Seaford Head Need Need Head Seaford at Habitats the of All Scientific Special of Site Head Beachy to Seaford The

Home , Beachy Head, Seaford Head, Sussex Wildlife Trust

alive with birdsong, wherever you live. you wherever birdsong, with alive

our towns and countryside thriving, full of flowers and and flowers of full thriving, countryside and towns our

Sussex Wildlife Trust wants to see the natural areas of of areas natural the see to wants Trust Wildlife Sussex for wildlife and landscape. and wildlife for

flood protection and climate control. control. climate and protection flood downland reserves resulting in significant improvements improvements significant in resulting reserves downland

processes give us clean water, food, food, water, clean us give processes

been extremely successful on many of the Trust’s other other Trust’s the of many on successful extremely been

skylark

and its natural natural its and such as golfers, dog-walkers etc. This approach has has approach This etc. dog-walkers golfers, as such

average the cliffs erode by half a metre a year. a metre a half by erode cliffs the average

social well-being well-being social o

continuing to be mindful of the needs of other users users other of needs the of mindful be to continuing e

W position, a process which still continues today - on on - today continues still which process a position,

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economy and and economy h

fencing to rotate grazed areas around the reserve, whilst whilst reserve, the around areas grazed rotate to fencing r

rising sea eroded the chalk cliffs back to their current current their to back cliffs chalk the eroded sea rising t

Nature is not a luxury. It underpins our our underpins It luxury. a not is Nature

grazing by sheep and cattle, using temporary electric electric temporary using cattle, and sheep by grazing

look. At the end of the last Ice Age the the Age Ice last the of end the At look.

edges for important invertebrates, and has re-introduced re-introduced has and invertebrates, important for edges 50 years. 50 giving the Downs their sculpted sculpted their Downs the giving coccolithophore

support the bird interest), whilst maintaining some scrub scrub some maintaining whilst interest), bird the support next rebuild the county’s wildlife and wild places over the the over places wild and wildlife county’s the rebuild carved further valleys in the chalk, chalk, the in valleys further carved

of the encroaching scrub (though plenty will remain to to remain will plenty (though scrub encroaching the of , to to , Landscape Living a strategy, new a develop to snow and ice from the Ice Ages Ages Ice the from ice and snow

The Sussex Wildlife Trust has been trimming back some some back trimming been has Trust Wildlife Sussex The Sussex, they have drawn on their experience and history history and experience their on drawn have they Sussex, Thousands of years ago, melting melting ago, years of Thousands

of the most beautiful yet vulnerable natural resources in in resources natural vulnerable yet beautiful most the of very rare moon carrot. moon rare very around 2 million years old. years million 2 around

own sake and for people to enjoy. As stewards of some some of stewards As enjoy. to people for and sake own of losing some of the specialised plants here such as the the as such here plants specialised the of some losing of the Cuckmere is thought to be be to thought is Cuckmere the

and campaigning to protect the wildlife of Sussex, for its its for Sussex, of wildlife the protect to campaigning and overgraze some of the plants, meaning we are in danger danger in are we meaning plants, the of some overgraze through the chalk to the sea - - sea the to chalk the through

Sussex Wildlife Trust has a 50 year history of working working of history year 50 a has Trust Wildlife Sussex help to maintain it a little, but they also tend to to tend also they but little, a it maintain to help In places rivers carved a way way a carved rivers places In

the chalk grassland. The rabbits rabbits The grassland. chalk the know as the South Downs. South the as know Friston Forest. Friston

corridor, it is quickly destroying destroying quickly is it corridor, with the huge domes of chalk we now now we chalk of domes huge the with Heath National Nature Reserve just the other side of of side other the just Reserve Nature National Heath

for birds migrating along the river river the along migrating birds for sandstones of the Weald were eroded away, leaving us us leaving away, eroded were Weald the of sandstones to areas further up the river valley, and to the Lullington Lullington the to and valley, river the up further areas to

While this provides some shelter shelter some provides this While the sea level went down and the surrounding clays and and clays surrounding the and down went level sea the South Downs National Park, and are naturally connected connected naturally are and Park, National Downs South

to dominate many parts of the reserve. reserve. the of parts many dominate to weight of water above. The seabed gradually rose up, up, rose gradually seabed The above. water of weight or even the SSSI in isolation. They form just part of the the of part just form They isolation. in SSSI the even or

many centuries ago, scrub has come come has scrub ago, centuries many of years, layers of chalk which were compressed by the the by compressed were which chalk of layers years, of It would be a mistake however to view the nature reserve reserve nature the view to however mistake a be would It

which helped form the chalk grassland grassland chalk the form helped which

died and sank to the bottom they formed, over millions millions over formed, they bottom the to sank and died

scarce and rare plants, invertebrates and birds. and invertebrates plants, rare and scarce

In the absence of a grazing regime, regime, grazing a of absence the In

with skeletons or shells of calcium carbonate. As these these As carbonate. calcium of shells or skeletons with

meanders. It supports a number of nationally significant, significant, nationally of number a supports It meanders.

cycle. microscopic plankton called coccolithophores, each each coccolithophores, called plankton microscopic

chalk heath are perhaps most at risk. at most perhaps are heath chalk river and cliffs chalk and foreshore grassland, maritime

to complete their life life their complete to

had only recently evolved. In the sea were trillions of of trillions were sea the In evolved. recently only had

relationship with ants ants with relationship

them. Of these, the chalk grassland and and grassland chalk the these, Of them. habitat), rare and unique (a heath chalk grassland,

and need a close close a need and

dinosaurs roamed, and flowering plants and bees bees and plants flowering and roamed, dinosaurs

specialised plants and animals that live in in live that animals and plants specialised chalk herb-rich including habitats of range diverse on horseshoe vetch, vetch, horseshoe on

caterpillars only feed feed only caterpillars sea was 300 metres higher than it is today. On land land On today. is it than higher metres 300 was sea

to be protected for the important range of of range important the for protected be to its of recognition in 1953, in notified first was Interest

grassland. Their Their grassland.

100 million years ago, in a much warmer climate, the the climate, warmer much a in ago, years million 100

of southern chalk chalk southern of All of the habitats at Seaford Head need need Head Seaford at habitats the of All Scientific Special of Site Head Beachy to Seaford The

are real specialists specialists real are

Adonis blue butterflies butterflies blue Adonis A vision for the future... the for vision A picture bigger The History

What makes Seaford Head so How to find us special? Seaford Head lies just west of the Cuckmere estuary at the Seaford Head Seven Sisters Country Park. It can be accessed from the Seaford Head is the best spot to enjoy the most iconic footpath which runs along the west side of the river (from view in England - of the majestic Seven Sisters cliffs. the Cuckmere Inn pub), from the private road which runs Local Nature Reserve Guide south from the eastern end of Chyngton Way, or along the But there’s much more to it than that. It’s part of coastal path from Seaford Esplanade. If using a satnav or the Seaford Head to Beachy Head Site of Special GPS, the nearest postcode for the car park is BN25 4JE; or Scientific Interest, designated for its outstanding N 50.7625, E 0.1322. The OS Grid Reference is TV504980. biological and geological features.

The geology here is particularly unusual with a layer of sand overlying much of the chalk cliffs. This results in Hassocks A275 A267 A23 A26 rare communities of both chalk and acid-loving plants A273 growing together, with rare butterflies, bees and other Lewes A22 A271 insects associated with them. Hailsham

A27 A270

Brighton e r e m k Peacehaven Newhaven c Eastbourne u C Seaford

Seaford A259 Head LNR

The Local Nature Reserve adjoins the Seven Sisters Country Park, and is owned and managed jointly by Seaford Town Council (chalk grassland, cliffs and foreshore) - this area is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust and a tenant farmer; the National Trust who own and manage the former floodplain to the west of the river; and East Sussex County Council who own and manage the area between the river and the meander, along with the rest of the Seven Sisters Country Park. A joint planning committee exists so that management takes place in partnership involving all interested parties. SUSSEX WILDLIFE TRUST

12/14 Design by Neil Fletcher/Sussex Wildlife Trust images © Neil Fletcher except where stated © Miles Davies E

e s t a d 500 metres 500

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Vegetated Shingle Vegetated habitat, vegetated shingle has become Another scarce managed for sea as beaches are rare increasingly on both sides is some shingle here defences. But there of the river mouth with unique plant communities, including the yellow horned-poppy.

Saltmarsh Saltmarsh has a very high conservation value for the communities it supports. It is rich in invertebrates and but it is a fast disappearing habitat. especially good for birds, ‘squashed’ between sea defences coastal zones are Where and land based developments, many habitats such as both nationally and rare saltmarsh have become increasingly Reserve and Seven Sisters Country internationally.The Nature in East 10% of the total saltmarsh area Park have around Sussex. as sea levels rise, we may have to allow the In the future rare more recreating to gradually flood the lower river valley, habitats like saltmarsh, which is a natural flood defence. Storms Haven sea damage to Cuckmere cause severe now regularly date this has and beach). To defences (shingle bank, groynes but it may not be sustainable on a long term been repaired may be necessary. basis. ‘Managed Retreat’

Seven Sisters Country Park Cuckmere Haven Cuckmere

the old Coastguard Cottages the old Coastguard privately owned are (East Sussex County Council)

(National Trust)

r o l y a N l u a P ©

Hope Gap

(steps to beach)

Wet grassland Wet Reserve include saltmarsh The eastern sections of the Local Nature In 1847 a canal was cut and the low lying floodplain of old river. to transport water straight out sea, leaving the meanders of now no original course of the river isolated. These lush grasslands are which creeks are but there the river, with nutrient-laden silt from longer replenished remains damp. water so the ground fill with fresh among tussocks of longer grass, and skylark meadow pipit Redshank breed in the drier areas. may also breed managed by East Sussex County Council and the National Trust. are These areas (Sussex Wildlife Trust)

n Cuckmere Inn Cuckmere o i t c e ir d

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A259 Eastbourne Road a s

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access track

Barn

South Hill

Here at Seaford Head other plants associated at Seaford Here with the chalk soils include kidney vetch,

squinancywort, clustered bellflower and the extremely bellflower and the extremely squinancywort, clustered Chyngton Way Chyngton

Wave-cut platform and rockpools Wave-cut shows a former extent platform at the base of cliffs The rocky perhaps only 100 years ago. Gullies within the rock of the cliffs, shattering and the abrasive action frost have been formed through an excellent opportunity rock pools provide of flints, and these to see marine animals and plants at low tide. Anemones, starfish, molluscs, shrimps, crabs and seaweeds may all be found. - take great that you can always see a clear exit back to high ground Be sure by the incoming tide. that you do not get cut off care rare moon carrot. There is also a good colony of green- There moon carrot. rare

winged orchids. Besides the chalkhill winged orchids.

for which Seaford Head is the most important for which Seaford edge. in Sussex. It nests the crumbly loess soils on cliff bee, known from only a few sites nationally bee, known from rare forester moth. forester rare Another species of note is the potter flower silver-spotted skipper, the beautiful adonis skipper, silver-spotted blue, the diminutive small and also blue, butterflies include the dingy skipper, blue, butterflies include the dingy skipper, Buckle Church

of Chyngton Road

d Sutton Avenue Sutton a e R

feeding on horseshoe vetch growing on chalk grassland. feeding on horseshoe vetch growing

This chalkhill blue butterfly for example can only survive by Road Steyne The cliff edge is soft and constantly eroding - do not get too close! edge is soft and constantly eroding The cliff

of the Downs up until 1940s, but since so much sheep grazing ceased at that time it accounts for only 3-4% today. metre plant species in only a square can be 30 or 40 different There of good chalk grassland, in turn supporting a huge number of insects. Cliffs formed of chalk laid of the south coast are The famous white cliffs of plankton some 90 remains the microscopic down as sediment from million years ago. In places you can also see bands of flint - probably especially of sponges at times when they were the remains formed from abundant in the warm seas of time. In other spots, such as at Hope sandy loess soils can clearly be seen above the chalk, Gap, the red, winds during the Ice Ages over 14,000 years ago. by Arctic blown here - which although on the cliffs In summer you may see fulmars breeding wings. Kittiwakes looks similar to a seagull with very stiff a kind of petrel, kinds of solitary bees and and numerous here, also breed and peregrines in the soft rock. excavate burrows wasps, some of them nationally rare,

then develops which would ultimately end in woodland if there then develops which would ultimately end in woodland if there up to 50% no management. Chalk grassland covered were

begins to prosper, with more dead plant material and a cycle with more begins to prosper,

Scrub Bushes and small trees such as bramble, Bushes and small trees hawthorn, privet and dogwood have developed here in the last few decades, developed here

providing nesting opportunities and cover providing

remains of dead plant material if it is not grazed off or removed, then scrub or removed, of dead plant material if it is not grazed off remains

from either rabbits or livestock, both.The soils become enriched with the from

others. It is however, highly vulnerable to change, particularly if there is no grazing highly vulnerable to change, particularly if there others. It is however, The thin, poor soils of well managed chalk grassland can support an extraordinary number The thin, poor soils of well managed chalk grassland can support an extraordinary enough to dominate over strongly species, as no one type of plant is able to grow Chalk grassland

for migrating birds like warblers (such as this whitethroat) like warblers (such as this whitethroat) for migrating birds the scrub is However, thrushes and other small birds. at the expense of chalk grassland - a much increasing habitat with high wildlife value, and so needs to be rarer by some cutting back, and possibly grazing. In controlled further loss of the important to prevent the short term it’s grassland. In the longer term it may be possible to increase former levels, but some the cover of chalk grassland towards scrub will always remain.