The instagram post I had shared! Right before my eyes. 🥰

A perfect sunset on the drive home after a perfect day.

Was reminded of this post I had saved in my edits here the other day after watching an excellent series on Netflix which features a very happy scene from this beautiful place. I even wrote some music to go with it last year that I will share below. :)

Cuckmere Haven is indeed a Haven. Nestled in the Seven Sisters Country Park just next to Seaford close to Eastbourne in East Sussex it is a place of exceptional natural beauty. I had seen a photo of it on Conde Nast Traveller’s Instagram feed and shared it with interest in visiting. It was only a few weeks later on a surprise day trip that I got to see it. Had no idea where we were going but was excited to be getting out of the city on a beautiful late spring day. It was near the end of the first UK lockdown on May 27th, 2020. As we pulled up to park on the top of the hill next to the ocean I still couldn’t see where we were, but as we got out and walked towards the pathway that would lead us down to the beach there it was.. that exact same view that I had seen featured online right in front of my eyes. The towering white chalk cliffs topped with green pasture jutting out into the turquoise blue sea was absolutely mesmerising. Couldn’t quite believe how stunning it was! Enjoyed a perfectly packed surprise lunch on the beach before puttering around in the waves and exploring the trails of the coastline. Even managed to get the fishing rod out! As we were prepping to make our way back to London, my partner asked a local lady walking by if she knew of any public toilets that were open for me to use as it was still covid and finding an open restroom was such a challenge! I was so relieved when she said to just follow her to her home which was around the bend and that I could use hers! An incredible act of kindness at such a strange time was so greatly appreciated. Not to mention she has the most quintessential English home with a thatched roof! That little bit of human connection with a stranger really gave us a lift.

Just shy of a year ago I was thinking about this day a lot. It will be forever etched in my memory as just how happy and in head over heels in love I was. Time felt stretched in a good way due to the circumstances and although I had my stresses at the time, none of it seemed to matter much as I had such a deep sense of security and connection to the people in my life and to the country I had started a new life in. There was so much uncertainty of the state of the world, a theme that has been dramatically getting worse, but at the same time I felt so excited for the future and what was to come. For once, everything felt right where it was supposed to be. A feeling of overflowing joy as a baseline. A ravishing excitement in anticipation of the future. A big love and a big Life. That was my mantra at that time and it sure manifested itself well.

Now, looking back it seems like a dream and a time I am so nostalgic for… Last spring when I was toying with writing some music to embody these feelings from this chapter in my life I came across a beautiful strings plugin that really caught my ears. Loaded it up and paired it with some of the sounds I had recorded whilst we had been on the beach and walked the cliff paths that special day in Cuckmere Haven. It is an ambient piece which I feel takes you on a dreamlike journey through time and space. It has some ethereal infinite qualities, yet remains a bit fleeting.. not lasting as long as it could. Just like a really good dream that you wake up from wishing you could have known what was gonna happen next. A love story that disappears too soon, yet remains hopeful.

I hope you have a chance to listen on headphones and enjoy a few minutes of beauty and peace in your day.

Lindsay xx

P.s. the show is Anatomy of a Scandal! Uncomfortable to watch at times but so well done! Highly recommend.