The Seven Sisters are a series of

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

sea

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

s on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

coast, and are a stretch of the sea-eroded section of the

South Downs The South Downs are 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, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...

range of hills, in the county of

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, in south-east

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The Seven Sisters cliffs run between the mouth of the

River Cuckmere The River Cuckmere rises near Heathfield in East Sussex, England on the southern slopes of the Weald. The name of the river probably comes from an Old English word meaning "fast-flowing", since it descends over 100 m (328 ft) in its ...

near Seaford, and the chalk headland of

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, formi ...

outside of

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

. The dips or swales that separate each of the seven crests from the next are the remnants of

dry valley A dry valley may develop on many kinds of permeable rock, such as limestone and chalk, or sandy terrains that do not regularly sustain surface water flow. Such valleys do not hold surface water because it sinks into the permeable bedrock. There ...

s in the chalk South Downs which are being gradually eroded by the sea. Some of the cliffs and adjacent countryside make up the Seven Sisters Country Park, which is bounded on its inland side by the

A259 road The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Rye and Folke ...

, and is itself a part of the larger

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hamp ...

Cliffs

From west to east, the sequence starts just east of Cuckmere Haven. 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 East Dean and Friston is a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England.The two villages in the parish are in a dry valley on the South Downs – between Eastbourne three miles (4.8 km) to the east and Seaford an equal dis ...

. Beyond, on the top of the next hill, is

Belle Tout Lighthouse The Belle Tout Lighthouse (also spelled Belle Toute) is a decommissioned lighthouse and British landmark located at Beachy Head, East Sussex close to the town of Eastbourne. It has been called "Britain's most famous inhabited lighthouse" becaus ...

and beyond that

. A lighthouse in the sea marks the latter headland. The

South Downs Way The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Susse ...

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 Centre The Seven Sisters Sheep Centre was a farm near East Dean, in the Seven Sisters Country Park of the South Downs. It held a large collection of about 50 sheep breeds, including rare breeds no longer raised by commercial farmers, and a number of So ...

Film and television

Seven Sisters from Flagstaff Point June 2021

The Seven Sisters cliffs are occasionally used in

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

and

television production A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

as a stand-in for the more famous

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depos ...

, since they are relatively free of

anachronistic An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

modern development and are also allowed to erode naturally. As a result, the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head remain a bright white colour, whereas the White Cliffs of Dover are protected due to the important port and are therefore increasingly covered in vegetation and are greening as a result. They are also featured at the beginning of the film '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,'' and at the end of the film ''

Atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

'' where Robbie and Cecilia always wanted to live. The Seven Sisters are seen in the background of the

Quidditch Quidditch is a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). It is a dangerous but popular sport played by wi ...

World Cup in 2005 film '' Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''. Much of the 2015 feature film ''

Mr. Holmes ''Mr. Holmes'' is a 2015 British-American mystery film directed by Bill Condon, based on Mitch Cullin's 2005 novel ''A Slight Trick of the Mind'', and featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. The film stars Ian McKellen as Sherlock Holmes, Laur ...

'' was filmed around the Seven Sisters. The 2019 film ''

Hope Gap ''Hope Gap'' is a 2019 British drama film written and directed by William Nicholson, adapted from his 1999 play ''The Retreat from Moscow''. The film stars Annette Bening, Bill Nighy, Josh O'Connor, Aiysha Hart, Ryan McKen, Steven Pacey and N ...

'', starring Bill Nighy and Annette Bening was against the backdrop of Seaford Head. The film is named after the distinctive area of chalk cliff between Seaford and Cuckmere Haven. In 2020, Jessica Swale's feature film debut '' Summerland'' premiered, shot around the Seaford area, featuring numerous views of the Seven Sisters. An east-facing photo of the Seven Sisters is included as one of the default landscape wallpapers packaged with

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...

References

{{Commons category Eastbourne Geography of East Sussex Nature Conservation Review sites Country parks in East Sussex Cliffs of England Chalk landforms