LOCAL ATTRACTIONS FOR DAYTIME VISITORS

THE LONG MAN OF WILMINGTON

The origins of the 235ft chalk figure, the largest depiction of a human figure in Europe, remain a mystery. One theory is that he’s an Anglo-Saxon warrior, another suggests he was the work of a monk from the nearby priory in the Middle Ages. More fanciful is the notion he was a giant slain by another giant who threw a rock at him. In wartime, the Long Man was painted green to prevent enemy planes using the figure as a landmark.

BEACHY HEAD STORY

Discover how Beachy Head and the surrounding landscape have been important to people for thousands of years. The free exhibition includes items from the Beachy Head Lighthouse, fossils, a Roman coin hoard and the skeleton and intriguing story behind the Beachy Head Woman.

Open daily from 10am to 5pm.

SEVEN SISTERS

The rolling and most instantly recognisable series of chalk cliffs in Sussex stretch between Seaford and Birling Gap. The undulating eight-mile walk is part of the 100-mile South Downs Way, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The route is well-served by buses that also stop at Exceat and East Dean.

EAST DEAN

The green forms the heart of this quintessential village close to Birling Gap. The low oak-beamed Tiger Inn, believed to have once been a smugglers’ haunt, serves ale from the award-winning Long Man Brewery. On a nearby flint cottage is a blue plaque “marking” the spot where fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes retired. This was hinted at in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book His Last Bow.

BELLE TOUT

Built in 1832, Belle Tout Lighthouse is perched on the edge of the Beachy Head; so close that in 1999 an intricate operation was carried out to move it nearly 60ft from the edge to prevent it falling into the sea. Now a B&B, it was the setting for the 1986 television drama The Life And Loves Of A She Devil. In 1902 Belle Tout was replaced by the iconic striped Beachy Head Lighthouse.