Seven Sisters Cliff Trail Planning

Hi MZ, here’s what we did a couple of summers ago. We took a the train from Victoria Station to Eastbourne. Then we took the Coaster bus 12x or 13x if I recall from a stop right near the train station. Beautiful ride up the coast.. The bus drops you off right at the Visitor Center. You walk across the road to start and can see Cuckmere Haven down below. You can branch off and walk - I think it was about a mile to go down to it, or bear to the left and start toward the Seven Sisters. We opted to just go toward the Seven Sisters. If it were me I would have your picnic lunch from atop the cliffs and look down on CH without having to trek down and back to start the hike. The hike is incredible, but some portions are steep. I actually found myself doing switchback zig zags to make it easier for me. The kiddos will be fine most likely! You’ll pass the monument and also look for The Longman of Wilmington as you head East.

We went to Birling Gap and had a wonderful lunch at the Natl Trust Cafe. Spent time hanging out on the beach there. So fun. In terms of getting back, there were a couple of options when we went. One was a Sightseer type bus that runs the coast and stops at Birling Gap. It was about 15 pounds. I knew we only had a very short distance to get back to Eastbourne and I am cheap, so we opted to walk about another mile through a path back to a stop at East Dean to get the Coaster bus back to Eastbourne. The path for this is right outside the cafe. Make sure you turn right at the building- I would not call it what I think looks like a barn lol- that has a reddish brown roof or you will end up walking into a field of sheep- no path, just a lot of sheep! The woman at the cafe told us to turn at the red barn. We kept walking and went past the “barn” and had to backtrack. Got great pics of sheep up close and personal though!

We got to the Visitor Center about 10. It took us about 3-3.5 hours to walk the SS from the Visitor Center to Birling Gap, but we stopped a couple times to take in the views. Our train back from Eastbourne to London was something like 3:45 and we got to the station about 30-45 minutes before. I think you would be fine. I will post a couple of links for the buses if I can find them.

We will never forget our trip there! I hope you have lovely weather, too!

Here’s a video I watched to help plan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhQFwOt3lMo

Here are the timetables for the buses from Eastbourne. I think we took the 12x and got on at 43 Cornfield Road.

https://www.buses.co.uk/

There is a journey planner on the site that helps. For ex. Here is the link copied from plugging in Cornfield Rd to Seven Sisters Visitor Ctr

https://www.buses.co.uk/directions?origin%5Bname%5D=Cornfield+Road&origin%5Blocation%5D%5Blat%5D=50.768224&origin%5Blocation%5D%5Blon%5D=0.283921&destination%5Bname%5D=Seven+Sisters+Park+Centre+%28o%2Fs%29&destination%5Blocation%5D%5Blat%5D=50.775417&destination%5Blocation%5D%5Blon%5D=0.152246&time%5Bwhen%5D=now

This is the bus that stops out in front of Birling Gap. You pay a flat fee regardless of how far you go, but there is a family rate for £28 which is an option for you all.

https://www.buses.co.uk/ess/eastbournesightseeing

Thank you so much Mustlovedogs! I found the bus ride from Seaford Station to the Seven Sisters Visitor Center is closer and it's on the west side of the visitor center. Do you know about that station? Is it doable? I was thinking about arrival at Seaford and catch train at Eastbourne to go back to London.

On a Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday Cuckmere Buses also run the hourly bus #47 from Seaford and Berwick stations to the Visitor Centre.
At Berwick the train waits 5 minutes for a late train.
It's another option.
https://cuckmerebuses.org.uk/47.htm
In terms of rail tickets for flexibility a Southern Rail Group day save (where the children travel free) is probably the best option for £52. You have to buy that online at least 3 days beforehand, and on a weekday it is not valid before 10am.
Not a fare you find by looking on National Rail, but on Southern's own website.

https://www.southernrailway.com/tickets/daysave

the cliffs, although composed of tiny chalk critters which have been dead for 100,000,000 years, are alive. They crumble and collapse without warning frequently, and it can be unsafe to walk below them. Check for local conditions on arrival.

Because the cliffs are so fragile please stick to the established and maintained walks and trails and don't venture off on your own. It is unsafe for you and unsafe for those below, especially if you trigger a landslip.

The views from the top are really beautiful but please don't get too close to the edge.

I wasn’t paying that much attention unfortunately to the other possible bus stops around the center, but I would think that one is close, too, and wouldn’t pose a problem. We just did the round trip London/Eastbourne, but either way seems fine as long as it gets you to the park. Your option will let you see (albeit briefly) two coastal towns, so that’s a plus. Let us know how it goes when you return; I may copy it whenever we return. :)

The paths atop and along the cliffs are spectacular, but Nigel is so right about checking and adhering to conditions. Talk to your kids about staying on/ near the paths. It is well marked. I saw some young adults taking great liberties with walking/ getting very close to the cliff edge. Dangerous choices, so much so I couldn’t hardly watch some got so close.

Enjoy your time there with your family and make memories of this pretty part of the world!

Thank you, Mustlovedogs! I was worried if there will be bus from seaford to the visitor Center. I will get the tickets and when I return, I'll come here to let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

Thank you Nigel, I'm aware of that and we always stay on track even our kids. No worries. Thank you!

Thank you isn31c! I will check and probably get the tickets now.