Cuckmere Haven (2), South Downs, Sussex Location map 
Comments for the South Downs, Great Britain Comments for the South Downs, Great Britain Comments for the South Downs, Great Britain Comments for the South Downs, Great Britain Comments for the South Downs, Great Britain View of the path to Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, Great Britain View of cattle on the path to Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, Great Britain Sea Kale, Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, Great Britain Horned Poppy, Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, Great Britain A lagoon, Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, Great Britain
 
  Scene showing the path to Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, England   Cuckmere Haven, South Downs.

This shows the path from Exceat to Cuckmere Haven winding it's way for just over a mile across the flat river valley. The dark patch of trees, which is the edge of Friston Forest, is where it starts and it is a very easy, totally flat, walk.

The Cuckmere River is out of the picture to the left although the route of the path passes by the river very closely from time to time and there's more Sea Kale dotted around the shingle.

 

 

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  Scene showing the path to Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, England   Cuckmere Haven, South Downs.

There are sometimes cattle grazing in this part of the Cuckmere Valley between Exceat and the beach. We walked within 2 feet of some of these and they didn't seem to be the least nervous about it. They are apparently quite used to seeing people.

 

 

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  Sea Kale, Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, England   Cuckmere Haven, South Downs.

A single Sea Kale plant (Crambe maritima) at Cuckmere Haven. These plants are quite long lived and don't produce flowers until they are around five years old. Single plants may reach several yards in diameter with a single leaf reaching perhaps 20 inches.

 

 

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  Horned Poppy, Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, England   Cuckmere Haven, South Downs.

Yellow Horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum) growing on the shingle at Cuckmere Haven.

This, like Sea Kale, grows on shingle and is a rare plant living for between 2 and five years. Plants flower from their second year although the large and beautiful yellow flowers generally only last a day but the flowering season lasts from May to October. It procuces a very long, curved seed-pod said to be the longest seed-capsule of any British plant which eventually splits along it's length to reveal hundreds of small seeds.

 

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  A lagoon, Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, England   Cuckmere Haven, South Downs.

A shallow lagoon with the high ground of the Seven Sisters cliffs behind. This lagoon is much used by wading birds for feeding during migration and during the winter.

The red plants lining the water's edge we think may be Glasswort (Salicornia species) but we weren't able to get near enough to be sure.

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