Alfriston and River Cuckmere circular

Explore the historic village of Alfriston and the river Cuckmere

A mix of quiet roads, forest tracks and uneven footpaths with stiles and several short steep climbs.

Getting Here

By bus: There are regular services between Seaford and Eastbourne, visit traveline.info/se
By rail: Nearest stations are Seaford and Eastbourne. Visit nationalrail.co.uk

Points of Interest

Seven Sisters Country Park

This Park comprises 280 hectares of chalk cliffs, a meandering river valley and open chalk grassland. Named after the famous Seven Sisters that form part of the chalk cliffs on the Sussex Heritage Coast, one of Britain’s finest unspoilt coastlines, it is a great place to explore. Check the Visitor Information Centre opening hours on the website – sevensisters.org.uk

Litlington

This picturesque village lies about a mile from Alfriston and is surrounded by the chalk hills of the South Downs. Here you will find the Plough and Harrow, a 17th century pub with a lovely garden; Litlington Tea Gardens, one of the oldest tea
rooms in Sussex created 150 years ago; Litlington Church, originally built in 1150 AD and the Long Man Brewery (not open to the public) based at Church Farm – a site
where brewing can be traced back to 1538!

Alfriston

This pretty historic village in the heart of the Cuckmere Valley was named after Aelfric tun the ‘farmstead of Alfric’ in Anglo Saxon times. The village was recorded in the Domesday Book and the area is thought to have been occupied since Neolithic times as a number of long barrows can be found in the surrounding Downs. During the Napoleonic Wars, Alfriston was home to a large number of troops stationed to repel any invaders who got past the Martello towers and cliffs on the coast. Following these wars, the village turned to smuggling, and the Alfriston gang, well known for  their violence, used the Cuckmere river to bring illegal goods in to the village.

White horse of Litlington

This chalk figure on High and Over Hill was carved in 1924 by a man called John T  Ade, allegedly overnight by the light of a full moon so as to startle the locals with the sudden appearance of the horse in the morning! Camouflaged during WWII it was restored in the early 1980s and since then has been kept clear of vegetation (and occasionally topped up with chalk to keep it white) with the help of volunteer work parties organised by the National Trust.

Directions

1. From the bus stop at Seven Sisters Country Park Visitor Centre, carefully cross the A259 and turn right. With the cycle hire barn on your left, follow the South Downs Way (SDW) signs through the kissing gate and up the hill.
2. At the top of the hill, cross over the wall into Friston Forest and down a series of steps to Westdean.
3. With Westdean pond on your left, follow the SDW signs straight on, past some houses and uphill back into Friston Forest.
4. Turn left at the path junction and follow the SDW signs through the forest until you reach a set of steps.
5. Go down the steps and follow the SDW round to the left.
6. Turn right at the path junction, cross the stile and follow the SDW/Vanguard Way uphill, over the brow and down into Litlington village.
7. Turn left at the kissing gate behind the village hall and then right into Litlington. Walk through the village passing the Plough and Harrow pub, Litlington Tea Gardens, Litlington Church and Church Farm where the Long Man Brewery is based (not open to the public).
8. At a property called ‘The Ham’, take the raised public footpath on the left side of the road. After 200m branch left over a stile into a field and follow the field edge
   footpath.
9. Cross the stile and follow the footpath diagonally left. Cross a second stile near Lullington Road and bear left.
10.  Go through the kissing gate and keeping the fence on your right, follow the footpath to the corner of the field. Cross the stile and after 60m turn left onto
    the SDW bridleway to the White Bridge at Alfriston. (To visit nearby Lullington Church, reputed to be the smallest church in Sussex (1.1km return trip), instead of turning left onto the SDW, turn right to reach Lullington Road. At the road edge, turn right then almost immediately (10m) left and follow the public footpath up
    behind Plonk Barn. Keep straight ahead at the path junction and follow the footpath through the trees. At the back of the house turn left up a narrow  surfaced path to reach the church. Return via the same route, enjoying views of
    the White Horse/Frog Firle and Rathfinny Wine Estate, with lower lying Alfriston and St Andrews Church below.)
11. Before the bridge turn left through a kissing gate, following the SDW/Vanguard Way with the river on your right. (To visit Alfriston village cross the White
    Bridge.) Continue for 1.1miles (1.8km) passing through a series of kissing gates until you reach Litlington.
12. At the SDW path junction continue straight ahead along the tarmac path to Litlington Bridge. Carry straight on with the River Cuckmere on your right to a
    kissing gate.
13. Go through the kissing gate and follow the riverbank footpath for 635m.
14. At the path junction carry straight on and follow the riverbank footpath. Look up to your right to see the High and Over hill and Litlington White Horse.
15. After 0.6mile (1km) continue straight on at the path junction, following the meandering riverside path for a further 1.04miles (1.7km) over a series of
    stiles to the A259 at Exceat bridge.
16. Cross the A259 and either turn left, following the pavement to return to Seven Sisters Country Park Visitor Centre, or finish at the bus stop at Exceat Bridge by The Cuckmere Inn.