The Seven Sisters, England
After such a busy period of travel, we've been staying put in London the past few months and enjoying a slower pace lifestyle. While we still have some writing to catch up on for trips we took from July on (Bosnia/Croatia, Ireland, Portugal,...), we thought here would be a good point to pause on those to share what we have been up to more recently. Autumn has been a great time to catch up with friends and refocus on seeing more of what's right nearby us here in England. So, thanks to the help of a couple of those friends, we made it a mission back in October to make our way to The Seven Sisters— the most gorgeous white cliffs—in East Sussex, on the southern coast of England.
Off for the day we went! We chose to drive from South London but you can also easily get down there by train from the city. Upon arrival, we parked, freshened up, and headed out on the fairly clearly marked trails. You have a few options to take for routes, luckily our friends had been before and suggested a great way to go. We walked up the street a bit to get on a trail to the side of the cliffs. It's a nice easy stroll through the countryside (picture rolling greens and sheep). Once you reach the end, you're looking right out at the cliffs and ocean. It's a great spot to stop and have some lunch. We had decided to pack ours for just that!
On the route we took, we had to figure out how to make our way over a steadily flowing stream. It's a bit too deep to walk through but you can balance yourself on some beams to make it across dry if you are clever enough. Maybe on a warm day in the summer, it would be a bit better/refreshing to wade through the stream. After that, you finish a stroll along the shore and you're right there ready to make the hike up to the top. It's a steep and quick one. Once you are up, it's just rolling along the seven hills. We did the first few of them and then enjoyed some quiet time sitting down taking in the moment all together. While the cliffs draw a crowd, they are still very peaceful. You feel removed from the busy city life and reconnected with nature. They feel incredibly special and it's a moment that has truly stuck with me ever since.
If you haven't been able to figure it out, The Seven Sisters get their name from their literal appearance—a series of seven hills along chalk cliffs. And, as you can see from the photos, the views from them are just as amazing as the views of them. After our relaxing time sitting on one of the hills (we didn't want to leave!), we packed up and headed out on another trail. In the end, we basically did a large circle so we didn't have to repeat any trails. It was a nice way to make the most of our time walking around and enjoying the scenery. I'm already hoping to make it back there someday to walk the rest of the hills—to truly take it all in and enjoy the beauty of it. This was a perfect introduction and reminder to get out of the city and see these breath-taking beautiful natural scenes that make this country so outstanding.
