Seven Sisters

By Ben Perkins

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Majestic: Wrap up warm and spend a winter's day exploring the superb coastal downland between Seaford and Eastbourne, including the Seven Sisters

This substantial and fairly strenuous walk is designed to sample all the main features of the superb coastal downland between Seaford and Eastbourne.

Starting out from Exceat, the walk heads for the sea and a switch-back traverse over five of the Seven Sisters before turning inland across high, open downland.

After picking a route through the broad-leaved woodland of Friston Forest to Litlington and a well-placed pub, an easy stroll downstream beside the Cuckmere River brings you back to the start.

1. From the back of the bus stop lay-by on the A259 opposite the Seven Sisters Country Park Visitors Centre at Exceat, go through a gate and follow the signed South Downs Way on to the shoulder of Exceat Hill, soon in a shallow grassy hollow. Where the path divides, keep right across the right shoulder of the hill.

Away to the left of the path, on the top of the hill, a stone marks the former site of Exceat Church, which originated in the 11th Century but fell into disuse due to a combination of the Black Death and frequent raids by the French.

Go through a swing gate in a crossing fence and bear half-right back down into the Cuckmere Valley. The path is vague but a waypost marks the official route. From the bottom of the hill, go ahead with the South Downs Way along a chalk-and-flint track. After 50 yards, fork left.

Go through a gate, up steps and, ignoring a stile on your right, follow a right-hand fence steadily to the top of the first of the Seven Sisters.

Bear left to follow the up-and-down, never far from the cliff edge, over three more of the Sisters before entering the National Trust area of Crowlink.

One more up brings you to a memorial sarsen stone on the fifth of the Sisters, commemorating the purchase of the land for the public benefit back in the Twenties.

At the stone, turn left to head squarely away from the sea. Go through a gate in a crossing fence and continue straight on across high pasture downland, passing close by a small group of stunted wind-blown trees to reach a car park.

2. Follow the rough access drive from the car park out to the A259, passing Friston Church on you right and the village pond on your left. Cross the main road and the triangle of grass opposite to enter woodland past a waypost.

Inside the wood, fork right, signed as a public footpath to Snap Hill. The path descends through the wood to a stile and on down across the middle of a meadow. Cross a drive, climb the steps opposite and continue downhill across another field. Cross a second drive and turn left along a path, parallel and to the right of the drive at first, then up through the wood.

3. From the top of the wood, maintain direction up across grass to enter the main bulk of Friston Forest. Now go ahead, ignoring all side and crossing paths, keeping with the main path as it passes through a dip and climbs on to Snap Hill.

Soon after topping the rise, turn left along a wide crossing track, signposted to West Dean. Where the track divides, fork right. Leave the wood through a gate and go ahead across a grassy area. Just short of a gateway where the main path ahead re-enters the wood, turn right along a wide, grassy strip which follows the wood edge, soon bearing left to drop obliquely down into Charleston Bottom. Where forward progress is blocked by a fence, go right for 30 yards beside the fence, then left through a gate and ahead on a wide, grass path along the valley floor.

4. From the point where the South Down Way rejoins down steps from the left, continue along the valley path until, after another 150 yards or so, you can turn right over a stile and, climbing at first, follow the left edge of two fields up and along a low ridge.

From this path you get a good view to the left across the Cuckmere Valley to the heights of High and Over and the chalk figure of a horse cut into the hillside – not an ancient hill figure but a relatively recent artefact.

Keep to the right of a third field, soon beginning to descend. Beyond a swing gate, there is a good view ahead to the church spires of Litlington and Alfriston. Drop down across a final meadow to join a drive and turn left out to a lane. Turn right to reach the Plough and Harrow pub at Litlington.

5. A few yards past the pub, turn left along a twitten which takes you down between houses, bearing left to reach a bridge over the Cuckmere River.

Don’t cross the bridge. Instead, follow a path downstream along the left bank of the river. It may be overgrown for the first 100 yards but then runs along the top of the more open, raised, grassy river bank.

Follow the river for two miles to reach the A259 at Exceat Bridge. The Golden Galleon pub is over the bridge to the right but to complete the walk, cross the road and turn left along the raised path on the right side of the main road back to the start.