Between Monday 20th August and Thursday 23rd August 2012, Sandra and I paid a return visit to Belle Tout Lighthouse on the Beachy Head cliffs at Eastbourne. We had visited in early March this year and had vowed to return when the weather was warmer and the nights were lighter.
On our first visit to the lighthouse, everything was perfect, and everything would have been so this time had we not chosen the smaller Beach Hut room. We selected this because it had views from two windows – one of the South Downs, and the other of the cliffs at Beachy Head. Everything about the room was clean and spotless, though it was a tight squeeze for two persons on the larger size. We will know better next time.
Belle Tout Lighthouse taken on the morning of August 23rd 2012
We arrived around 17:00 on the Monday after a long journey caused by an accident on the M25, the journey taking two hours longer than we anticipated. However, all this was forgotten after a drink and a catch up with friends Jacquie and Ant who we met on our first visit and who joined us again this time, along with four of their friends.
On the first night, we ate at the Tiger Inn in nearby East Dean, a typical country pub serving excellent food. On the following night, we ate in the Terre Thai restaurant just across the village green from the Tiger. This too served excellent food at reasonable prices.
On the Tuesday afternoon, we went to Brighton races, somewhere I have wanted to visit for ages. This unique racecourse overlooks the town and has a very steep descent from the top of the Downs before an uphill finish. We didn’t stop for the whole meeting, but left after the first four races.
On the Wednesday morning, we watched as the cliff rescue teams retrieved the body of a man who had jumped over the cliff during the night. His abandoned car was parked by the roadside on Beachy Head Road.
The weather throughout our stay was fine and sunny making this another lovely break at the Belle Tout. I’m sure we will be visiting again in the not to distant future.
Also read: A weekend in a lighthouse