Seven Sisters (SouthDownsWay), England

I love my life! I love it more than I hate it. And that’s the scary part. I feel I’m living the peak of my life, right at the top, at the beautiful edge and everything from here is downhill. 

I sit here on my chair beside my little balcony with a cup of hot tea and think of the amazing walk that I did a few days back on the ups and downs of the Seven Sisters. No, this is not the famous seven sisters’ waterfalls in Cherrapunji in India. This is the rolling green hills of the South Downs in Sussex, England, though none is lesser than the other. 

We started our hike with a very steep uphill from the bottom of the valley in Whitbread Hollow in Eastbourne. The path takes you right to the top of Beachy Head, also commonly known for being a suicide spot. My calf muscles were so tense, I could hardly move when I got to the top and was panting badly. I’m still recovering from my screwed up leg muscles. But the view from there just heals you instantly, - the view of the white cliffs hanging from the green edges against the blue sea is awesome.

We continued our walk with the cold wind gushing against our faces and the soft warmth of the bright sun countering it perfectly. It was the ideal conditions for the hike. From the top of Beachy Head, leaving behind the little pub in the country, we walked down and then up again to the Belle tout lighthouse. My friend says, this lighthouse was further away from the cliff edge and now due to erosion, it’s almost on the brink of falling into the sea; maybe another 10-20 years and the sea will engulf the lighthouse.

We sat by the lighthouse and had our homemade sandwiches, brewed coffee from the flask and a few chocolate biscuits. After re-fuelling ourselves more than necessary, we headed down to get to the third peak of the seven sisters.

The name seven sisters denotes that there are seven peaks of the rolling up and down hills, the seventh one ending at Cuckmere Haven. We climbed up and down  the lush green curved clifftops with the sparkling blue sea by the side. Occasionally, we could hear the noises of some old world war II aircraft that probably took off from the nearby Shoreham airport and we watched them flying off into the distance performing their aerobatic manoeuvres. I think, we were on the top of the 5^th peak when we turned back and could see the peaks and troughs of the seven sisters with the white cliffs bordering the blue sea.

The penultimate peak was a bit harder to climb down but the last one was the toughest (by my standard). I am generally a bit nervous in going downhill, especially if the path contains loose chalk and stones. And this path we chose was steep, chalky, full of loose stones and slippery edges. With 200% focus and concentration, I finally made it to the bottom.

The hills of the Seven Sisters end in a pebbly beach where the Cuckmere Haven River meanders in a long snake like movement and meets the sea. We sat on the beach, had one more brewed coffee and then continued walking along the river inland. The river flows through a vast open green valley with a few streams channeling out from the main course. The path by the river takes you to a small cottage style pub and a tourist office where you can get the information for all of the walks around the Seven Sisters country park. People generally start their walk here but we started ours from Eastbourne and walked all the way along the coast.  

Sussex is such a beautiful place, I cannot get enough of it. The beauty of this place lies in its rural sleepy charm and that’s what I like. I don’t like big buildings, flashy roads and boasting cities. I like simple and sweet. And hiking in the midst of such openness makes me feel richer than the richest.

Days like these are made with such perfection that you want to keep hold of it and live the moments over and over again. Future scares me, I love it today!