Seven Sisters Country Park
Local highlightWhere the Cuckmere winds down to a shingle beach, with the Seven Sisters cliffs rising beyond
The park sits on both banks of the Cuckmere as it loops down to the sea, and those loops are most of the reason people come. The river settled into a set of slow meanders across the valley floor long ago, a view that photographs well from the hill above at High and Over. The South Downs Way runs along that hill on its way into Eastbourne, so walkers get the view without much of a detour.
At the bottom, the river meets the sea at Cuckmere Haven, a shingle beach with the chalk of Seven Sisters rising to the east. It’s a good spot for a paddle or a picnic, but the beach is cut off by the tide as it comes in — check tide times before you rely on walking back along the shore. There are no lifeguards here.
Paths climb from the valley floor onto the downland on both sides, including the walk over to Birling Gap and Seven Sisters. Once up top, treat the edge with caution: it overhangs in places and can collapse unpredictably, so stay a safe distance back, with children and dogs kept close.
The usual starting point is the visitor centre near Exceat Bridge, on the coast road between Seaford and Eastbourne, with parking and a café. Grazing sheep keep the water meadows looking the way they do, and Chyngton Farm and Exceat and Charleston Manor are both close enough to add to the day.
