Cuckmere Valley

The Cuckmere Valley cuts through the South Downs in East Sussex, following the meandering River Cuckmere as it winds towards the sea near Seaford. The valley is best known for its serpentine loops of water crossing the flat floodplain at Cuckmere Haven, where the river meets the English Channel between the chalk cliffs of Seaford Head and the western end of the Seven Sisters. It is one of the few undeveloped river mouths on the Sussex coast, giving it a distinctive open, unbuilt character.

The most popular approach is from the Seven Sisters Country Park visitor centre at Exceat, on the A259 between Seaford and Eastbourne. From here a level track of roughly a mile leads down to the shingle beach at Cuckmere Haven, passing the old cut-through channel and the ox-bow meanders that were left behind when the river was straightened in the 1840s. The view back inland, with the meanders reflecting the sky and the white cliffs rising to the east, is one of the most photographed scenes in Sussex.

Beyond the walk to the beach, the valley offers grazing marshes rich in birdlife (little egret, lapwing and wintering wildfowl are regular), canoe hire on the tidal river in summer, and connecting paths up onto the Downs and along the South Downs Way. The chalk cliffs at Cuckmere Haven, with their row of former coastguard cottages, provide the classic viewpoint of the Seven Sisters from the west. Wear sturdy footwear: the tracks are firm but the shingle at the beach is heavy going, and there is no shelter if the weather turns.