Brighton trip June 2012 – Diamond Jubilee weekend: Out and about II

(II)                  Out and about in Sussex 

Birling Gap: is a coastal hamlet situated on the Seven Sisters not far from Beachy Head and is owned by the National Trust Coastal erosion has already removed some of the row of coastguard cottages built in 1878, and those that remain are still inhabited. There is a tea room run by The National Trust, and a large metal staircase leading down to the enclosed pebble beach and the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs. It is likely that soon it will no longer exist because the amount of erosion is so large that all the houses will have to be demolished before they fall into the sea. 

 

Seven Sisters from Birling Gap, Sussex, UK:

Beachy Head: is a chalk headland close to the town of Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m (530 ft) above sea level. The peak allows views of the south east coast from Dungeness to the east, to Selsey Bill in the west. Its height has also made it one of the most notorious suicide spots in the world.

Newhaven Fort: was built on the recommendation of the 1859 Royal Commission to defend the growing harbour at Newhaven, on the south coast of England. It was the largest defence work ever built in Sussex and is now open as a museum. The fort was originally armed on the Eastern side in the in the 1870s with two 9-inch rifled muzzle loading guns, on disappearing carriages, the only such arrangement in the UK.

From about 1906 the armament consisted of two modern 6-inch Mark VII navel guns and two OF 12-pounder guns for defence against torpedo boats. The Army vacated the fort in 1962. Restoration began in 1982 following a failed commercial redevelopment venture, and 6-inch Mk VII guns have been re-installed in the fort to approximate the 1906 - 1941 armament. The fort is preserved and maintained by Lewes District Council.

Dan steps into the wrong place to stand: 

Dan trys his spooky look down in the cellers; where ghost are meant to reside

Recovering from the Ghost walk, dan stops for light lunch: 

Lewes: is the county town of East Sussex, and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town. Lewes Castle stands at the highest point of Lewes on an artificial mound constructed with chalk blocks. It was originally called Bray Castle.