and Go next to the visitor centre shop. If it’s a sunny day, don’t bank on buying food from either, they run out very quickly, but there should be plenty of café, tea or cakes. Grab and go café will happily fill up your water bottles. (photo below is the grab and go and the visitor centre shop, you can see there’s the courtyard with some limited seats)
Pass the café shops, follow the path to the road, cross the road, where you see the return bus stop. Enter the gate on the left hand side, follow the yellow south down path sign uphill.
You could also follow the sign go to the beach, which is a flat route, the two joins up later on, though you will miss the view of the bending river from above
At the top when you cross the first gate (the gate is wide open) follow the yellow arrow turn right to go down hill to join up with the flat path. Ignore the other path which go straight onto the hill opposite
Enjoy more view of the estuary and go through a gate at the end to join up with the flat path
Immediately go through the other gate, southdown path swing uphill again, follow it up to the first sister.
Start the up and down journey 7 times, ignore the path on your left to go inland. Keep at least 5 meters aways from the edge, as the cliff is eroded, could fall anytime.
Eventually come to an enclosed narrow path with dense vegetations, follow it to the end, when you have the choice of turn left or right.
Turn right, if you want to have a rest stop at Birling gap, turn left if you want to go straight to East Dean
Birling gap is a detour (within the 7 miles) it has toilet (expect long queue for ladies), ice cream van and national trust café, also chance to go down to the beach if that’s what you fancy, checking the tide time. There’s a step stair goes down.
After break at Biling gap, go back to the T junction, head straight up to East dean
Passing a orange roof barn on your right, shortly you will see a wooden post with blue paint “East Dean”, follow this diversion into the field, onto the path on the right hand side
After passing an area of wind sculptured wood on your right, it opens up you can see quite a big village on the opposite hill through the open, then you will see another wooden post with faded blue paint. Follow that post to further right, there’s a narrow path go behind the wood, go down hill
Follow that path all the way to the houses. When you see downhill house on your right, you are on the right path. You will see East Dean village green open up in front of you very soon
Enjoy the pub break at Three tigers, it’s a popular pub. Surround village green there’re some lovely houses.
Otherwise, follow the road, straight pass the village green, when the road bend 90 degree right, there’s footpath ahead of you. Take the footpath
Go through the gate onto the green field
Uphill through some bushes, you will see Friston church in front of you
Pass through the church land, with church on your right
You will see a pond, next to a junction, with a junction green in the middle, forest opposite.
Go direct through the junction green head towards to the footpath sign opposite into the wood.
Following the footpath sign to turn right, as you come into the forest. (Ignore the wide path directly behind that sign, which goes straight on)
The path will start to decent and with some stairs.
Follow it pass under a pylon line, through a tall stile into open field
Cross the field, cross the road, onto the next field
Cross the next field, when it meets the tarmac turn left. You will see a red cycling sign with white arrow turn left as well
Up the path, as the tarmac path bend left, follow it. Ignore the footpath at the bend
Follow the path further, until you can see the Friston place house, there’s a foot path sign on your right, pretty much opposite the house entrance. Turn right there
It’s a gentle uphill, soon you will see some open field on your right. Follow this forest track all the way, passing through a logging access road.
Ignore any other paths on your right or left
When you are near west dean there’s another wooden post with faded paint
Follow that down hill, ignore the path bend left
Onto the paved road, then down hill into west village
Ignore the road on your right when you see a low barn, keep going the road will bend right eventually. Follow it till you see a wooden board in front of you, a pond behind. You are at a cross road of footpaths.
On your left, a bit further ahead, you will see a flight of stairs go up hill. The footpath sign says it goes to Estuary. That’s the short but up and down route back to the visitor centre and bus stop. Or you can follow the sign that says ‘visit centre car park’ which is a flat route, but longer (1/2miles)
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