UK Tourist & Leisure Attractions

A shot of Eastbourne pier just prior to the event.  We checked for details of the Eastbourne Birdman competition on the pier website prior to our visit only to find they were still carrying details of the previous year's event!

Belinda on Eastbourne beach waiting for the start.  We'd been to see the Birdman five years ago, then we found it difficult to find a parking spot for our bums, this time there was plenty of room, maybe no one knew about the Birdman event?
 

Well, the start time for Eastbourne Birdman had been and gone and no announcement.  Have we got the right day/time?  Then, a quick announcement that the first birdman was gearing up to jump, then nothing again.  Then he jumped, taking the PA by surprise!

There was a long gap between jumpees, sometimes 15 minutes.  Belinda found a way to amuse herself by lining up pebbles along Mike's leg.  We also took the camcorder, see the video page for some clips (not of Mike's legs, of the birdmen jumping!).
 

A shot of all the boats that appeared, presumably from Eastbourne Marina just along the coast.  The announcements continued sporadically and without much humour, Mike reckoned he'd make a much better job of it!

At last, another Birdman jumper (arrowed)!  This one had wings.  The woman in front almost obscured the view, she just couldn't keep still!  Although there were many people on the pier watching, there were few on the beach.
 

Most of the Birdman jumpers went straight down like this one!  In about 1½ hours there were only about ten birdman, a very poor show compared with 1997 when we last saw it at Eastbourne, and with a much more dynamic commentary then too.
 

SEAFORD WALK...
Up the hill in the distance is Belinda, walking through the field of barley on our walk to Seaford.  Mike lost a spare battery from the camera in this field that Belinda found on the return leg many hours later!

The walk to Seaford went through fields and tracks and was about five miles over a bit of a gentle hill.  We took plenty of cold water with us for a hot day, Mike trying out his idea of freezing it beforehand to keep it cold for longer.

Belinda stops for a breather on top of the hill overlooking Newhaven and checks out the map.  The sea is within sight!  If our backpacks look rather full, they were, as this was before we'd eaten our lunch that they contained!
 

Down there, coming in to Newhaven harbour is the cross-channel ferry from Dieppe.  We watched as the boat did a 180º manoeuvre and backed-up into the harbour.  By now we were well over half way and looking forward to our picnic.

On arrival at Seaford beach we ate our picnic lunch.  The beach was of pebbles and fairly quiet for a hot August day, they were mainly old people as Seaford is a retirement town for the elderly.  (So you fitted in well then, Mike)!
 

After lunch we walked a mile up the beach and found this pub to quench our thirst.  In the background out at sea is the Newhaven ferry on its way back to Dieppe (arrowed).  This picture was taken into the sun, so it looks misty, it wasn't really.

No visit to the beach is complete without an ice cream, here's Mike making his usual mess at eating it!  In the background is Seaford Head and the start of the Seven Sisters cliffs, a 15 mile walk we've done in the past to Eastbourne.
 

No visit to the beach is complete without a paddle in the sea.  Here's Belinda threatening to drop Mike's trainers into the sea, something she's done in the past with his deck shoes after getting them all sandy when she buried them!

Mike's turn for a paddle and he almost gets swamped by a wave.  It was nice to cool our feet off, ready for our long walk back on the hottest day for a walk we've done in 2002 and in complete contrast to walks we did on holiday earlier in the year.