Detour #208: Beachy Head, East Sussex, UK
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There is no beach at beachy head, but there is a fabulous road with commanding coastal views and cracking corners.
The name comes from beau chef, meaning “beautiful headland”, which is how the French accurately described the chalky cliffs, before it gradually became corrupted over the centuries to become Beachy Head.
Fortunately the land itself remains untouched with some 4,000 acres owned by Eastbourne council who paid the princely sum of £100,000 in 1929 to protect it from future development.
So, aside from frequent hikers and landscape gawpers, it’s relatively population-free, making the seven-mile driving route that begins and ends in East Dean light on traffic – if you time it right.
Ideally that time is sunrise, before the walkers awaken. The warm glow of the sun briefly turns the white cliffs golden, and backlights the wonderful Belle Tout lighthouse. Failing that, the end of the day as dusk falls is almost as alluring.
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A circular route of just over seven miles starts and ends in East Dean. Birling Gap Road takes you south to The Seven Sisters Country Park, a unique habitat that’s a twitcher’s heaven, with kingfishers, oystercatchers, geese and grebes galore to be found.
Turn left onto Beachy Head Road, which is fast and flat with gentle curves and, initially precious little to distract on from the road itself. Then, out of nowhere comes a fleeting glimpse of the English Channel and the headland of Beachy Head itself, before they are lost again to the green hills. A twisty section known as the Z Bends follows and, as you, clear them and glance in the rear-view mirror you’ll notice that you’ve climbed high above the Sussex Downs.
Now to your right the Channel appears uninterrupted. On a clear day you can see across to France as you career along the clifftops. Soon enough the road turns inland, passing Eastbourne and up the B2103 Warren Hill.
The final section is a straight shot on East Dean Road passing through a patchwork of fields back to East Dean. If you’ve had a clear run the whole trip will only have taken 15 minutes, leaving plenty of time for another lap or two.
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ROADBOOK
CLASS:Coast road
NAME:beachy head loop
ROUTE: east dean to east dean
COUNTRY: UK
Distance: 7 Miles
The window of opportunity to drive into the wilds of Alaska’s Denali Highway is narrow.