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Pubs, bars, hotels and venues (drink in)

• Beachy Head holiday cottages
• Birling Gap café
• The Dripping Spring, St Leonards
• Evening Star, Brighton
• The Eight Bells, Jevington
• Gardener’s Arms, 46 Cliffe High Street, Lewes
• Maxims, 53 South Street, Eastbourne
• The Ship Inn, Meads Village, Eastbourne
• The Star, Alfriston
• The Tiger Inn, East Dean
• The White Rock Hotel
• The Wheatsheaf Inn, Willingdon Village, Eastbourne
• The Counting House, Eastbourne
• Snowdrop Inn, Lewes

Shops (take away)

• Alfriston Post Office, Alfriston, East Sussex, BN26 5UE
• Claremont Wines, Claremont Road, Seaford
• Cooden Cellars, Eastbourne
• Crossways Hotel, Wilmington
• East Dean Post Office, East Dean, BN20 0HR
• Frith & Little, East Dean
• Gaffers Wine Shop, 36 Meads Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex
• The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne
• Hiker’s Rest, East Dean
• King’s Church, Eastbourne
• Lansdowne Hotel, Eastbourne
• Middle Farm shop
• Tudor House Hotel, 5 Marine Road, Eastbourne, BN22 7AU
• Waitrose – Uckfield, Eastbourne and Hastings branches
• Sharnfold Farm Shop, Stone Cross

We managed to deal with a handful of teething issues, such as the timings of our central heating systems, but generally the cottages have got off to a great start, and our guests were delighted with their experience.

The walled garden continues to develop, and the recent rain has done the plants and vegetables the world of good, although the longer term drought conditions are making life rather difficult for head gardener Mark.

Take a look at our Beachy Head holiday cottages

The fun starts on Friday 1^st June with a stool ball match on the recreation ground followed by an afternoon of traditional village games and family fun on Saturday 2 June including children’s fancy dress, Morris dancing, dog show, wellie-boot throwing, tea and cake stands and more.

On Sunday 3 June a Big Jubilee Lunch is being held at The Greensward. Bring your own food and enjoy music from the Blues Brothers tribute band and fun with children’s races and a mobile farm.

View the Diamond Jubilee Celebration events programme

School reunion at the East Dean and Friston Village Hall

Sunday 27 May 2012

This reunion is for former pupils of the old East Dean & Friston School. After a welcome glass of wine there will be a buffet meal.  A display of photos and historical information will be placed in the small hall to prompt reminiscences and memories of the old school.

Time: From 12 noon
Tickets: £15 each available from Christine Fuller (01323-423710)
Please note: This event is limited to 100 tickets

Family fun afternoon

Saturday 2 June

Location: Village Green
Time: 2pm till 5pm

Big Jubilee lunch

Sunday 3 June

Location: The Greensward
Time: From 12:30pm
Cost: Free Entry

Jubilee church service

Sunday 3 June

Location: Friston Church
Time: 6:30pm
Evening Service of Jubilee Thanksgiving & Prayer for the Nation

Jubilee church service

Sunday 3 June

Location: East Dean Church
Time: 9:30am
All Age Diamond Jubilee Celebration Service

Local clubs day

Monday 4 June

Location: See Jubilee Programme
Time: See Jubilee Programme
A special day for our local organisations to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Jubilee entertainment

Tuesday 5 June

Location: Village Hall
Time: 2.30 Afternoon Matinee & 7.30 Evening Performance
Cost: £8 for the Matinee : £12 for Evening Performance.
The Players will perform two short comedies with a tea party in the afternoon and an evening buffet.

The National Trust have invested heavily in the café, turning it into an inviting spot to stop for tea and cake.

Pop in to the National Trust café at Birling Gap for tea, fresh coffee, cold drinks and a good selection of cakes and scones.

And after enjoying coffee and cake, why not tackle an invigorating walk:

• Birling Gap, Seven Sisters and Exceat walk (8 miles)
• Circular Beachy Head walk (start at Eastdean or Birling Gap)

The trail run takes in Birling Gap and the stunning views and undulating terrain of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head – offering plenty of ups and downs.

And if you don’t fancy running many miles over rolling downland, why not watch? Park at Birling Gap and pick a vantage point to cheer the runners on.

Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series

The finishing touches are in place, from the Egyptian cotton sheets to the trees in the walled garden. The first shallots and garlic are sprouting through the snow-sprinkled ground, while 420 seed potatoes are chitting in the shed and we’re busy tying and training fruit trees.

A reported sighting of a rabbit in the garden has been the cause of some concern, but we’ll let it be, for now.
Thyme, Folly and Fig Cottages are all within the walled garden, while Little Scarlett and Hop Cottage are just outside. Our cottages sleep between 2 and 6 people, and all make a great base for exploring the delights of Beachy Head, East Dean, Brighton, Eastbourne and the South Downs.

Browse our holiday cottages

The walking marathon costs £8 to enter (£7 for members) and promises to be a day to remember.

Long Distance Walkers Association – South Downs Marathon

Mixing exercises to improve your fitness and muscle tone, you can either work on your general stamina and strength, or get help training for an event.

Jason’s outdoor sessions offer a breath of fresh air and incredible scenery for anyone bored of the gym. Using the South Downs and equipment that works your whole body, such as kettle bells, sand bags and resistance bands, Jason tailors your training to match your abilities, making sure you’re always challenged within your limits.

Book a personal training session.

It’s true that the connections are, well, tenuous. But there are connections, and there is a reasonable case to suggest that East Dean is where Sherlock Holmes retired.

Let’s look at the case:

Holmes retired to the Downs

According to the preface to His Last Bow, Holmes retired to “a small farm upon the Downs, five miles from Eastbourne”.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle knew the area

The celebrated author was born nearby, in Crowborough, East Sussex, and is believed to have visited East Dean in later years.

Holmes needed a sheltered spot to keep bees

Bees like shelter, which rules out a number of potential retirement spots. The village of East Dean, sheltered from the coastal gales, is still a contender.

The Sherlock Holmes Society puts him in the area

Well, to be precise, a former Chairman of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London reckoned that a house on the village Green opposite the old Farm (New House Farm) was a plausible location for Holmes’ retirement.

So when you next explore Beachy Head – or notice the blue plaque announcing the spot of Holmes’ retirement – ask yourself if East Dean might indeed be the place where Doyle retired his fictional hero. Or try the Sherlock Holmes walk:

Sherlock Holmes walk (6km)

It starts at Sherlock Holmes’ retirement home and follows the route through Friston Church and the grave stone marked “washed ashore”. Then follow a route over the South Downs, through the old smuggling village of Crowlink (famous for Crowlink gin) and on to the chalk cliffs on the coastline, returning via the red barn and then back to East Dean. These are the footsteps Sherlock Holmes may have taken when he was out studying his bees and when he met Mary Russell and his adventures with her began.

Read more about Sherlock Holmes’ retirement. View a map of the Sherlock Holmes walk (tick the Sherlock Holmes walk on the list).

With stunning view, rolling hills and a vast array of walks, Beachy Head is a great destination for winter walks. And even though we love a good bracing walk, our favourite bit is retiring to the Tiger Inn afterwards for hot food and refreshing ales.

Here are a few classic winter walks:

• Beachy Head walk
• Circular Beachy Head walk
• Birling Gap, Seven Sisters, Exceat walk

Or check out our walking and hiking page for more walks.