Eastbourne seafront first thing in the morning before the beach wakes up.

Eastbourne is a seaside resort town on England’s southeast coast it is about 2 hours from London. On the seafront are Victorian hotels, and the 19th-century Eastbourne Pier. West along the coast, in South Downs National Park, are the tall chalk cliffs of Beachy Head and its striped lighthouse.

The Eastbourne Pier Company Ltd was formed in 1865. Work started on the structure in1866. Lord Edward Cavendish officially opened the pier, designed by Eugenius Birch, in June 1870. However, work on the 1000-foot pier, the landing stage, kiosk and windbreak were finally completed in 1872.

The beach is popular but 1st thing in the morning it is quiet with only a few dog walkers and runners.

A coastal hamlet nestled between the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head is Birling Gap a place where you can get down to the beach via a stairway. The area is managed by the National Trust above the beach is a visitor centre car park and a cafe.

Eight cottages were built at Birling Gap for the Coastguard in 1878. Today only 3 remain in 1973 due to the eroding cliff, one of the cottages was demolished again in 1994 another cottage was demolished. 2002 and 2014 lead to the loss of 2 more homes!

This is the first time I visited the gap when the tide was out. You can access the beach via a staircase.

Seven Sister – is what the cliffs are known to the west of the gap.

The cliffs to the east.

A view of the gap in the 1920s from an old postcard showing the row of coastguard cottages and coastguard rocket house.