L2L Day 8 Eastbourne to Alfriston - 11 miles

With a sunset like that all things bode well for today.


And so it was.
 


The coastal path Westwards towards Beachy Head forms the Eastern end of the South Downs Way and rises steeply from Eastbourne promenade. 


Very soon, walking along the cliff path, we were way above the tallest buildings back in Eastbourne.


It wasn't possible to see Beachy Head lighthouse as we approached from the East...until we were quite close and looking down from the cliffs.


The lighthouse is automatic but while it was still manned had the reputation of being haunted and of feeling the loneliest posting.

Apparently, Engels author of The Communist Manifesto had left instructions in his will for his body to be cremated and ashes scattered off Beachy Head.

There must be umpteen stories about Beachy Head even including Del Boy's from Only Fools and Horses.

In June 1940, while a few miles off Beachy Head, the SS Barnhill was the first merchant ship to be attacked by enemy aircraft. Four of the crew were killed. The ship with its cargo ablaze limped towards Eastbourne harbour but sank close to the entrance where at low tide what remains of its hull can still be seen.

Nearby, a memorial commemorated those who flew in the RAF Bomber command.


Of the 110 thousand who flew, 55 thousand
 (50%) lost their lives and 11 thousand (10%) were taken as prisoners of war. 

We talked about how sensitively the wording has to be chosen for monuments.

This walk from Dover has struck us how immediate the threat of foreign invasion must have been through the centuries.

Looking back towards Beachy Head.


Belle Tout lighthouse stands out on the skyline.


At Shooters Bottom we were stopped by a young woman who asked us to wait while some filming went ahead. She'd been sworn to secrecy as the details but the filming certainly involved a black car in a 1950s drama.


The filming safely 'in the can' we continued on our way.

Looking from Birling Gap at the Seven sisters.


Looking back across the Seven Sisters. - by now we were feeling that there must have more like seventeen of them!!!!


On seeing the view of Cuckmere estuary it's unavoidable to see how those same views must have inspired  Ravilious and Diebenkorn.

My attempt at the Seven Sisters.......










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