If you are feeling seriously depressed a walk along Beachy Head is possibly not advisable. The highest chalk cliffs in Britain are such a notorious suicide spot that the Samaritans have placed a large notice there, just beside the public telephone, reminding people that they are on hand day and night and inadvertently reminding you that this is the place that people choose to spend their last moments. But if you are just feeling a tad listless, this bracing walk from Beachy Head to Birling Gap, featuring some of Britain’s most dramatic coastal scenery, can hardly fail to buck you up.
Normally the perfect walk must have the following features. It should:
- involve a good pub
- tire you out
- take you to a striking landmark
- be circular
The walk manages three of these but not the fourth. Whether you park in the visitors centre near Beachy Head or in the car park at the Birling Gap Hotel you will need to retrace your steps to get back to your car. But the walk makes up for this lack in every other respect. It is along the chalk cliff tops, which rise 162 metres above sea level you can see along the coast to the Seven Sisters. It involves not one but two good pubs, one at each end and though the total distance is only about a mile and half in each direction the chances are that you will be ready for your pint at the end of it.
Whether you walk downhill from the Beachy Head towards the Birling Gap Hotel or vice versa depends partly on timing. Walking up hill on a full stomach is not generally recommended. So, if you want lunch immediately on arrival, start at the Beachy Head, newly refurbished and with much improved food and then you can walk downhill and pick up a cup of tea and an ice cream before heading back. If you need serious exercise before lunch then you can do both legs of the walk. Both pubs offer food all day. If you are feeling particularly hungry you could possibly have two lunches.
Belle Tout
A pair of lunches? Things happen in pairs round there. On the walk you will see not one, but two light houses; the older light house Belle Tout built in 1831 is now a private house and it is known for having been physically moved backwards from the cliff edge because it was endangered by the erosion. The newer lighthouse was built at the bottom of the cliffs where it was more visible. The crumbling cliffs appear to be moving backwards away from it. Watch out too for pairs of seagulls using the air thermals to enjoy effortless gliding just out from the cliff.
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You are constantly reminded of the erosion, the rather dramatic notices of a falling man remind you not to get to close to the edge, unless you are beyond the Samaritans. You can often see the evidence of fresh white boulders which have sheered away from the cliff, and lie newly broken at the bottom while the sea around them looks strangely milky from the dissolving chalk. At the Birling Gap are a row of Victorian cottages which are perilously close to the edge. Indeed two of the row have already succumbed and disappeared for ever into the sea.
At the Birling Gap there are steps down to the beach and in the summer you have the chance if you are feeling hardy (as the sea is quite seriously cold) to enjoy the view of the cliffs from the water, before dashing back up the steps to the Birling Gap Hotel to get a warming tea and perhaps a doughnut..
Beachy Head is in East Sussex and can be reached by bus from Eastbourne. It is also possible to walk up to Beachy Head from Eastbourne .