Eastbourne is at the easternmost end of the South Downs National Park, where rolling chalk downland meets the sea. If you like hiking, or simply admiring dramatic coastal scenery, the location is hard to beat. The grassy 162m summit of the world-famous Beachy Head, with its precipitous chalk face and red-and-white striped lighthouse at its foot, is less than an hour’s hike – or a short (summertime) bus ride – from the pebbly beaches of this Victorian seaside resort which was developed by the main landowner, the 7th Duke of Devonshire. Visitor numbers boomed with the arrival of the railway in 1849.
Today, there’s more to Eastbourne than a splendid setting, graceful 19th century architecture and its claims to be the sunniest spot in the UK. In recent years the demographic of this East Sussex town, long thought of as a retirement destination, has been changing. Priced out of neighbouring Brighton and Hastings, a new generation of homeowners is discovering its charms. As a result, new cafés and bars are opening, bringing a fresh youthfulness to the place. The Congress Theatre and the former Arndale shopping
