Seven Sisters

Me: Tell me some places I should visit when I am in London

P: London Eye, Big Ben, London tower, Westminster, Piccadilly Circus, etc. etc. etc. Hey, also visit Seven Sisters. They are chalk hills near London. They are near to a beach starting with B. I don’t remember the beach name but I will give it to you.

Me: Ok. Will try.

I forget all about Seven Sisters till I reach London. I don’t recall the place name. All I remember is chalk hills and London. So, I do a quick search but Google returns nothing. I keep racking my brains and then modify my search till I get seven sisters. Success??? Not so soon.  Same evening hubby mentions a beach he had visited for an air show. Beach is East Bourne. This triggers another search and this time it is success 🙂

We visit this place on my birthday and it’s a bright sunny day considering the fluctuations in UK weather and I have a hot cup of coffee at the station. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

First part of the journey was to reach Brighton. At Brighton where took the 12A to one of the most beautiful countryside drives to East Sussex. Buses 12,12A and 13 can be taken from Brighton to reach Seven sisters country park.

The bus ride was one of its kind since my wish of sitting in a double decker on the top deck front seat in a UK based bus got fulfilled. As a Mumbaikar; travelling in double decker bus is no new thing but it had been 12 years since I last sat in one.

Bus Ride to Seven sisters

The country side was refreshing. Many folks were cycling down the road, near Brighton lot of folks were walking to the Brighton Pier. There was a car boot sale going on. It was fun to watch these small things.

Lovely Countryside en route to seven sisters

The bus dropped us right in front of the park’s main gate near the visitor information center. What a cleverly planned public transport system.

In Pune, I cannot imagine going anywhere without my own vehicle, forget a bus dropping me to the exact location.

The visitor center has a detailed map of the multiple trails one can take to reach the seven sisters.It also has a geology exhibition having flint, iron pyrites, calcium, etc. and detailed information about different birds and flowers one can spot. The park is a nature lover’s paradise.

The first trail we took started with a beautiful fence and had a small crystal-clear rivulet running by where people were canoeing, fishing or just killing time watching the water flow by. We could see sheep and cattle grazing since it is a working farm. The trail had nice single trees to sit down and soak in the beautiful landscape. It ended in a beautiful panoramic view of the seven sister cliffs and the sea. What a magical sight!!! There are a few cottages that can be booked for a day stay. The cliffs are eroding every year and I just read somewhere that few such cliffs in other parts of UK fell down due to huge cracks in them.

Canoeing anyone???

Seven Sisters

After having some sandwiches and filling our eyes with the beauty of the cliffs we started walking down to the beach. It is a pebble beach (I didn’t know they existed!!!).

Between the beach and the end of the first trail there was a small stream of extremely cold water which we crossed barefooted. It felt as if 1000 needles were stuck in one go on my legs. But it was worth it.

Once there I realized there was another easy trail which lead directly to the beach from the visitor center and this one is can be used by people with impaired mobility. I was so pleased to know this; since we rarely see such facilities in my country of residence.

The cliffs have small cave like structures and I tried to meditate in one on them. But thanks to the spiders in it; my meditation lasted only for the time taken to take a pic of me in it. :p

The third trail took us to the top of the cliffs. It was an amazing place to fly kites. Next time I go there I will definitely be carrying kites :). One can go walking across the seven cliffs. We just walked across two and returned to the visitor center.

Wonderful view from top of seven sisters

On the way down to the visitor center we saw some bunkers. On inquiring we found that the site was used to train Canadian soldiers for the D-Day Normandy attack.

After a sumptuous late lunch at the café at the park we took off to visit Brighton Pier. We got down a little before the pier and walked down the entire pebble beach. Walking on a pebble beach is much difficult than walking on a sand beach but the walk was made fun by the seagulls and their fish catching activities. The pier has some nasty rides and amazing food.

Brighton Beach

Seagulls Everywhere

We took nothing but memories and left nothing but our footprints.

I have this habit of trying to cover any place I am visiting as much as possible since I almost every time feel I would never return to it again. It normally results in me ending up unsatisfied since I fit in a lot of things and end up not enjoying the experience. This trip has done away that habit forever.

I cherish each moment at the seven sisters imprinting the experience in my mind and heart. The quality and not just the quantity is what matters when it comes to such moments.

Last but not the least thanks to my friend P who suggested I visit this place. 🙂