The Seven Sisters

The Seven Sisters – A wonderful cliff top hike located only 90 minutes away from London by train. 

The hike begins in the small town of Seaford, arriving by train you head south towards the ocean. Here brightly coloured beach huts dot the coast. 

From the beach, you turn your attention to the east. Here a large cliff juts out to the ocean, this marks the start of our hike. The path is well worn and obvious, so continue you march easterly as you climb up and over the first of the sisters. 

When you get to the top, enjoy the wonderful view and regather yourself, the next few kilometres are relatively easy as you descend on to another beach

After some steady walking across the pebbled beach, you are met with another steep ascent. You can however take your time and zig zag up the hill as there is a lot of space on the path. Once you have reached the top of the second cliff, you can embrace in the knowledge that the two hardest climbs are completed.

The up and down however does not stop, as the hills continue to come. Eventually you will come across the lighthouse. Hitting this marker lets you know that you have almost completed the walk.

From this point it is then a slow downhill descent to the city of Eastbourne, where a train running every half hour can return you to Victoria station in London.

This walk is not an easy one, it’s 22km long and the hill climbs are tough. However there are places to stop along the way for refreshments and lunch. 

It is however a stunningly beautiful walk, with white cliff faces, blue ocean and green meadows that provide a wonderful backdrop.

Day 32 – Marseille to Nice

Another bus ride without incident, this one even had working WiFi the entire way which also a pleasant surprise. We arrived at our accommodation in Nice around 2pm. Dropped our bags off and hit the city streets.

Immediately this place gave off a great vibe, the streets where clean, people where smiling and the sun was shinning. We journeyed towards the water, stopping only for one of the best meals we have had so far. A small little cafe serving up a bowl of mussles covered in a garlic sauce with fries on the side. The freshness of the mussles was amazing and the sauce absolutely divine

We eventually made it to the beach, annoyingly it was a large pebbled beach. The type that are slightly painful to walk on and occasionally uncomfortable to lie on. However the view was fantastic with the water a vibrant blue

A few hours of sunbathing and swimming later and we headed back in search of food.

We stumbled across a gelato store with over a 100 flavors, so we decided to try that to curb our appetite. We went with a scoop of lychee and a scoop of fig. It was an interesting experience, the lychee was fantastic while the fig a very odd flavor for gelato. Luckily it paired very well with lychee.

We then decided that being so close to Italy we should make our own pizza for dinner. We cheated a little bit by buying the base, but we made up for it by covering it with some mozzarella, prosciutto, tomatos and mushrooms. A delicious end to the day as we settled in with a red wine overlooking the city 

Day 26 – Valencia

Our final full day in Valencia, after class we said goodbye to a few people who where travelling that night while we made plans with the rest for dinner. Once plans where made, we headed down south again to a national reserve opposite a beach. It was a large wetlands area, home to fishing and vast and varied wildlife. Small sailing boats dotted the shore offering tourists a chance to see the lake

We then changed our course and made our way slowly to the beach. It was a much more “free and liberal” area as we stumbled upon a couple expressing there naked love for each other. When we arrived at the beach it also appeared to be clothing optional. We eventually found a spot without any people and enjoyed the waves and water before heading back to the city.

That night we again enjoyed sangria, tapas and a big serving of paella as we all swapped stories of places we had been and shared our dreams of places we want to visit. The conversation once again flowed in to the night as we eventually had to part ways and pre pair for our travels the following morning

Day 24 – Valencia

The morning went by without a hitch, I’m starting to pick more words out of a spoke  sentence in Spanish. So I guess I’m learning something. The afternoon was again spent at the beach, however this time we ventured away from the main tourist spot and went south. 

We stopped at Saler, a small town about 30minutes outside of Valencia and enjoyed a beach that had waves you could slightly bodysurf on. We went with a few people from the hostel and enjoyed a game of beach tennis as well.

That night we journeyed out again in search of Sangria and Tapas and found it in abundance. The seafood in this part of the world is fresh and delicious. Calamares grilled with some oil and garlic was always a favorite.

We also walked past some impressive street art the adorns many spots in Valencia.

Day 22 – Valencia

After a very confusing morning of trying to learn Spanish. We eventually made our way towards the beach. The temperature had hit the high 30’s again and the water felt amazing.

It’s still a weird concept being at a beach without any waves, but we enjoyed ourselves in the water and it gave me plenty of time to work on my tan.

After numerous hours of soaking in the sun, we headed home to enjoy the crisp feeling of air conditioning and study a little bit of Spanish so that hopefully the next day made more sense. 

Jersey – The British channel isle

Jersey is not just a state in the US but also an amazing little island located in the British Channel. Part of the UK but also it’s own independent country. It has its own currency, however everything is interchanged with normal pound sterling.

The island is beautiful and provided us with the first proper sandy beaches we had seen in over a year. The best way to get around is by car, but be prepared for some tight squeezes around corners.

The island is home to a wonderful little castle over viewing France. And is situated above a quaint little village that serves a rather good coffee

It was also the furthest point that the Nazi advancement reached during the second world war. Tunnels are dug throughout the island, as well as this amazing fortress

But for me the real splendor of this place was the nature, from random waterfalls we found while walking

To the numerous picturesque harbours dotted around the isle

So if your living in England and you fancy a quick getaway for the weekend, catch a flight to Jersey and enjoy the quietness that it holds