London To Eastbourne Day Trip (Birling Gap Walk)

If you are looking for a lovely day trip from London, then the London to Eastbourne route could be your answer. Easily accessed by public transport, this can be a nice place to get away from the city and see some different scenery.

The walk I did was from Eastbourne pier to Birling Gap, which is just part of the way along the big walk to the Seven Sisters walk (which is around 20km). From Eastbourne to Birling Gap, it’s around 10km and will take most people 2-3 hours to complete (one way). It took me 2.15 hours from the pier to Birling Gap, and a little quicker on the way home as I took a more direct route (I walk reasonably quickly).

Although you are likely to get some spectacular scenery on any day, going when the sun is out is simply beautiful! Remember though that the walk is very exposed, so definitely remember to put on sunscreen (yes, even in the UK!), a hat and bring some water and snacks with you! Likewise, bring appropriate clothing for cooler or wet weather as it can get windy and cold up on the cliffs.

The cliffs are eroding, so please do follow the signs and do not go to close to the edge, it can be really dangerous!

London to Eastbourne – Getting there

You can easily take the train from London to Eastbourne, which will take 90 minutes. Trains leave from both London Victoria and Clapham Junction and depart around every half an hour. They will go directly to Eastbourne too, so no changing trains along the way (makes things easier!).

If you head to thetrainline.com, you can often get much cheaper tickets if you book a couple of weeks in advance, so keep an eye out for good deals.

For those of you who are driving, you could park in Eastbourne (several car parks here), or at the other end at Birling Gap Cafe, and do the walk the other way around. There is also paid car parks at the Beachy Head Pub and close to the Belle Tout Lighthouse (named Shooters Bottom car park, great name!). These are both around halfway-ish along on the walk).

Where exactly is Eastbourne?

Eastbourne is located in the county of East Sussex in the South-East of the UK. The white cliff coastline named Beachy Head covers the section from Eastbourne to Birling Gap, which then continues on to the famous Severn Sisters, which are a series of white chalk cliffs along the coastline, providing stunning views. Birling Gap provides a great vantage point for viewing the Seven Sisters.

Starting your London to Eastbourne day trip

I would suggest getting a really early train to Eastbourne and giving yourself time to grab a lovely coffee or breakfast once arrived. There are plenty of cafes, but it just so happens that one of the best is situated right by the station. It’s called Nelson’s Coffee, and does great coffee, food and pastries too.

Before the Eastbourne to Birling gap walk, take some time to wander around the high street (you have to go down this street to get to the pier anyway). The pier is pretty much at the end of the high street and very easy to find from either Google maps or the signposts dotted about.

Early morning is really nice here as it’s so quiet and the water looks so calm. There are many benches and places to sit if you fancy.

Start of Eastbourne to Birling Gap Walk

Starting from Eastbourne pier, walk along the promenade (the sea should be on your left), and continue straight. The first section along the promenade is a nice flat walk, and there is basically three tracks you can take, all parallel to one another.

You can continue along the promenade right on the beach, or there is another paved path a little higher but basically right next to the beach (this is the one I took and it was lined with some pretty scrubs and nice views of the ocean), or you can walk along the road, but not sure why you’d want to do that!

You will pass a nice lawned garden, before reaching the Wish Tower, which was built to defend against possible invasions by Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th century. It sits on top of a man-made mound, with a moat around it. They open it occasionally for various events, but it is also just nice to take a photo of, with the sea in the background.

After around half an hour, you should reach the Italian Gardens. There should be signposts here as this is where the promenade ends. The gardens are a lovely little sport to rest your legs.

From the Italian Gardens, you need to walk away from the coast slightly and onto the road, continuing in the same direction. I got a tiny bit lost here finding the start of the trail, but it wasn’t too bad! I’m sure you could ask anyone though and they should be able to give directions.

You should reach a wooden signpost which will say ‘South Downs Way National Trail.’ From here you can go straight forwards on the steep hill, or take the path to the left, which is not as direct, but the views will be better of the sea. I took the path on the left and just followed it around.

You will walk along, over the grassy paths, up a steep bit, but it then evens out slightly, until you reach Beachy Head Lighthouse (it will take around 40-50 mins to reach this viewpoint). This an excellent place for a quick leg rest and snack, and to snap some pictures of the lighthouse.

Continue walking along the track, you can’t really go wrong as its just a straight path! You’ll soon come across some wonderful views walking up to Belle Tout lighthouse, which has been converted into a unique bed and breakfast.

A little further on (around 20 mins) you will reach Birling Gap. From here, you can get one of the best views of the Seven Sisters. This is where I turned back, but you can always walk further if you like!

At Birling Gap you will find a lovely little café, where you can stop for a well-earned rest and some lunch or coffee to refuel. There is also some stairs down to the small pebble beach. It’s not the prettiest of beaches I must admit, but a bit of a different view of the towering cliffs above.

After a nice sit down, you can either walk back the way you came or take the path more inland (Beachy Head circular walk). This won’t give you the ocean views though. What I did was walk back the same way for a short distance, and then took the path slightly more inland, that eventually leads to the Beachy Head Pub. This is also a nice lunch spot.
The path back follows the nearby road but offers some different, more countryside views and is quite pretty, so I would recommend it. I also saw a few cows on top of the hill, coming back down onto the promenade, which made for an interesting photo.

Make your way back down to Eastbourne pier. The inland path on the way back is a slightly more direct route, so a little quicker to get back. It took me around 2.15 hours to walk from the pier to Birling Gap and about 1.30 hours on the way back. Then take the London to Eastbourne line back to the big city. The train back to London is every 30 minutes, you won’t have to wait for long.

More from the UK:

• Beautiful Walks in England: Rye, Sussex
• A Beautiful Countryside Walk in Shere, Surrey
• Best Walks in London: Hampstead