Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a town in East Sussex, on England's south coast.
Understand
Eastbourne is a sea-side resort on the south coast of England. It lies at the end of the South Downs, and boasts the impressive Beachy Head cliffs. It has one of the highest recorded days of sunshine per year in Britain.
Eastbourne seafront is largely undeveloped and remains composed mainly of Victorian hotels, as much of Eastbourne has traditionally belonged to the Duke of Devonshire, who retains the rights to these buildings and refuses to allow them to be converted into shops.
Eastbourne has a reputation as a retirement town, but recent housing developments aimed at younger families have gone some way to changing the town's image.
Get in
By car
The main roads into Eastbourne are the A27, which runs west to Brighton, and the A228, which heads east to Hastings. The A22 (joining the A26) goes north towards Tunbridge Wells.
By train
Eastbourne is linked by train to the west with Brighton, and to the east with Bexhill and Hastings. There is direct line to London with trains running twice-hourly, journey time around 1 hour 25 minutes.
Fare and timetable information is available from South East Trains, tel. 08457 484950.
Get around
By bus
Almost all busses stop at Terminus Road, near the station. Bus timetables and an information stand can be found there
By taxi
Taxi's can be most easily picked up from the taxi rank at the station.
See
- The world-famous seafront Carpet Gardens
Do
- Take a walk along the pier - open 08:00-02:00 every day, admission free
- Enjoy the views from Beachy Head - at 162m, the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain
- Walk the South Downs
- Take the 712 bus from the town centre to Seven Sisters National Park. From there take a 4 hours walk on top of the cliffs back to Eastbourne. And don't forget some picnic, otherwise the Burling Gap half way has got a restaurant.
Eat
Drink
Sleep
The Grand Hotel - is a classical five star hotel, yet run in a friendly atmosphere.
Get out
Other places of interest in the Eastbourne area
- Drusilla's Zoo, Alfriston, tel: 01323 874100, e-mail: info@drusillas.co.uk. Open daily all year except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Open 10:00-17:00 in summer, 10:00-16:00 in winter. The best small zoo in England, located in the countryside just outside Eastbourne near the village of Alfriston. Admission: Adults £9.99, Children £9.49. http://www.drusillas.co.uk/
- The Long Man of Wilmington, near Eastbourne. Car park is open all year, 24 hours a day. A prehistoric chalk representation of a man carved into the side of a hill. Admission to the site and car park is free. Walking on the figure or the surrounding vegetation is not permitted. http://www.sussexpast.co.uk/property/site.php?site_id=13
External links