rs the much exploited and spoilt
beauty spots of Dorset and Devon one feels nervous for the future of
these lesser known but equally charming sea-combes of Sussex.

A short distance from the haven a steep gulley leads to the beach with
a convenient chain and rope to prevent too sudden a descent. It has
been suggested that through this gap the Romans passed from their
moored fleets to the fortified settlements above. It was at one time
possible to descend by another opening higher up the cliff to a ledge
called "Puck Church Parlour." This is now inaccessible except to
seabirds. The well-known view of the "Seven Sisters" is taken
hereabouts and the disused "Belle Tout" lighthouse stands up well on
the western slopes of Beachy Head, looking no distance across the
Cuckmere bay.

On the way from Litlington a slight divergence of half a mile or so
might have been made to West Dean; this is a most sequestered little
hamlet, famous only as the meeting place between the great Alfred and
Asser, though some authorities claim the West Dean between Midhurst and
Chichester as the authentic spot. There is a Norman arch in the
tower of the church and also several canopied tombs and some good
stained glass. Here is another priest's house even older than the one
we have seen at Alfriston. George Gissing well describes the village
and the surrounding country in his novel _Thyrza_.

[Illustration: WEST DEAN.]

A Downland road can be taken from here to Friston, Eastdean and
Eastbourne, saving some miles of up and down walking, but the most
enjoyable though more strenuous route is by the cliff path from
Cuckmere Haven over the "Seven Sisters" cliffs to Beachy Head; a
glorious six miles with the sea on one side and the Downs on the other,
culminating in the finest headland on the south coast, 575 feet high,
the magnificent end of the Downs in the sea. All these cliffs provide
nesting-places for wild birds.

"I was much struck by the watchful jealousy with which the peregrines
seemed to guard the particular cliff--more than 500 feet from the
sea--on a lofty ledge of which their nest was situated, and which,
indeed, they evidently considered their especial property; with the
exception of a few jackdaws who bustled out of the crevices below, all
the other birds which had now assembled on this part of the coast for
the breeding season--it being about the middle of May--seemed to
respect the territory of their warlike neighbours. The adjoini