Glynde to Seven Sisters walk

Glynde to Seven Sisters

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Distance: 15.2 miles.
Time without long breaks: Apx 8 hours (add time for lunch/pubs).

Terrain: There are a few steep climbs – the Rabbit Track to Firle Beacon, the steps from West Dean to Exceat and ascending the brows of the Seven Sisters – but they shouldn't be a problem if you are reasonably fit.
How to get there and back: Buy a return ticket to Eastbourne and catch a train to Glynde (you may need to change at Lewes). To return, catch a No 12 or 13 Coaster buses from East Dean to Eastbourne (check here for times) and then get the train back from there.
Pubs: Firle: Ram Inn; Alfriston: Star Inn, The George, Olde Smugglers; Litlington: Plough and Harrow; East Dean: Tiger Inn.
More information: This walk is best appreciated in clear, sunny weather, as the views from the exposed top of the Downs are spectacular. The second section links with walk 33, which starts from Exceat and goes to Eastbourne. For the hardcore, it is possible to combine the two. It's 21.6 miles and you'd need to allow 11-12 hours to complete it.

This truly impressive walk incorporates some of the most stunning sections of the South Downs Way and a wide variety of landscapes. It includes scenic villages, a forest, a river estuary, clifftops and the sea. Perfect on a glorious summer's day. (although the last time both of us did this walk it was on one of the hottest days of the year, which made the climb up to Firle Beacon particularly tough!). The route ends at the Tiger Inn in East Dean, from where there are regular buses to Eastbourne.

Turn right as you exit Glynde station. The village is located near to Glyndebourne, famous for its annual opera season. Follow the road around the bend. On the right you pass a building which used to be the Trevor Arms pub. Carry on straight ahead and follow the road round the corner until you reach the A27. Take care crossing over this busy road and then take the lane immediately opposite. When you reach a red letterbox, turn left down a lane. Ignore the driveways on the right, but carry on ahead until you pass a barn on the left. Just past this, rather than follow the drive to a house, climb over the stile on your left into a field.

Proceed down The Street, passing the post office on the left and the entrance to Firle Church, where Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and Angelica Garnett of the Bloomsbury Group are buried (see walk 24). Continue along the track through the farm and bear left. At the end of the field, turn right through the gate on to the Rabbit Track which will take you to the top of the escarpment and to Firle Beacon. The final section is quite steep. Just before the beacon itself, marked by a triangulation point, is a neolithic long barrow. The beacon has far-reaching views across the Sussex Weald.

Alfriston, an historic village of half-timbered buildings which used to a centre for smuggling, is the perfect place to stop for lunch. As well as shops, cafes and other amenities, there are three pubs – the Star Inn, Ye Olde Smugglers and The George, which has a great beer garden. To continue the walk, head south down Alfriston High Street and then turn into The Tye. You pass the Old Clergy House, a 14th-century cottage, which is open to the public and was the first building in the country to be saved by the National Trust. The Tye leads to the expansive village green and St Andrews Church, known as 'The Cathedral of the Downs'.

Take a right and walk along the road until you reach the hamlet of Litlington. There is another tiny church here, next door to the Long Man Brewery at Church Farm, which has a tasting room (check for opening times). Litlington also has a tea room and a pub, the Plough and Harrow. Just after the pub, turn left into Clapham Lane, and then take the footpath immediately up on the right to rejoin the South Downs Way. There is a steep climb and then the track follows the edge of a large field. You can see a Victorian White Horse hill figure on the right, at High and Over. The track eventually descends down into Friston Forest.

Walk down to Exceat (where there is a visitors' centre, including a cafe and toilets) and cross the road to enter the Seven Sisters Country Park. The South Downs Way bears left up the side of the hill, but follow the track straight ahead instead, taking the path which runs nearer the river rather than the concrete road. In 3/4 mile, the SDW descends to briefly join this path at the turning for Foxhole, where there is a signpost. Go straight ahead here following the beach trail, past another signpost, ignoring the SDW turn off and heading straight for the sea and the shingle beach.

Walk along the top of the Seven Sisters, up the brows and down the dips, until you reach Flagstaff Point. There is a small monument here to Captain William Charles Campbell, a World War I fighter pilot (the cliffs here are often aptly frequented by bi-planes flying overhead). In the distance, on top of another brow, you can see Belle Tout lighthouse, but turn inland here, going through the small gate ahead. Walk through the field and then through a gate with a footpath sign. Head for a small clump of three or four dwarf trees on the horizon, passing Crowlink Farm in the valley on your left.

Go through the iron gate and down the path into the village of East Dean. Turn left onto Went Way and on the right you will come to the picturesque village green and the Tiger Inn. On the other side of the green, look out for the plaque to Sherlock Holmes. This was apparently the house Arthur Conan Doyle had in mind for the fictional detective's retirement. It is approximately five minutes' walk from the pub to the bus stop. Turn right and walk up along the edge of the green, emerging at Upper Street. Take a right again and follow the lane to the main road. Cross over, and you will see the bus shelter on your right. There are frequent buses from here direct to Eastbourne (and Brighton).

There are views of Mount Caburn to your left and Firle Beacon to your right. Walk across the field in the direction of the sign and go through a metal gate on the other side.. Cross over the next field to a small wooden gate ahead and then follow the path that runs along the edge of a further field until you reach some farm buildings on your left. Follow the track around. It emerges at a road. Turn right into Firle, another beautiful Sussex village of old flint houses. You will pass the village pub, the Ram Inn, on the left. Definitely worth a stop off if you are not too early for opening time.

You are now on the South Downs Way which you follow along the ridge of the Downs for the next 2 1/2 miles or so. Look out for the tumuli on either side of the trackway. Continue along the path after the Bo Peep carpark, until it eventually descends into the more wooded landscape on the outskirts of Alfriston. There is a long barrow at Long Burgh, where a number of paths cross. Keep on the South Downs Way. Soon it becomes a residential road, Kings Ride. At the junction with Deans Road, take the lane called Rope Walk, and then turn right to reach the centre of the village.

Walk to the top of the green and turn right onto the path which takes you over two footbridges crossing the River Ouse. This footpath emerges at a road. On the other side you will see a sign to Lullington Church. Follow this path along the edge of the field until a small gate takes you into the churchyard. This tranquil spot is an ideal place to rest before the next section of walk. The church, dedicated to The Good Shepherd, is tiny – one of the smallest in England. There is a centenary photograph of all the villagers inside from 1883 and 1993 and a visitors' book to sign. On leaving the church, turn left and follow the path down to a road.

It's easy to get lost here, but you are still on the SDW so just follow the main path and the waymarkers when you see them. The track becomes a lane which emerges at Westdean, located in a clearing in the woods. At the junction of lanes, turn left to go past the church and when you reach a converted barn, follow the lane round to the right, following a flint wall. At the next junction, turn left past a fire gate and a noticeboard. You will see some steps straight ahead. These ascend a steep hill and can be hard work, especially as you are almost ten miles into the walk. At the top there is a stone wall and a stile, where you can catch your breath, with a spectacular view of Cuckmere Haven and the sea.

Head towards the cliff at the end of the beach. There are two options here. The shortcut is to climb up the path to the top of the cliff. It will depend on your bravery and head for heights whether you want to tackle this – but it's not as scary as it looks. However, it is a steep climb and should also not be attempted in wet weather or when the rocks may be slippery. The alternative (and easier) route is to head inland from the cliff along the path that tags the headland. You will soon come to a wooden gate on the right by a bench. Go through the gate and ascend through the field to meet the South Downs Way. Turn right and follow the path to the cliff top, which has great views of the estuary below.

Just past the small trees, you reach a larger clump on your left. Rather than carrying on ahead towards the house and car park, turn right and head towards the edge of the field at an angle of about 2 o'clock. Warning: there is no path here, so it can be a bit hard to find, but look for a small wooden gate with a metal gate alongside it. Go through the gate and head across the next field, and down the right-hand side of some trees surrounding a house. In the bottom corner of the field you will come to a metal gate with some steps beyond it. Don't go over the steps, but climb over the wall on your right, onto the steps on the other side. Head down the edge of the field towards the back of the houses.

This part of the South Downs has attracted a wide range of artists, writers and musicians. The Bloomsbury Group lived at Charleston near Firle (see walk 24), while the artist Eric Ravilious – who often stayed at Furlongs near Beddingham (see walk 22) – used the area as a backdrop for many of his works, including a woodcut of Lullington Church. As revealed in her autobiography All in the Downs, these hills have also inspired the songs of the folk singer Shirley Collins for more than 50 years. Her 2023 album was called Archangel Hill after the name her stepfather gave to Mount Caburn, while in 2021 she released an experimental collaborative EP called Crowlink, named after a part of the Seven Sisters which you pass on this walk. Collins has described it as her favourite place 'to sit and think about what’s gone, and what is to come'.

The landscape has also influenced the group Sea Power. Although some of the band are originally from the edge of the Lake District, they relocated to the Brighton area and found a natural home in the Sussex countryside. Early on in their career, their oblique approach to interviews included giving journalists Ordnance Survey grid references to find them in locations such as the Trevor Arms pub in Glynde and the church at Lullington (which they commemorated in a B-side called The Smallest Church in Sussex). The launch gig for their debut album was held at the Ram Inn in Firle on a spring evening in 2003, where the support was provided by folk group the Copper Family from Rottingdean, who have been handing down their songs for generations (see walk 34). A later Sea Power album, Valhalla Dancehall, was recorded at a Selmeston farmhouse, while in 2011 the band played three dates at their own mini-festival a short walk away at Berwick Village Hall. KB

Full-day country walks in SE England and beyond

Glynde to Seven Sisters

Click on the image below to access the full map on plotaroute

Full-day country walks in
SE England and beyond

Click on the image below to access
the full map on plotaroute