Sunnyside Studio - photographs from around Scotland and beyond

Opposite the pier in Eastbourne one can catch an open topped bus up to Beachy Head. Or, a pleasant walk will achieve the same end.

These are spectacular chalk cliffs, kept white by the constant erosion, which stains the waters at their base. Walking along the cliff edge on the short downland grass, watching the shipping passing up and down the channel is a nice way to pass an afternoon, if you have a head for heights.

I was suddenly shocked, however, to see numerous little memorials, bunches of flowers, pathetic little notes, dotting the cliff edge. Suddenly the afternoon sun did not seem quite so warm as before. I found it hard to imagine how desperate one would have to feel, to be able to step off that edge. In the picture the figure in the yellow jacket is a resident chaplain whose presence now made sense.