National Trust - Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters — Attraction in Wealden

Last week, I visited this stunning sea beach with my family. The bank Holiday Monday and hot sunny weather brought lots of tourists in this area to enjoy a great day out and we did enjoy a lot. The National Trust nicely managed the site and we easily found a parking space near the visiting centre. You have to buy parking tickets and display (blue badge holders can park their car free). It is also connected by local transport. As we drove from London, after reaching Birling gap, we wanted to go to the toilet where at least 50 people were queuing, mostly women. After waiting for a few minutes in the queue, I found out that you can easily go for men's toilet without queuing. But I felt very bad for all the women waiting there. So, it would be great to have some extra toilets for women. There were no other alternatives other than National Trust managed toilet. The stony beach itself was beautiful (you need to take lots of stairs to get down to the sea level & it is not suitable for wheelchair users) and we walked along the cliffs. However, we couldn't proceed to the far right side of the beach as we found two men and one woman were lying down fully nude and enjoying sunshine. It was very embarrassing for us becausewe didn't expecting this in a family beach managed by National Trust. So, we return to the visiting centre, eat some snacks from there and walked over the cliffs instead. Finally, I must acknowledge that this is a very pleasant place tovisit (except suddenly looking at some nude people) and I would recommend everyone...

Well located Visitor Centre and parking for walks along the outstanding Seven Sisters white cliffs or a longer walk to Beach Head. We arrived as it opened at 10am on a hot, sunny summer’s day, parking was available (but had filled up 45 minutes later), with a ticket machine that could scan NT membership cards to print a free ticket. We enjoyed good sausage rolls and hot drinks in the pleasant cafe, which is next to a small gift shop. The small visitor centre had an interesting display about the region and helpful staff but no free maps, although they display OS maps you are welcome to take photos from of the area you wish to walk on the day.

The only reason it doesn’t get five stars from me is that it struggled to cope with the extreme numbers of people that arrived as the day progressed. We had a picnic lunch (and there are some picnic tables) but the lunch time queues for the cafe were very long. The main problem however was the inadequate toilet facilities - maybe sufficient for the people who use this car park but as seemingly the only public toilets for miles either side on the coastal paths, they couldn’t cope with all the other walkers stopping here and people who had parked outside the NT car park. On this busy Sunday in peak summer season there were excessively long queues all afternoon outside the ladies (only three cubicles) and at times shorter queues...

Coastal location in East Sussex giving stunning views of the white cliffs and surrounding countryside. It is possible to access the beach via steps leading from the car park belonging to The National Trust. Parking is free if you're a member but non members can park for a few. There is also limited parking by the roadside. It is possible to walk the grassy bank along the cliffs as they climb higher and higher affording stunning views along the coast and out to see and also the Sussex downs. There is a historic lighthouse at the very top of the hill. A word of warning: The edges of the cliff are open and unstable, there are if course wRni GS in ace but no one would survive a fall from such a height,even at the lowest point. You can take your dog but on a lead only,again due to the open cliff edge. There are toilets in the car park including a disabled toilet and these are open until 6pm. The national Trust Cafe is open until 5pm and they also have a visitors centre and a shop. Members should scan their card to get free parking. There are two other locations nearby, Beachy Head is towards Eastbourne and in the other direction is The Seven Sisters. Both have parking facilities and there is a public house...