Seven Sisters Hike

Aug. 23, 2018

We arrived at Deans Place Hotel.  I would love to say we arrived with ease.  But I think my head was a mess with our loss of Bentley that I was foggy with my plan making.  I booked the train to the wrong town.  We arrived in Seaford and then grabbed the bus that I thought we needed.  Then rode it until the end.  It was on this bus, that I realized I made a mistake.   We managed to catch another bus that took us to a train station.  We grabbed another train to Polegate and then a taxi to hotel.  The Hotel was lovely and the staff ever so nice.  We could see and hear the cows mooing outside our bedroom window.

We set out on our hike on the 24th.  We had no intention of doing the entire 14 miles.  I knew Rick’s foot wouldn’t allow it and I didn’t want to hike alone.  We set off and it didn’t take long for us to begin to reminisce stories of Bentley.  It made us sad and yet we laughed at some of the memories.  It was a perfect way to remember her.  A hike she would have enjoyed.

The views of green farmland and rolling hills was fabulous, with sheep and cattle roaming around the land.  We walked along the river and noticed how deep and wide it became the closer we got to the English Channel.  At the point of the intersection of the river and channel, we noticed bunkers on both sides.  Rick made the comment that it would make sense to have them positioned there as the river would have provided access to the villages.  I had to go inside of at least one of them.  I wanted to “feel” what it felt like.  But there is no way to even imagine the feeling these young men had to be inside one of these concrete rooms shooting out at the enemy trying to stay alive themselves.  I didn’t feel scared, instead I felt gratitude and safe as these brave men fought for things we still fight for today.

When we finally got to our destination, the view did not disappoint.  The beautiful, white cliffs were spectacular.  Looking out across the channel as far as the eye could see was so serene.  I came across a gentlemen snuggled up against the bottom of the white cliff reading a book.   I was envious of his perfect pleasure.

We made our way back to a pub we saw along the trail.  We enjoyed a nice lunch and then called a Taxi to take us back to the hotel and then take us to the second hotel,  The Crossways.  It was a charming place and we took our belongings up to the room and settled in for the evening.  We found out the owner is the gentlemen who checked us in and then was the same that greeted us in the morning for a delicious breakfast.

I highly recommend either hotel, but The Crossways was my favorite and it was more “mom and pop” style.  The owner and staff were friendly and wanted to make sure every thing was flawless.  We bade our goodbye and made our way to the flat without any troubles.