Sussex Coast Walk - Stage Four - An Evening On The Sunshine Coast
Now, we all know that some people are obsessed with symmetry. And when people like this plan something like a long coastal walk, well, they like nothing better that to divide it up into lovely, perfectly equal parts.
And by the way, I am holding my hand up at this point, just in case you wanted to know.
So, a 120 mile walk, perfectly broken down into 12 stages of 10 miles each, would feel very nicely balanced to me, thank you very much.
But sadly, and there is always a sadly with an introduction like this, I completely forgot to take into account something as simply as the the geography that we might actually come across.
And what I am trying to explain here, in a very long winded way, is that, after all of the planning for our walk, and despite my best efforts, we ended up with a little bit left over.
The part between Pevensey Bay and Eastbourne, to be precise.
Not too far, but far enough not to be able to just add it onto one of the stages either side without it being a little much for us unfit and still not very competent walkers.
So we decided, on the spur of the moment, to get this little stage done, and jumped into the car on a lovely, sunny Saturday afternoon and headed down to the coast.
We found ourselves retracing our steps from Pevensey Bay station, which thankfully was open and accessible this time around (see previous blog post for rather frustrated explanation), and down to the beach at just after 5.00pm.
With temperatures still nicely warm, we started this part of the walk on the wet sand, sharing it with excited children and dogs, still running in and out of the water in the early evening sunshine. It really was rather idyllic as we walked on the sand, looking back towards Hastings and mentally congratulating ourselves on how far our walk had already taken us.
It wasn’t too long before we decided to head back up the shingle to find firmer ground as we found the sand that was great for walking on, gradually disappearing under the water. For a while we weaved in and out of caravan sites and even found ourselves on the main road as we struggled to find a clearly defined path. We did find firmer footing eventually as we reached the edge of Sovereign Harbour, a relatively recent development consisting of four marina’s, housing, holiday lets and a retail park. We only got to really see the beachfront and, briefly, the marina side, on our walk and, whilst it may be a wonderful place to while away some time, it didn’t really grab our attention.
The footpath took us past a couple more Martello Towers, built to protect this part of the coast from Napoleonic invasion in the early 19th century. So many seem to have been restored into rather beautiful and, one assumes, very robust homes, that it was nice to see one or two in a more run down and natural state, especially contrasting with the new apartments alongside them.
We turned back into the development as the harbour entrance appeared and crossed over the top of two locks which controlled access into and out of the main marina. It was all rather fun as we waited for lights to show when we could safely cross the top of the substantial gates.
The outside of the harbour itself seemed to be a mix of shingle beach and mud-flats, a little unexpected but pleasant enough. We took a break and watched some of the birds wading on the mud and further along noticed signs identifying the wildlife on view.
Having passed Sovereign Harbour, we spotted Eastbourne pier as we rounded the corner, highlighted in the evening sunshine and a little further away than it probably appeared. We did notice some rather impressive holiday lets on this corner but were horrified at the complete lack of any privacy offered to those using them, something that we felt was the case with many of the apartments in this area. Almost certainly a case of profit over privacy from the developers.
The walk along the front into the heart of Eastbourne was lovely but, with just a few exceptions, most unremarkable. We did pass some fishing huts, with no particular beauty or historical interest, but very clearly identified by the smell. Probably the most impressive point on the seafront, and sadly closed to further inspection, was the Eastbourne Redoubt, a circular coastal defence fort, also dating back to Napoleonic wars some 200 hundred or so years ago. This was clearly a substantial building, over 225 feet in diameter, and intended to support the chain or Martello Towers located along the coast. Like so many of these fortifications, it appeared that by the time they were constructed the threat had passed and, thankfully, they were never used in anger.
Apart from an occasional stop to take photographs, we soon reached the pier and the end of our rather short walk. As this was a first visit to Eastbourne, we were both impressed with the beautiful hotels on the sea-front, no doubt dating back to its Victorian prime, and how clean and tidy everywhere seemed to be.
With the sun gradually slipping towards the horizon and casting a lovely warm glow over the town, we decided to take some time to enjoy the place rather than rushing home. Thankfully, the fact that it was still rather quiet for a seaside resort on a sunny Saturday in July worked in our favour. We found a lovely little restaurant in one of the side streets that was virtually empty and enjoyed some Indian street food before jumping into the car and heading back along the A27.
Hardly traditional for Eastbourne but who really cares. It was a lovely way to complete our “little bit left over” part of the walk.
Stage 4 – Pevensey Bay to Eastbourne Pier
Date of walk - 18th July 2020
Distance walked 5.26 miles / 8.45 km
Floors climbed (using Apple Health app.) 3 floors
Ongoing totals 34.0 miles / 54.7 km / 147 floors
