Updated every 5 minutes

Plan Your Visit with Live Conditions

Q: Is Seven Sisters worth visiting today?

The CoastMetric visit score gives you a real-time 0–100 rating based on current weather, wind, tides and path conditions, updated every 5 minutes.

Q: How long does the Seven Sisters walk take?

The most popular Seven Sisters walk — Exceat to Birling Gap — is 6.5 km and takes 2–3 hours (moderate). The short Birling Gap loop is 2 km and takes about 45 minutes. The full Seaford to Eastbourne coastal route is 21.9 km and takes 6–7 hours.

Q: How do I get to Seven Sisters without a car?

The seasonal 13X Coaster (Brighton & Hove Buses) is the only bus that stops directly at Birling Gap; the year-round 12/12X Coaster serve Seaford, Exceat and East Dean. Trains from London and Brighton run to Seaford and Eastbourne. Always check the current timetable before travelling — services are seasonal.

Q: Where is the best place to park at Seven Sisters?

The National Trust car park at Birling Gap (BN20 0AB) is pay-and-display and fills early on weekends. The Seven Sisters Country Park car park at Exceat (BN25 4AD) is larger. On busy days, park in Seaford or East Dean village and walk in.

Before you head out, check the real-time visit score for the Seven Sisters — tides, wind, weather and path conditions all in one place. Free, no account needed.

Check live conditions now

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Plan your trip

Everything you need, in one place

Check today's live conditions, then jump straight to routes, transport, timing and more — every part of planning a Seven Sisters visit, all from here.

Getting There

Buses, trains, parking and the seasonal 13X — every car and car-free option to reach Birling Gap and Cuckmere Haven.

Buses, trains & parking →

Walking Routes

From the full cliff traverse to a short family loop — pick the right route for your group, distance and time.

Choose your route →

When to Visit

Best seasons, quietest times of day and how to dodge the bank-holiday crowds at the car parks.

Best time to go →

Live Conditions Live

Today's visit score — tides, wind, weather and path conditions, updated every 5 minutes. Know before you go.

Check today's score ↓

The Full Guide

Our complete visitor guide to the Seven Sisters — history, geology, the cliffs, the coast and everything in between.

Read the guide →

Guided Experiences

Cliff walks, photography days, wildlife and family tours led by local guides — with live availability.

Browse experiences →

Live conditions

Today's visit score, explained

The panel alongside is live. It shows the CoastMetric visit score — a single 0–100 rating that answers one question: is right now a good time to be on the Seven Sisters?

What it is

One number distilled from seven live data streams — weather, wind, tides, water quality, flood alerts, air quality and daylight. The higher the score, the better the conditions on the cliff top right now.

How it works

CoastMetric pulls from Open-Meteo, UKHO Admiralty tide predictions and the Environment Agency, blends them into a single rating — with a separate wind safety alert when gusts at cliff level turn dangerous — and recalculates every 5 minutes.

Why it matters

Cliff-top conditions can differ sharply from an inland forecast — it is colder and much windier up there, and beach access at Birling Gap and Cuckmere Haven depends on the tide. The score does that cross-checking for you before you commit to the trip.

Check it anytime — three ways

The toolkit button — the round button in the corner of every page on this site opens the Conditions tab with the live score, tides and transport. No need to leave the page.

The "Should you walk today?" band — a live verdict strip on our walking routes page, the homepage and the getting there guide.

The full dashboard — bookmark coastmetric.com on your phone for hourly detail, tide charts and live departures on the day.

Real-time data

Everything that affects your visit, in one score

The CoastMetric visit score pulls from seven live data sources and recalculates every 5 minutes. No guesswork — just a clear signal for whether today is a good day to go.

Cliff-top Weather

Hourly forecasts from Open-Meteo tailored for the Seven Sisters headland — temperature, cloud cover, precipitation and visibility.

Wind Safety Alerts

Live wind speed and gusts at cliff level. High-wind warnings flag when conditions are dangerous near exposed edges.

Live Tide Times

UKHO Admiralty tide predictions for Cuckmere Haven and Birling Gap — essential for beach access and timing your walk.

Water Quality

Environment Agency bathing water ratings for Seven Sisters beaches — so you know if it's safe to swim before you set off.

Transport Departures

Live bus and train times from Seaford and Eastbourne — useful if you're parking at one end and catching a bus back.

Full bus, train & parking guide →

Air Quality & Pollen

UV index, air quality score and pollen levels — especially relevant in spring and summer when South Downs pollen counts spike.

Golden Hour & Sunset

Precise sunrise, sunset and golden hour times for the Seven Sisters — the cliffs face west, making sunset the best photography window.

Flood Alerts

Environment Agency flood warning data for the Cuckmere Valley — important after heavy rain when the river path can flood quickly.

Walking routes

Choose the right route for your group

Two tried-and-tested routes along the Seven Sisters — the classic clifftop walk from Exceat, or a short family loop from Birling Gap. Full maps and two more options on the routes page.

Classic

Exceat to Birling Gap

The classic walk over all seven summits

6.5 km 2–3 hours Moderate

Passes all seven chalk summits — the definitive Seven Sisters experience. Starts at the Seven Sisters Country Park car park at Exceat and finishes at Birling Gap with its National Trust café and toilets.

Exceat — Country Park car park, visitor centre and bus stop
Cuckmere valley path past the river meanders
Haven Brow — steep first climb, highest point at ~77 m
Short Brow, Rough Brow, Brass Point, Flagstaff Point, Bailey's Hill
Went Hill Brow — look back for the classic seven-peak view
Birling Gap — NT café, toilets, parking and beach steps

Short & Family

Birling Gap to Belle Tout

Easy cliff-top loop with lighthouse views

2 km ~45 mins Easy

The ideal short outing — a clear cliff-top path from Birling Gap to the historic Belle Tout lighthouse, now a B&B, with sweeping views towards Beachy Head. Child and dog friendly.

Birling Gap — start from the NT car park (paid)
Cliff path south-west towards Beachy Head
Belle Tout Lighthouse — now a B&B, great photo stop
Return same way or via the inland path for variety

View all walking routes →

The 10-minute plan

Plan your day in five steps

A Seven Sisters day trip only needs a few decisions made in the right order. Work through these and you are done.

Check today's score

Start with the live visit score above — wind, tides and weather decide whether today is a walking day or a café day.

See the score ↑

Pick your route

Four options from a 2 km loop to the full 21.9 km coastal route, with maps, elevation profiles and a route matcher.

Compare routes →

Sort the journey

Train, seasonal 13X bus or car — and where to park before the car parks fill on sunny weekends.

Getting there → · Parking →

Pack for the cliff top

Layers, water and offline maps — it is colder and windier up there, and phone signal drops in the valleys.

Safety guide → · Signal map →

Take a guide with you

Grab the free 3-page walk guide, or the complete premium companion with an offline trail map that works with no signal.

Free guide → · Premium →

Safety

Know before you go

Cliff edges are actively eroding

The Seven Sisters chalk cliffs collapse without warning — sometimes in large sections. Stay well back from the cliff edge at all times. CoastMetric's wind safety alert flags when gusts at cliff level reach dangerous levels.

Wear layers

Cliff tops are 5–8°C colder than forecast and significantly windier

Check tides for the beach

Beach access at Birling Gap and Cuckmere Haven is tide-dependent

No mobile signal

Signal is patchy on the cliff path — download maps before you go. Where it drops →

Bring water & snacks

No facilities on the cliff path; Birling Gap NT café is the only stop

Dogs on leads

Livestock grazing on the South Downs — dogs must be kept on leads

Avoid summer bank holidays

Birling Gap car park fills by 9am on bank holidays; arrive before 8am or take the bus. Seasonal crowd guide →

In an emergency on the cliff path, call 999 and ask for Coastguard. Give your location as best you can — the nearest postcode to Birling Gap is BN20 0AB. CoastMetric's conditions dashboard links directly to live flood alerts and Environment Agency warnings for the area.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Is Seven Sisters worth visiting today?

The best way to answer that is to check the live visit score at CoastMetric. It aggregates weather, wind, tides, water quality and path conditions into a 0–100 score, updated every 5 minutes from authoritative data sources.

What are the tide times at Seven Sisters today?

Live UKHO Admiralty tide predictions for Cuckmere Haven and Birling Gap are shown in the CoastMetric conditions dashboard. Low tide is the best time to walk the beach below the cliffs — check before you go as beach access can be cut off by a rising tide.

How long does the Seven Sisters walk take?

The most popular Seven Sisters walk — Exceat to Birling Gap — is 6.5 km and takes 2–3 hours (moderate). The short Birling Gap loop is 2 km and takes about 45 minutes. The full Seaford to Eastbourne coastal route is 21.9 km and takes 6–7 hours. Compare all four on the walking routes page.

How do I get to Seven Sisters without a car?

The seasonal 13X Coaster (Brighton & Hove Buses) is the only bus that stops directly at Birling Gap; the year-round 12/12X Coaster serve Seaford, Exceat and East Dean. Trains from London and Brighton run to Seaford and Eastbourne. Always check the current timetable before travelling — services are seasonal. Full options in the getting there guide.

Is it safe to walk to the cliff edge at Seven Sisters?

No. Cliff edges at Seven Sisters are unstable and frequently collapse without warning. Stay well back from all cliff edges. The CoastMetric wind safety alert flags dangerous gusts in real time — see our cliff-edge safety guide.

Is it safe to swim at Seven Sisters?

Birling Gap has a designated bathing beach. Check the Environment Agency water quality rating before swimming — CoastMetric shows this in real time. The sea can be strong around the headlands; swim only at designated areas and check tide and swell data first.

Where is the best place to park at Seven Sisters?

The National Trust car park at Birling Gap (BN20 0AB) is pay-and-display and fills early on weekends. The Seven Sisters Country Park car park at Exceat (BN25 4AD) is larger. On busy days, park in Seaford or East Dean village and walk in. See the full parking guide for prices and tactics.

Is there mobile phone signal at Seven Sisters?

Signal is patchy — it drops in the valleys and along parts of the cliff path. Download offline maps before you set out and do not rely on streaming map data mid-walk. Our phone signal guide maps where reception drops and how to prepare.

How often does the CoastMetric visit score update?

The score recalculates every 5 minutes from live feeds: Open-Meteo weather, UKHO Admiralty tides, Environment Agency flood and water quality data, and live transport feeds. No account or download is needed — it runs in any browser.