How Plan a Splendiferous Day Trip from London to the Seven Sisters Cliffs

Perhaps one of my favorite places in England so far has to be the Seven Sisters Cliffs down in Eastbourne. Naturally, I had to write a little guide for anyone else who wants to visit on a day trip from London. (No card needed!)

During my last visit to London, I wanted to make sure I took advantage of the beautiful weather and get out of the city! You always hear about people planning walks or gentle hikes, and I was dying to get down to the stunning Seven Sisters Cliffs. Their dramatic, chalky appearance has been seen in the background of many, many films — most recently in Wicked as part of Shiz University! Perhaps my favorite, though, is the ending scene to Atonement. (No spoilers here though!!)

Guys, as soon as I got there and started walking, it was like I had an out of body experience. One day I’ll come back to do a whole walking tour of England because I swear to God as soon as I stood at the edge and looked across the English Channel, I instantly understood why Brits have produced someone the most beautifully pensive pieces of work in history.

I literally sat there and was like, “this makes me want to be a better person.” I don’t know — just go for a cliff walk in the UK and let me know if you have the same feeling overtake you. It’s hard to put into words but I was in awe. And I’ve seen a lot of awe-inspiring landscapes, so for me to still get that feeling ten years into travel…. trust me!!

Anyway, enough of me trying to wax poetic. I know what you’re here for — how exactly to visit this place for yourself. Well, here you go:

How to Plan a Day Trip to Seven Sisters Cliffs from London

Further down, I’ll get into more details about Seven Sisters Cliffs but to keep things as straightforward and simple as possible, this is a simple guide based directly off my trip. I’m doing this because when I was planning my trip, I kept getting confused with the different options and then it seemed so long, I thought I’d run out of time and wasn’t going to go at all. So, you’re welcome for avoiding feeling this confusion!

By Yourself/DIY

Know that this is essentially loop route. There are two main towns on either side of Seven Sisters Cliffs, Seaford and Eastbourne. Some people do the full route and will leave and depart from one or the other. You can plan to do this, but depending on the water levels, you may not be able to cross over.

In which case, always start in Seaford in case you can’t cross over easily. Seaford’s side has the better views and the coastguard cottages.

Prepping to Go

I more went for a quick afternoon jaunt and less a full day. If you want to spend your full day in Seaford and Seven Sisters, make sure to pack snacks, plenty of water, and some sort of towel or beach blanket to sit on. I’d also pack a swim suit because there are swimming opportunities and I was sorely tempted to jump in!

Getting to Seaford

The easiest (and frankly fastest) way to get to Seaford is via the train. Really no matter where you’re starting in the city, you’ll have about 1-2 transfers and total time to get down there will be around 2 hours. Your best bet is to get to Clapham Junction or Gatwick and then continue on south, but honestly just plug it into Google Maps and follow what they say.

IMPORTANT: Within London, it’s a simple credit card tap to get on and off the tube. However this changes once you pass Gatwick Airport. Then you’ll need an actual ticket. This is NOT obvious! If you’re like me, you’ll just stay on the train none the wiser because there’s no warning or anything to tell you otherwise.

Buy your Southern Railway ticket here and have it go from Gatwick – Seaford. Otherwise, you may get fined if one of the ticket checkers comes aboard. I was lucky mine was nice and let me buy a roundtrip ticket directly from him.

Once in Seaford

Once you’re in Seaford, just walk straight down to the Esplanade. I swear it’s already gorgeous when you reach the beach area and look across the English Channel. The sand is all pebbles (not as uncomfortable as Nice) but if you plan on coming for the day, this is a good area to hang out before or after your walk.

Follow along the beach and Esplanade. You’ll see the start of the Seven Sisters Cliffs walk as soon as you get to the coast, so if for whatever reason you’re confused – just walk straight in that direction.

Enjoy all the pastel colored beach huts as you go, and if you’re a history buff, the Seaford Museum of Local History look like a fun stop. I got there just after closing time so had to skip.

IMPORTANT: Go to the bathroom here. There are no bathrooms on the cliffs!

The Start of the Cliffs

The view from the beginning is honestly really beautiful and for the briefest of moments, I thought I wouldn’t be walking or hiking at all and instead could just enjoy the dramatic view right from town.

WRONG! It somehow gets even more stunning as you go, and you’re not actually seeing any of the sisters from this vantage point.

Follow signs that say “England Coast Path” towards Cuckmere Haven.

The Walk Itself

I am very into this British idea of going for walks instead of hikes. Like yes, there’s a bit of exertion required and you’ll go uphill for a bit. But the path is gentle and smooth and at no point are you really huffing and puffing to get anywhere.

Just follow up and along the coastline. I know that 4 1/2 miles to Cuckmere Haven looks intimidating but it goes by pretty quickly because every view is just so pretty, you’ll want to stop constantly to take everything in. The path will essentially go up and then down to end in a sort of valley.

If I were to guess – I’d say allot at least 90 minutes to do this whole section.

At some point you’ll reach a viewpoint where you will see the Seven Sisters in question, and it’ll look like above. Isn’t it stunning?! Don’t you want to sit at the edge, take in the chalky cliffs and aquamarine waters and contemplate the meaning of life? No? Just me?!

The Coastguard Cottages & Cuckmere Haven

My main goal was to get to the Coastguard Cottages from the end of Atonement, and they’re right next to Cuckmere Haven, which is a little pebbly beach area. The cottages get their name because the coastguard used to use them to keep an eye on potential smugglers. These days I believe they’re little vacation homes based on their decks and the few cars pulled up at them.

I pretty much roamed around the cottage area, re-watched the ending to see what specific views they filmed in the movie, and then went down to Cuckmere Haven to sit and enjoy the sun and the water. I brought a book with me to read and initially wore a sweatshirt, so I could sit on that and just take it all in.

Turning Around

One thing you’ll notice at Cuckmere Haven is the stretch of water separating one side from the next. As far as I could tell, there was no bridge or anything that made it easier to cross.

IF you wanted to do the full Seven Sisters Cliffs walk to Eastbourne, you’d have to find a way to cross this river. I didn’t want to and at least when I was there it looked both deep and kind of rough, so I opted to turn back around and retrace my steps. I read sometimes the channel is extremely low and easy to cross though!

Back in Seaford

As I walked back along the beach, I stopped off to get ice cream from Holy Cow’s colorful beach shack and then walked into town to wander around. Like most small British towns, it’s quite cute! Unfortunately, I was there later in the day so literally everything was closed. I wound up getting Vietnamese at Amies Kitchen and then headed back to London as it got dark out.

With a Tour

If you’re rather take a tour, I find the ones with Get Your Guide are the best for the UK! Here are some they offer from London:

• Brighton & Seven Sisters Small-Group Tour – A good one if you want to see Brighton as well as the cliffs! Book Here
• Sussex Villages and White Cliff Guided Tour – This leaves from London Bridge and stops in Rottingdean, Alfiston, and Litlington as well as Seven Sisters. Book Here

But like I said – it’s ridiculously easy to just visit on your own.

All the Info on Seven Sisters You Can Use to Impress Your Friends

Okay, now here are some history and fun facts I’ve looked up. Feel free to reference so you can impress your friends as you guys walk your way up the cliffs.

The Seven Sisters in Question

As you might guess, the name comes from the fact that there are seven cliffs:

• Haven Brow
• Short Brow
• Rough Brow
• Brass Point
• Flat Hill
• Baily’s Hill
• Went Hill

According to this Quora entry, the legend goes that seven sisters each had a house between each of these hills but I haven’t been able to find anything else about this.

The cliffs themselves go back 65-100 million years and would’ve been formed in the sea. The “chalk” itself is made from millions-year-old sea creature fossils. The area is known as Seven Sisters Country Park and is part of the larger South Downs National Park.

Fun fact – Rudyard Kipling was among the environmentalists who fought against property developers in the 1920s (Source)! This is part of the reason why the cliffs remain relatively undeveloped and protected.

Where Else You’ve Seen Seven Sisters

Besides Atonement and Wicked, here are some other movies it’s made appearances in:

• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
• Mr. Holmes
• Hope Gap
• Summerland
• Anatomy of a Scandal
• 3 Body Problem

The White Cliffs of Dover also have a similar vibe!

I think that’s about it for the Seven Sisters Cliffs down in Sussex, England! If I discover more to add, I’ll update this post for you. In the mean time, go on nice, sunny day and just enjoy this beautiful place.

For more UK travel:

• An Easy London Itinerary for 7 Days
• Lovely Bookstores in London You MUST Visit
• How to Spend 3 Days in Edinburgh: An Itinerary

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