Birling Gap is one of many locations on this coast which is at imminent risk from coastal erosion. Owned by the National Trust, over the years many of the buildings that once stood on the low cliffs have toppled in to the sea, including a part of a row of coastguard cottages. Other buildings in the area, including the local hotel, are all seen to be at risk and given that there are no sea defences to protect the settlement, and none planned, are all likely to fall victim to the sea. The cliffs here are mainly chalk, with outcroppings of flint, loess and soil. The flint has often been used to decorate local houses. The rate of erosion is somewhere in the region of three feet per year.
In 2017, the beach needed to be evacuated when a chemical haze came in from the sea causing sore throats and sickness to those on the beach. Despite an inquiry, no cause for the incident has been announced. The beach has long been a popular location, with iron steps giving access to the enclosed pebble beach below.
Lying inland behind the hills is the area known as the Weald which separates the North and South Downs. If you have read previous walks, you will know that we walked on the North Downs when we were in Kent which is where the North Downs exit at North Foreland where they exist as among other features, the White Cliffs of Dover. The geology of the North and South Downs and the Low and HIgh Weald that separates them makes iinteresting reading for anoraks like me! In all three areas the habitats are under threat and with them, the animals, plants and insects that they contain. Watch this short video by the South Downs National Park to gain an insight in to the fragility of one such habitat, lowland heath.
There is a walk paralleling the the river but we took a slightly wider course so that we could stop for lunch at the small settlement of Excete. What a disappointment that turned out to be! After sitting for well over half an hour in the bistro we made inquiries as to where our lunch was only to be informed that it hadn't been ordered yet. Some fault with the computer ordering system. If they had been half-way apologetic about it we might have found some understanding. However, after being made to feel it was our fault for being stupid enough not to follow up sooner and being told it would be at least another half hour before food could be prepared, we payed for our drinks, upped sticks and left them to it. Certainly not a place we would recommend!
We were walking now on the Vanguard Way and the Sussex Ouse Valley Way, both of which cut inland to go, first along Mill Creek to access and then to follow the way of the River Ouse. Going up the creek we passed what was the location of a small settlement called Tide Mills, a village abandoned in 1939. The village grew alongside the tidal mill that was built here by the Duke of Newcastle in 1761 and which ceased operating about 1900. Tidal mills are driven by the rise and fall of the tide. When the tide rises the water is collected in, for example a holding area, with a gate closing when the tide reverses. A sluice gate is then used to release the waters to turn the mill wheel as and when required. At Seaford the tide was used to turn sixteen millstones. The buildings were demolished during the Second World War.
We followed the course of the river on a long walk up to the bridge where the A259 crosses and from there walked through the town to our accommodation for the night. The last mile or so was hard slog and actual seemed more like four or five. Amazing what tiredness does!