Today’s blog is a combination of landscape, and a fraction of what I saw as I walked through that landscape.

We start at Birling Gap, an area that frequently features on the news due to the dramatic cliff falls that have occurred here. (In January this year, nine people and a dog had to be rescued from the beach after the cliff behind the steps to the beach collapsed – details and photos on the BBC website.) My photo shows the view west from Birling Gap, along the Seven Sisters cliffs. Where the land dips down at the end of the Seven Sisters is where the Cuckmere River runs out to the sea. In the distance you might just make out the cottages seen in the final photo from my blog about the Seven Sisters Country Park a couple of days ago, and the chalk cliffs beyond that form the coastline from the Seven Sisters CP to the town of Seaford. The King Charles III England Coastal Path runs along the cliff tops.

All this coast, from Seaford to Eastbourne, is a migration hot spot for birds heading south out over the sea in the autumn, and for species arriving from the south in the spring. My photo shows one of the many Chiffchaffs that were feeding up in the bushes, prior to their migration journey.

The next landmark as we walk from Birling Gap towards Eastbourne is Belle Tout, a former lighthouse, now unique bed and breakfast accommodation (far too expensive for my budget, sadly). You might think that the lighthouse would be unsafe, considering how close it is to the erosion-prone cliff edge. Well, it was once even closer to that edge and, incredibly, was moved back 55 feet (17 metres). (There’s an excellent short video from the Institution of Civil Engineers on YouTube if you’re interested in learning and seeing more of this amazing engineering feat.) My memory of this area will now forever be linked to a special bird I found in the scrub you can see to the right of the lighthouse – blog to follow.

Between Belle Tout and Beachy Head is an extensive area of patchy scrub that is yet  another birding hot spot. As several had recently passed through this area, I was hoping to spot a Ring ouzel but had no luck during my two visits. The only bird of note was this late Wheatear.

Next, we climb up the hill to Beachy Head, at 531 feet (162 metres) the highest point along these cliffs, and off shore, at the base of the cliffs, is the Beachy Head light, which replaced Belle Tout as the fully functioning lighthouse to warn shipping of the rocks and dangerous waters off this coast.

On one of my visits to this area, I walked all the way back to my hotel in Eastbourne, a total for the day of around 8 and a half miles. I was sitting on a bench at the top of Beachy Head having my lunch when a large flock of birds flew over, heading east to west along the coast. I wasn’t sure which species they were but, fortunately, one of my local birding acquaintances, who does a lot of vismig (visual migration – watching, identifying, counting the birds as they move through), was able to identify these as Stock doves. The sight was a wonderful reminder of how special this area is for migrating birdlife.