Beachy Head Signals the Autumn with New Twilight Festival

16th September 2021

Beachy Head will signal the changing of the seasons with a new festival this October half term featuring stories of folklore, twilight nature walks and night time astronomy. 

Celebrating the changing face of the iconic landmark at night, ‘Afterlight’ will mark the clocks going back with a series of free events from 23 – 31 October organised by Heritage Eastbourne, as the darker nights draw in.

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund, via the Welcome Back Fund, the new nine day festival will feature a range of events during both the daytime and evening in and around the vicinity of The Beachy Head Story exhibition.

From tales of Sussex folklore and twilight nature walks to creating craft naturescapes and a stealing a glimpse of the Milky Way through expert telescopes, ‘Afterlight’ will feature events for both adults and children, with some added spook factor on Halloween.

Eastbourne Borough Council Lead Cabinet Member for Tourism and Culture, Cllr Margaret Bannister said “Despite hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, many do not stay to see Beachy Head’s unique evening glow, mystical landscape and starry night sky which make this such a beautiful and unrivalled location. 

With this event we can really immerse ourselves into its rich history with tales of myths and legends, discover some of our rare wildlife at twilight and see for ourselves why this unique part of the country is now classed as a Dark Sky Reserve.”

Events will include Sussex folklore storytelling for children, light and shadow craft workshops creating naturescapes and the chance to meet the owls from Sussex Falconry, while evening talks for adults reveal the some of the stories from Eastern European legends to Viking warriors and Norse gods.

Wildlife lovers can join a twilight nature walk with Sussex Bat Group, or for a stellar evening try a spot of star gazing with Eastbourne Astronomical Society and then pop into the pop-up planetarium courtesy of The Observatory. 

Halloween will also see spooky Sussex folklore stories for children, with more festival events to be announced.  Events are free but must be pre-booked, with tickets available to book online at the end of the month.

For more information visit www.HeritageEastbourne.com

To book accommodation including nearby downland cottages, visit www.VisitEastbourne.com.