The
Seven Sisters are a series of
chalkChalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
cliffIn geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
s by the
English ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. They form part of the
South DownsThe South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
in
East SussexEast Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, between the towns of
SeafordSeaford is a coastal town in the county of East Sussex, on the south coast of England. Lying east of Newhaven and Brighton and west of Eastbourne, it is the largest town in Lewes district, with a population of about 23,000....
and
EastbourneEastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
in southern
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They are within the Seven Sisters Country Park. They are the remnants of
dry valleyA dry valley is a valley found in either karst or chalk terrain that no longer has a surface flow of water.There are many examples of the latter along the North and South Downs in southern England...
s in the chalk South Downs, which are gradually being eroded by the sea.
The Seven Sisters cliffs are occasionally used in
filmmakingFilmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
and television production as a stand-in for the more famous
white cliffs of DoverThe White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to , owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint...
, since they are relatively free of
anachronisticAn anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
modern development. They are also featured at the beginning of the film
Robin Hood: Prince of ThievesRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood...
, and at the end of the film
AtonementAtonement is a 2007 British romantic suspense war film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan. It was produced by Working Title Films and filmed throughout the summer of 2006...
where Robbie and Cecilia always wanted to live.
From west to east, the sequence starts just east of
Cuckmere HavenCuckmere Haven is an area of flood plains in Sussex, England where the river Cuckmere meets the English Channel between Eastbourne and Seaford. The river is an example of a meandering river, and contains several oxbow lakes...
. The cliff peaks and the dips between them are individually named. Listed below, the peaks are in italics. There are seven hills, with an eighth one being created by the erosion of the sea.
- Haven Brow
- Short Bottom
- Short Brow
- Limekiln Bottom
- Rough Brow
- Rough Bottom
- Brass Point
- Gap Bottom
- Flagstaff Point (continuing into Flagstaff Brow)
- Flagstaff Bottom
- Flat Hill
- Flathill Bottom
- Baily's Hill
- Michel Dean
- Went Hill Brow .
Just east of the last peak is Birling Gap. Beyond, on the top of the next hill, is
Belle Tout lighthouseThe Belle Tout lighthouse is a decommissioned lighthouse and British landmark located at Beachy Head, East Sussex. It has been called "Britain's most famous inhabited lighthouse" because of its striking location and use in film and television...
and beyond that
Beachy HeadBeachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m above sea level. The peak allows views of the south...
. A lighthouse in the sea marks the latter headland.
The
South Downs WayThe South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England, and is one of 15 National Trails in England and Wales...
runs along the edge of the cliffs, taking a very undulating course.
Many landmarks around the area are named after the cliffs, including the
Seven Sisters Sheep CentreThe Seven Sisters Sheep Centre is a farm near East Dean, in the of the South Downs. It holds a large collection of about 50 sheep breeds, including rare breeds no longer raised by commercial farmers, and a number of Southdown sheep....
.
In summer 2009, a landscape photograph of the cliffs was chosen as an official desktop wallpaper and included with the
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
operating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
Windows 7 as part of the "
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
" localised theme, unavailable (by default) to other locale systems. The image is very similar to and from the same viewpoint as the image displayed above.
External links