Seven Sisters, Sussex

The Seven Sisters are a series of chalk cliffs by the English Channel. They form part of the South Downs in East Sussex, between the towns of Seaford and Eastbourne in southern England. They are within the South Downs National Park which is bounded by the coast, the Cuckmere and the A259 road. They are the remnants of dry valleys in the chalk South Downs, which are gradually being eroded by the sea.

Seven Sisters, Sussex
Websitehttps://sevensisterseastsussex.org/

The Seven Sisters cliffs and the coastguard cottages, from Seaford Head across the River Cuckmere

Cliffs

From west to east, the sequence starts just east of Cuckmere Haven. The cliff peaks and the dips between them are individually named. Listed below, the peaks are in italics. There are seven hills, with an eighth one being created by the erosion of the sea.[1]

  • Haven Brow
  • Short Bottom
  • Short Brow
  • Limekiln Bottom
  • Rough Brow
  • Rough Bottom
  • Brass Point
  • Gap Bottom
  • Flagstaff Point (continuing into Flagstaff Brow)
  • Flagstaff Bottom
  • Flat Hill
  • Flathill Bottom
  • Baily's Hill
  • Michel Dean
  • Went Hill Brow (grid reference TV549963).

Just east of the last peak is Birling Gap. Beyond, on the top of the next hill, is Belle Tout Lighthouse and beyond that Beachy Head. A lighthouse in the sea marks the latter headland.

The South Downs Way runs along the edge of the cliffs, taking a very undulating course. Many landmarks around the area are named after the cliffs, including the Seven Sisters Sheep Centre.

A panoramic view of all seven sisters from the Beachy Head cliffs near Birling Gap, looking back towards the River Cuckmere and Seaford Head in the background

Film and television

The Seven Sisters cliffs are occasionally used in filmmaking and television production as a stand-in for the more famous White Cliffs of Dover, since they are relatively free of anachronistic modern development and are also allowed to erode naturally. As a result, the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head remain a bright white colour, whereas the White Cliffs of Dover are protected due to the important port and are therefore increasingly covered in vegetation and are greening as a result. They are also featured at the beginning of the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and at the end of the film Atonement where Robbie and Cecilia always wanted to live.[2]

Much of the 2015 feature film Mr. Holmes was filmed around the Seven Sisters.

The 2019 film Hope Gap, starring Bill Nighy and Annette Bening was against the backdrop of Seaford Head. The film is named after the distinctive area of chalk cliff between Seaford and Cuckmere Haven. In 2020, Jessica Swale's feature film debut Summerland will premiere, set in and shot around the Seaford area, featuring numerous views of the Seven Sisters.

An east-facing photo of the Seven Sisters is included as one of the default landscape wallpapers packaged with Microsoft Windows 7.

References
  1. Tim Locke (2011). Slow South Downs & Sussex Coast. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 177. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  2. "Atonement – Filming Locations". IMDb. Retrieved 4 April 2011.


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