Beachy Head's appeal has nothing to do with a beach – and strangely neither does the name, which comes from the French "Beaucheif", a version of "beautiful headland". The French were right: this gorgeous spot on the East Sussex coast has Britain's highest and most spectacular chalk cliffs - so move over Dover. The cliff here appears perfectly white and perfectly perpendicular to the sea, 150m below. On top of the cliffs the greenery has to keep its head down out of the way of the wind – so it's largely low, course bushes and healthy looking grass, grazed by hardy sheep who lack the imagination to look over the edge. The only way to see Beachy Head properly is on foot or on a bike – you can drive through but you can't get close enough to the edge to really appreciate the view.
There are
numerous choices when it comes to walking routes on formally marked trails, but of course you can go off on your own as well – just as long as you watch the drop... The classic walk: called the 'Beachy Head Walk' takes about an hour and a half and begins from the car park behind the East Dean Village Hall on Gilbert Drive. You can start at Birling Gap if that's more convenient, but this car park is right next to the house of a gentleman smuggler from the 1750s, which has a pretty interesting – and slightly blood thirsty story to it.
East Dean Village, which the trail leads you though, has more smuggler history to it – the
Tiger Inn, which you'll pass, was a notorious hang out for these 'sorts'. Beyond the village on Went Way you get to the first of the hills called the Seven Sisters, Went Hill, from the top of which you get your first view of the sea and of Belle Tout, the old lighthouse, which you can
stay overnight in. From here you take the path heading towards the sea, there are a couple of stiles and fields to cross, to Birling Gap. Walk past the old coastguard cottages to the lookout at the top of the cliff from where you can see all Seven Sisters.
Walking down the incline towards Belle Tout you're privy to even more spectacular views, before the trail turns inland again and joins an old Roman path past a stone wall built by Napoleonic prisoners of war in 1793 – scenic and historic. The path leads towards Birling Manor and the main road, which the Beachyhead Farm and
Sheep Centre is just off – as well as having the UK's largest collection of rare breed sheep, the Sheep Centre also serves a decent cup of coffee, but the tea is better. From here you can walk back to your car or catch the bus to Eastbourne or Brighton. Before that you might want to drop on for a meal at the Beachy Head Pub.
The elephant-in-the-room of this review is that one of the things Beachy Head is most famous for are the suicides – it's been a notorious spot for people who've wanted to take their own life since the 1600s, with an average of about 20 a year heading off the 162m cliff. One of the reasons this is worth mentioning is that in an attempt to help people a Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team has been set up who conduct regular patrols of the area. So now you'll know why the are so many serious looking patrollers and so many signs with the telephone number of The Samaritans on them. The pleasant news is that the numbers of jumpers has been steadily decreasing over the past decade. But if you're going to go you may as well go out with a view.
