YHA Eastbourne Circular via Belle Tout & Beachy Head

By car : Eastbourne Youth Hostel is located on East Dean Road  (the A259) on the outskirts of Eastbourne approximately 1.5 miles from the town-centre, in the direction of East Dean and Seaford. There is free parking for 6-8 cars at the start of the walk, with additional parking in residential streets just down the road towards Eastbourne.

By train : Eastbourne is well served by regular trains from London Victoria and stations throughout the south east including Brighton and East Croydon. The start of the walk is approximately 1.5 miles from the station (nearly all uphill). Alternatively, there is a frequent bus service (see below). Further information on train times can be found at www.trainline.com . Southern Railway offer a combined daily rail and bus ticket called the Downlander - this must be purchased on-line at least 2 days in advance but offers considerable savings.

By bus : There is a bus stop by the car-park served by the Coaster 12 service. which runs between Eastbourne and Brighton every ten minutes Monday to Saturday, and every 15 minutes on Sundays (more frequently in summer).  Further information on bus times, routes and fares can be found at http://www.buses.co.uk/ or by telephoning 01273 886200.

[1] Take the bridle-way from the far end of the car park outside Eastbourne Youth Hostel, leaving the A259 behind you. Continue steadily uphill and shortly after the path levels out you will see a path signed "Wealdway" which goes left through the scrup.  Do not take this, but continue straight ahead to a Y fork.  Bear left on to the wider of two paths, passing between a golf course green and a brick built seat.

Be aware that you are now in the immediate proximity of an active golf course.

(A) Eastbourne Downs golf course was first laid out in 1908 by J.H. Taylor alongside the main road at the top of the hill. The old clubhouse  used to be located at the "bottom of the hill'" Mr Carew Davies-Gilbert made the first drive at the opening ceremony on 2 August 1909. In 1974 the club moved to a new  clubhouse, built on "the top" to move the club into a new era alongside many new course alterations.

[2] Turn left on to the gravel track, passing a single post (indicating you are on the South Downs Way and several other paths) and continue straight ahead for approximately 600 metres until a concrete farm road goes off to the right.  You will see panoramic views of Eastbourne, Bexhill and Hastings to your left, the first of many great views on this walk.

(B) The South Downs National Park is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of 628 square miles, stretches for over 90 miles from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The National Park covers not only the chalk ridge of the South Downs, with its celebrated chalk downland landscape that culminates in the iconic chalky white cliffs of Beachy Head, but also a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The Ramblers and other groups campaigned for many years for national park status.

[3] The junction is marked with a 3-way finger post ; turn right onto the concrete road, heading downhill and round two gentle bends. Ahead and to the right will be Ringwood Farm. Where the concrete road turns into the farm continue straight ahead on to a grassy track. Continue along this for 400 metres or so, looking out for a stile in the fence on your right and very shortly after this one on your left.

[4] Climb over the stile on your left and follow the fence line up a steep slope. At the top, keep straight ahead past a broken stile, crossing a field towards the main road (A259) and cottages and another stile. Cross this and then the main road (A259) to the stile opposite.

Take care crossing the A259. Whilst there is good visibility in both directions it’s a straight section and traffic will be travelling quickly in both directions.

After crossing this stile, continue ahead with the cottages just to your left. Ignore the path to the left that leads behind the cottages, but cross the stile now immediately ahead of you, entering a large field.

[5] With the stile behind you, head diagonally right, aiming for Cornish Farm in the distance. This will be found just below and to the right of Belle Tout lighthouse. Belle Toute will be clearly visible unless it's misty. Aim to be in the bottom of the valley which descends to the south west  - a gate with a stile beside will soon come into view. After negotiating this stile follow the fence line, initially generally uphill and then downhill to another stile. After crossing this bear slightly left to a pedestrian gate a few yards ahead, which gives access to a flint farm track.

[6] Turn right onto this track and continue to Cornish Farm, joining a concrete farm road. Follow this round to the left and then downhill, towards Belle Tout. At the end of the concrete road cross Beachy Head Road and continue straight ahead 20 yards uphill to a junction of several tracks.

Take care crossing Beachy Head Road as this is a busy tourist route with a melange of coaches, buses, cars, and cyclists.

(C)  Belle Tout was built in 1832, replacing a previous wooden lighthouse.The location of the lighthouse was carefully planned so that the light was visible for 20 miles out to sea and that the light would be obscured by the edge of the cliff if sailors were too close to the shore. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1902 and replaced by the current one at the base of the cliffs. SInce then  Belle Tout has been a tea-shop, a private home, partly destroyed during the second world war when it was used for target practice, lovingly rebuilt in the 50’s, owned and filmed by the BBC, and moved back 17 metres due to erosion. More recently Belle Tout has been beautifully refurbished to provide unique bed and breakfast accommodation.

[7] Turn left and follow the grassy track along the contour of the hill until meeting the cliff path at the information board “Welcome to Belle Tout, Eastbourne Downland” immediately adjacent to the loop in the road.

Heed the warning signs and stay well back from the cliff edge from here onwards, as the chalk can be unstable, particularly the overhangs.

If you want to visit Birling Gap (National Trust cafe, toilets, foreshore access, bus stop) then turn right at waypoint 7. This adds at least one mile to the overall distance depending on the path taken to rejoin the route. After visiting Birling Gap you can rejoin the main route by retracing your steps or by taking the path along the cliff edge via Belle Toute to rejoin the route at point 8.

 [8] From the information board bear left between the road and cliff edge and then head uphill, keeping to the right of the scrub and parallel to the cliff edge. Continue until you reach the highest point (just before the Beachy Head Pub). As you ascend, to the right are good views of the chalk cliffs and the Beachy Head lighthouse with its red and white stripes. Don’t forget to look behind you for spectacular views back towards Belle Tout, Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters beyond.

(D) Look for the octagonal brick base of the 19^thcentury signalling post from which messages were sent to Lloyds of London confirming the safe arrival of ships. It now displays a variety of commemorative plaques.

[9] Continue parallel to the road, crossing a hard surface path.

(E) This is the “Peace Path” which leads 50 yards towards the coast to the Bomber Command Tribute established at Beachy Head in July 2012 to commemorate the 55,573 bomber command crew that died in WW2, and for many of whom this stretch of coast would be their last ever view of England.

Pass to the left of the trig point (a concrete plinth formerly used for mapping) and then cross the other branch of the Peace Path. Ahead are a seat and War Memorial alongside the road. To your left, across the road are the Beachy Head pub, the Beachy Head Countryside Centre and public toilets.

(F) The Beachy Head pub started life as the Queen's Restaurant in 1880 and became the Beachy Head Hotel in the 1890s. During WW2 it housed an advanced listening post when according to one local, nothing was served but mince and onions. Alongside is the Countryside Centre which contains the "Downland Experience", a free exhibition focusing on the history of the downlands and Beachy Head. Exhibits describe the archeology of the downlands, the flora and fauna present in the area and the incredible feats of engineering involved in building the Beachy Head Lighthouse. There are a number of activities available for younger visitors.

Continue ahead keeping to the left of the scrub and parallel with the road until you reach a 4-way finger post beside the road. This is directly opposite the start of the drive to Bullock Down Farm.

[10] Bear diagonally right away from the road (finger posted "Butts Brow & Willingdon"). In 200 metres, at a 4-way finger post, keep straight on and then bear left (i.e. not downhill )Follow the South Downs Way bridleway signs until you reach a marked road crossing.

[11] Cross the road where indicated, then turn immediately left and follow the South Downs Way alongside a wooded area.  Continue until you reach a 4-way finger post and, just beyond, three seats around a concrete dew pond.

[12] Leave the South Downs Way here by passing to the right of the dew pond and taking the path that descends towards Eastbourne behend the right hand seat (as you approach). If you pass alongside the trig point you are too far to the left. The path starts off gently downhill with good views over Eastbourne immediately ahead of you, but gradually becomes much steeper.  There are a number of cross paths, but keep straight ahead.  The path bears to the right and then the left as it descends.

[13] After the steepest part follow the same path as it curves  sharply round to the left to join a narrower footpath. Below you will be a section of the Royal Eastbourne Golf Club course. Follow this path along the contour of the hill for some 800 metres, then look out for a single wooden post (see photo).

[14] Take the path to the left of this post. If you reach a fence behind some houses you have missed it ! Continue through the woods, up some steps to emerge on East Dean Road (A259) directly opposite the Youth Hostel. Cross the road with care to the car-park area and your start point.

Take care crossing the A259 and be particularly aware of fast moving traffic coming downhill around the curve to your left.

 (G) Birling Gap is 600 metres off the route (to the right) at waypoint 7. There is a cafe run by the National Trust, a gift shop, toilets, bus stop and access via steps to the foreshore. The route can be regained either by retracing one's steps to waypoint 7, or by taking the coast path uphill and passing just to the south of the Belle Tout building before descending to rejoin the route at waypoint 8.

The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs between Eastbourne and Winchester, and is one of 15 National Trails in England and Wales. It is the only one of those trails to be entirely located in a single national park and the route is said to have been used as far back as the Bronze Age. The path runs for 160 km (100 miles) with about 4,150 m (13,620 ft) of ascent and descent. This walk encompasses parts of the bridleway section (waypoints 2 to 3) and footpath sections (waypoints 8-12).

Beachy Head is the most famous part of the Eastbourne Downland. and rises 162 metres (530 feet) above the sea below and is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain. The main reason for Beachy Head's popularity is the wonderful panoramic view which can be seen from the cliff top. If you look east you see the beaches and town of Eastbourne, the Pier and the Harbour, and then on to Pevensey Bay and Hastings and, on an exceptionally clear day, Dungeness in Kent, nearly 40 miles away.  Looking west, you can see even further, up to 70 miles, past Seaford Head to Newhaven and Brighton and then on to Selsey Bill near Chichester in West Sussex. On a very clear day the outline of the Isle of Wight can be seen.

Its iconic lighthouse has sat more than 500ft below the summit  since being brought into service in 1902, being run by 3 lighthouse keepers until it was fully automated in 1983. In 2011 Trinity House announced it was unable to afford to repaint the distinctive red and white stripes which were therefore to be left to fade to a natural granite grey colour. In a campaign backed by Eddie Izzard, John Craven and Bill Bryson, more than £27,000 was raised to pay for repainting the stripes, work beginning in the autumn of  2013.

Access Land. For 60 years the Ramblers Association campaigned for the right to roam freely on uncultivated land. In 2000 this right was achieved.  However it only applies to unimproved mountain moor and downland.  You can see the areas that you can explore using this right on Ordnance survey explorer maps. The boundaries are shaded in brown.  There is quite a lot of access land around Eastbourne Youth Hostel, including the woods to the right of this path between points 1 and 2.  You may want to explore it to extend your walk.

Terrain: This route is not suitable for either wheelchairs or push-chairs.

Maps: The entire walk is covered by either OS Explorer Map 123 (recommended) or OS Landranger 199.

Refreshments: There are no refreshments or toilet/washroom facilities at the start or on the walk.

Dogs may need to be kept on a lead in some sections due to livestock grazing. Additionaly great care should be taken on the cliff top sections.  There have been many cases of dogs running over the cliff, with fatal results

Bus Route 13X runs along the coast road daily, once per hour, during the summer months and hourly on Sundays during the winter. There are several stops between Birling Gap and Beachy Head pub; take the bus in the direction of "Eastbourne" - its a 10-15 minute journey to the bus stop outside the youth hostel.

Tourist Information : The Eastbourne Tourist information Office is close to the station, in Cornfield Road (tel 01323 411400, or 30871 663003  www.visiteastbourne.com). Additional tourist information is available at the Beachy Head Countryside Centre (tel : 01323 737273) and Seven Sisters Country Park www.sevensisters.org.uk or by telephoning 0345 6080193 or 301323 870280.

Eastbourne Youth Hostel for providing modern, en-suite accommodation and a base during the development of this walk.