Natural landmarks · South East England
Beachy Head
Also known as: Pentir Beachy
Britain's highest sea cliff (162 m) on the Sussex coast.
Helmut Zozmann — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
About
Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the South Downs coast just west of Eastbourne, the highest sea cliff in Britain at 162 metres. The current Beachy Head Lighthouse (1902) stands offshore at the foot of the cliff; the older Belle Tout Lighthouse (1834) sits on top, having been moved 17 metres inland in 1999 to escape erosion. A South Downs National Park beauty spot with sweeping coast walks east to Eastbourne.
Photo gallery
From the Wikipedia article
Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, forming part of the Eastbourne Downland Estate. The cliff is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m (531 ft) above sea level. The peak allows views of the south east coast towards Dungeness in the east, and to the Isle of Wight in the west. LB&SCR H2 class 4-4-2 steam locomotive number 424 (later B424, 2424, and 32424) was named Beachy Head after this landmark.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
The name Beachy Head appears as 'Beauchef' in 1274, becoming 'Beaucheif' by 1317, and it has nothing to do with the word "beach". Instead, it is a corruption of the original French words meaning "beautiful headland" ('). It was regularly called Beachy Head by 1724. In 1929, Eastbourne Borough Council bought 4000 acre of land surrounding Beachy Head to save it from development at a cost of about £100,000 (equivalent to £}} in ). This land became known as the Eastbourne Downland Estate. The prominence of Beachy Head has made it a landmark for sailors in the English Channel. It is noted as such in the sea shanty Spanish Ladies: The ashes of German social scientist and philosopher Friedrich…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 50.7325, 0.2470
- Address
- Eastbourne, East Sussex, England
Sources
- manual: beachy-head (manual)
- wikipedia: Beachy Head (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Cinematic fly-through
Rendered from Environment Agency LIDAR (OGL v3) using Blender. Drag the timeline to scrub.
3D view
Drag to rotate · scroll to zoom · Copernicus DEM 30m / European Space Agency (CC BY 4.0)
Other places nearby
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Nearby
📷 5Lighthouses · South East England
Beachy Head Lighthouse
Beachy Head Lighthouse — lighthouse at Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK.
📷 5Memorials & monuments · South East England
Bomber Command Tribute Memorial Beachy Head
Bomber Command Tribute Memorial Beachy Head — War memorial, dating to 2012-07-08.
📷 5Museums · South East England
The Beachy Head Story
The Beachy Head Story — a museum in england-south-east, United Kingdom.
📷 5Viewpoints · South East England
Cow Gap
Cow Gap is a viewpoint in the United Kingdom.
📷 5Lighthouses · South East England
Belle Tout lighthouse
Belle Tout lighthouse — decommissioned lighthouse at Beachy Head, East Sussex, England, UK.
📷 5Historic houses · South East England
Roedean Moira House
Roedean Moira House — a school heritage in england-south-east, United Kingdom.
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Beachy Head?
- Beachy Head is in South East England, in the United Kingdom — coordinates 50.7325°, 0.2470°.
- Who owns Beachy Head?
- Beachy Head is owned by | designation =.