King Charles Coast Path - Eastbourne to Newhaven (★★★★★)

Today we are doing the stretch of south coast that I came down here to do - with this being the third of three days spent along the coast - and having walked from Hastings to Eastbourne on the previous day.

What makes today special is that we will meet up with the chalk cliffs off the South Downs - and for the stretch from Eastbourne to Cuckmere Haven we will be doubling up on both the King Charles Coast Path and the South Downs Way.

To start with, I have to get the bus back from the peasant's Premier Inn on the outskirts of Eastbourne back into the centre - and then head down to the seafront to complete the walk out of Eastbourne.

And here, this walk out of town proves to be a very enjoyable one - with the cliffs of the South Downs rearing up ahead of me.

Heading along the seafront from Eastbourne

At the end of the promenade, we say goodbye to the stony beaches that have kept us company since Hastings - and climb up onto the road above.

Once up on this road, we then head on to the start of the South Downs Way - after which we turn left to head along the coastline (with an alternate loop of the South Downs Way heading off to the right).

Following the coast

After a very flat previous day, things are very different here - and here we are very much in the heart of the South Downs, despite our position along the coastline.

And after heading out along the stretch of cliff we could see from Eastbourne, we reach the end of this stretch and have to turn right and climb up onto Beachy Head.

Looking down from nearly the top of Beachy Head

Beachy Head is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain - and here there was clearly once a large hill, that has since been split near it's peak, as the landscape has slowly eroded into the sea.

Here you get an odd sensation as if it might tilt and fall over - much like the cliffs to the west of Dover - but in reality it's just a bit of an unnatural looking cliff formation.

Along this whole stretch of coast the cliffs here are still eroding - but the paths are set well back from the cliff edge (by comparison on the Yorkshire Coast you tend to walk a meter or so from the edge of eroding cliffs) - and this makes for a particularly relaxed walking experience.

Some of these rock falls can be large - and the most notable was here at Beachy Head, with the loss of Devil's Chimney.

Devil's Chimney no longer exists

After reaching the top of the hill, we head over it - and then the path gives every appearance of taking on a daring route along the edge of the cliffs.

But this is merely a visual deception - and instead the onward route continues to run a good distance back from the cliff edge, along a well made path (and some idiot has merely wandered off and created their own more dangerous path near the edge).

But as we turn the corner beyond Beachy Head, the hills that lie ahead of us are much smaller.

This makes for a nice rest after that peak, as we continue on towards Belle Tout lighthouse - and for those that don't like long walks, the 13X Coaster between Eastbourne and Brighton stops along the road here - giving an option for a potential start or end point of a walk (a bus went past as I was walking but they are infrequent).

Looking back towards Beachy Head

Along these sections where you get more people, a rope tries to encourage people to keep back from the edge.

That said, I do pass a group of tourists who seem to think that you should be exclusively on the far side of the rope. And they are at least having a grand old time snapping pictures - as they stand above a section of cliff that is likely to have already been eroded away at the base.

But leaving them behind we soon reach Belle Tout lighthouse, which has already been once moved inland to avoid coastal erosion - and which is now setup to be easily moved again if needed.

Belle Tout Lighthouse

The lighthouse is no longer used, but was built in 1834 after a number of shipwrecks had occurred along this stretch of coast.

By 1902 it had been replaced by Beachy Head Lighthouse (the one at the base of the cliffs), and now it functions as a B&B. Meanwhile the Beachy Head Lighthouse continues to be operational.

From this spot it can feel quite hard to know exactly where the Seven Sisters start - but having been into the future (further along on this walk), I can confirm that the first of the Seven Sisters is the peak at this lighthouse.

And so from here we have a run of seven peaks, each separated by dry valleys in the chalk (valleys without regular water flow) - and what makes these so unique is the fact that they are allowed to erode naturally.

This helps give the bright white colour to the cliffs - with the more protected cliffs often seeing more vegetation as sea defences seek to limited the level of natural erosion, but somewhat ruin the effect in the process.

And from here we start to drop down into Birling Gap - and this means that we start seeing a lot more people - as this is one of the popular parking spots along this stretch of coast.

That said this is also a stopping point for both the 13X Coaster (which runs infrequently), and the Eastbourne Sightseeing bus (which is more frequent, but more expensive). 

And again for those looking to break up this walk it is a solid option to head here on the 13X - and then either walk to Cuckmere Haven (where you have very frequent services), or on to Eastbourne.

Dropping down into Birling Gap

In any case, this will be the last parking spot before Cuckmere Haven - and so it won't be long until we are back among proper walkers once again - and not these pesky park and stare plodders.

But we are soon through Birling Gap - and past all those pesky visitors - and starting to make our way up the second sister.

From the second of the sisters

Here we are going to have to get used to the relentless levels of up and down - but whilst some of the slopes are fairly steep and long, others see a fairly small amount of up and down - and so overall the level of climbing is fairly typical for a 'normal walk'.

Looking back from the middle sister (number 4)

A cliff shot

Looking back once again

And now looking forwards

Here I have rather left the pictures to speak for themselves - but as stretches of walking go this one is absolutely fabulous - and well worth finding time to do. And whilst I may not have used a lot of words to describe it, that is merely because I don't really need to.

Eventually we reach the end of this fabulous stretch of chalk cliff. And whilst everyone else is continuing on via the path alongside the River Cuckmere - we stick with the route of the King Charles Coast Path and the South Downs Way - which takes a higher route above the river.

Looking down across Cuckmere Haven

This is definitely the route to go - not only because you get great views out over the countryside - but also because you get a lot of peace and quiet, with everyone else going the other way.

Soon we meet back up with the other path (with all the people), but we quickly turn away - and head back up onto higher ground.

Looking out to the side

Looking out to the river

Eventually we make it round to the main road - and here I cross over and make use of the visitor centre to not only buy some drink, but also fill up my water bottles (it is about thirty degrees today!).

Here we also meet up with the car park - but the main road here also means that there are good bus services.

And when I say good I am not exaggerating - because this is how the departure board looks from this spot:

The status of the departure board as I write this up

And so we have our third entry or exit point of the day - and with this one having so many services, this is a good option to have at the end of a walk (if the other option has more infrequent services).

But from here we must leave behind the South Downs Way, as it makes the fairly short trip up to Alfriston - and from here it is a 2.9 miles walk to meet up with the alternate loop of the South Downs Way that also went out from Eastbourne.

But today, we still continue to follow the King Charles Coast Path - and with this in mind we follow the main road round until we cross over the River Cuckmere - and then we start to make our way down a track that will take us to the coast once again.

This section of walking is fairly unspectacular - but upon reaching the coast this is quickly remedied by the views that now appear.

Looking out from the west side of Cuckmere Haven

From here it looks fairly straight-forward to cross the River Cuckmere via this beach - and so there is no absolute requirement to make the long trip round - but I think this route round is very good, and well worth doing.

This particular spot is very busy, but cutting up from the beach we quickly leave behind the crowd,s and find a very quiet bench - with an excellent view out towards the far side of the bay.

View from my bench

There is no real need to head on, as there aren't many people walking this stretch - but eventually I give up this seat and continue to head round (on past the spot where Harry caught the portkey to the Quiddich World Cup in the Goblet of Fire).

Round the corner there are a second set of benches - and the best point from which you can count all seven of the Seven Sisters.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7..

Here I stop off once again at a bench - because why not - and then continue on along a section where we start to say goodbye to the chalk cliffs.

If you continue on along the coast, the chalk cliffs do not end - but we have certainly seen the very best of them in this section - and elsewhere there is much more need to protect the coastline.

But in any case, it is short trip round from here to Seaford - and there we drop down into yet another seaside town.

Looking down on Seaford

Dropping into Seaford

Seaford once again has a shingle beach - and so there is no walking along the beach here.

The town itself had one of the major ports in the south of England in medieval times until silt blocked up it's harbour, but a consequence of this port was that the French burned down the town on numerous occasions (I knew there was a reason to dislike the French).

These days it is a sort of mix between a more affordable place to live and a holiday town - and this was a potential spot at which to end this walk - but instead I have decided to continue on through this town to Newhaven.

This means a stretch of walking that is reminiscent of the previous day - walking along the promenade that runs above the beach.

Eventually though, we start to make our way beyond the extent of this town - and here we start to make the trip across to the River Ouse at Newhaven.

On our way to Newhaven

This final run into Newhaven starts pretty well, but as we close in, Newhaven turns out to be a little smelly - presumably due to the cargos being transported in and out of what is still a busy port.

From here we then reach a stretch alongside the train line - and the town doesn't exactly dazzle as we make our way up to the main station - which is just about visible behind a series of security fencing.

Here the town doesn't in any way feel unsafe - but it does certainly feel exceptionally unloved - and clearly the investment that goes into the more popular seaside towns does not carry over into this town.

Indeed - whilst Newhaven does actually have one of the few sandy beaches along this stretch of coastline - that beach has been closed to the public since 2008.

This has annoyed the locals, who tried to get the beach considered as a public green in 2015 (without success) - and a couple of weeks before this walk the locals broke into the beach for a few days (the gate to the beach has since been welded shut).

But it is here, in this unloved town, that our journey comes to an end - and despite the lack of love for Newhaven, it's been a great day out - exploring some of the very best of the English coastline.

Total Distance: 15.7 miles (15.5 miles on the coast path)

Total Ascent: 2,156 feet (2,143 feet on the coast path)

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Click for a connecting walk along the South Downs Way from Eastbourne to Southease.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 198 and 199 OS Landranger maps (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.