Now the display season is almost over I thought it might be a good idea to resume Grumpy's Tours. The previous weekend couldn't have been much different with blazing sunshine all along the south coast. Typically there were no air events within reach. On the Saturday I went with a friend to a well-known beauty spot in East Sussex.
Cuckmere Haven is an area of flood plain between the South Downs & the coast. Schools from all parts of the country often visit here so the children can see a typical example of a meandering river with several oxbow lakes. This shot was taken looking across one of the oxbows towards the village of West Dean.
Further south towards the estuary looking north west across the river Cuckmere. The tide was rapidly going out.
This is Seaford Head with the old coastguard cottages on the right.
Looking the other way this is Haven Brow, the first of the range of cliffs known as the Seven Sisters.
The area is covered with WWII pillboxes, anti-tank obstacles known as dragons teeth & ditches. Here's your tour guide Grumpy standing on top of one of the pillboxes.
On the way back to the visitor centre. Nice to see a few sheep keeping the grass down. The Downs used to be covered with them not so long ago.
The Seven Sisters Country Park visitor centre is on the site of the ancient village of Exceat. This is reputed to have been King Alfred's naval base.
The village was decimated during the Black Death & abandoned after raids from the French in the mid-1400s. The red & white bus is on its way to Eastbourne.
Buses run along here from Brighton every 15 minutes or so which is very handy now I have my free bus pass. 8-)
Another view over the river with the visitor centre on the right. You can just see the para-gliders flying from the hill in the background.
That's the end of my little tour. If it goes down well I might post some more from time to time.
PS. Here's some interesting facts about Cuckmere Haven shamelessly stolen from Wikipedia.
History
The beach was commonly used by smugglers in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. For example, in 1783, two gangs of smugglers (each numbering 200 or 300) overcame officers of the law by weight of numbers and carried away a large quantity of goods.
In the second world war the site was subject to significant attention from the Luftwaffe as they flew missions to identify potential landing sites for the invasion of the UK mainland. As a result a series of counter-landing constructions remains, including numerous pillboxes, anti-tank obstacles, ditches and tank traps. Cuckmere Haven featured heavily in the war effort; at night lights were placed to confuse bombers into thinking they were above Newhaven and an airfield was set up further inland. As well as the permanent constructions the river was heavily mined.
Cuckmere Haven as a film location
The beach at Cuckmere Haven was used for the opening scene in Kevin Costner's Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and the Seven Sisters cliff face was briefly featured in the Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The beach was featured in the 2007 film Atonement, a postcard of the lifeboat cottage overlooking the beach was a central element of the plot with Robbie Turner focusing on it as the idyll where he and Cecilia Tallis would retire after World War II. The final sequence of the film with Robbie and Cecilia running in the waves was shot on the beach.
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