The Belle Tout lighthouse was built around 1830, but proved Jacksonville Map Tourist Attractions rather ineffective in the thick mists that crept in from the English Channel and hung between the clifftop Jacksonville Map Tourist Attractions and the sea. It was subsequently replaced by a sea-level lighthouse just off Beachy Head and became a dwelling, but owing to cliff erosion the building has had to be moved more than once, and may have to be moved again. Plants to be found in the vicinity include the field fleawort, early purple orchid, early spider orchid, all of which are at their best in April or May, and small hare’s ear, which flowers in June or July and is extremely rare, this being one of only two locations in Britain where it can be found (the other being Berry Head in Devon).
During the nineteenth century, people ground up dried tubers of the early purple orchid and mixed it with hot milk, honey and spices to create salep, thought to have aphrodisiac properties! There follows a steep descent to meet the road at a small car park, and beyond that you embark upon the long but exhilarating climb towards Beachy Head. The grass is really good to walk on and the views get more splendid with every step, with the high-rise buildings of Brighton easily discernible on a clear day. At length you reach the summit, 535 feet above the sea, and with a terrifyingly long and steep drop to the waters below.
