Eastbourne and the Seven Sisters

Eastbourne is a large town, seaside resort, and borough in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex on the south coast of England, 17 miles (27 km) east of Brighton. Eastbourne is located immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the South Downs National Park.

With a seafront consisting largely of Victorian hotels, the pier, and a Napoleonic era fort and military museum, Eastbourne was developed by the Duke of Devonshire in 1859 from four separate hamlets. It has a growing population, a broad economic base, and is home to companies in a wide range of industries.

Though Eastbourne is a relatively new town, there is evidence of human occupation in the area from the Stone Age.

The town grew as a fashionable tourist resort largely thanks to prominent landowner, William Cavendish, later known as the Duke of Devonshire. Cavendish appointed architect Henry Currey to design a street plan for the town, but not before sending him to Europe to draw inspiration.

The resulting mix of architecture is typically Victorian and remains a key feature of Eastbourne.

As a seaside resort, Eastbourne derives a large and increasing income from tourism, with revenue from traditional seaside attractions augmented by conferences, public events and cultural sightseeing. The other main industries in Eastbourne include trade and retail, healthcare, education, construction, manufacturing, professional scientific and the technical sector.

Eastbourne’s population is growing; between 2001 and 2011 it increased from 89,800 to 99,412. The 2011 census shows that the average age of residents has decreased as the town has attracted students, families and those commuting to London and Brighton.

Seven Sisters

The Seven Sisters are a series of chalk cliffs by the English Channel. They form part of the South Downs in East Sussex, between the towns of Seaford and Eastbourne in southern England. They are within the Seven Sisters Country Park.

They are the remnants of dry valleys in the chalk South Downs, which are gradually being eroded by the sea.

The Seven Sisters cliffs are occasionally used in filmmaking and television production as a stand-in for the more famous White Cliffs of Dover, since they are relatively free of anachronistic modern development and are also allowed to erode naturally.

Seven Sisters and Beachy Head remain a bright white colour, whereas the White Cliffs of Dover are protected due to the important port and are therefore increasingly covered in vegetation and are greening as a result. They are also featured at the beginning of the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and at the end of the film Atonement where Robbie and Cecilia always wanted to live.

From west to east, the sequence starts just east of Cuckmere Haven. The cliff peaks and the dips between them are individually named. Listed below, the peaks are in italics. There are seven hills, with an eighth one being created by the erosion of the sea.

Just east of the last peak is Birling Gap. Beyond, on the top of the next hill, is Belle Tout lighthouse and beyond that Beachy Head. A lighthouse in the sea marks the latter headland.

The South Downs Way runs along the edge of the cliffs, taking a very undulating course.

An east-facing photo of the Seven Sisters is included as one of the default landscape wallpapers packaged with Microsoft Windows 7.

Many landmarks around the area are named after the cliffs, including the Seven Sisters Sheep Centre.