Eastbourne Beaches

The stretch below Grand Parade, between the Wish Tower and the pier, is Eastbourne's main resort beach and the only part of the town's shore with lifeguards. Shingle at the top gives way to shallow sand flats at low water, and the lifeguard and first aid post hands out free children's wristbands. Pick it for a supervised swim or a deckchair by the bandstand; it is off limits to dogs all summer.

• Surface

  sand and shingle

• Dogs

  Banned from 1 May to 30 September on the beaches between the pier and the Wish Tower; allowed the rest of the year. The council order behind the ban was renewed on 24 November 2023 for three years. Source

• Lifeguards

  Council lifeguards (not RNLI), based near the Wish Tower, on duty from 1 May to 30 September; swim between the red and yellow flags. Daily hours are not published. Source

• Facilities

  Cafés, toilets, showers, deckchair and sun-lounger hire and beach huts; the Seafront Office is next to the bandstand Source

• Parking

  Council Wish Tower car park on King Edward's Parade (22 pay-and-display bays, 12-hour maximum stay), which charges until 10pm; the other seafront council car parks charge 8am to 8pm Source

• Water quality

  Good in 2025, the Environment Agency's classification for Eastbourne. Source

East of the pier, the beaches along Marine Parade, the Redoubt and Royal Parade are the town's water-sports shore, used for windsurfing, with the Redoubt fortress and Princes Park behind. The council warns that some of these are working beaches not suited to bathing, and none has lifeguards. Better for a walk, a windsurf or a picnic with a dog on a lead than for a swim.

• Surface

  sand and shingle

• Dogs

  From 1 May to 30 September dogs must be on a lead at all times here; allowed off the lead outside those dates Source

• Lifeguards

  No lifeguard cover: the council's lifeguards work the main resort beach west of the pier only Source

• Facilities

  Shops, toilets and refreshments a short walk from the Redoubt and Royal Parade beaches Source

• Access

  The tourist board describes the Redoubt and Royal Parade beaches as having good access, with parking close by Source

• Parking

  Redoubt and Princes Park council car parks on Royal Parade: 10-hour maximum stay, charges 8am to 8pm every day; EV bays at the Redoubt Source

• Water quality

  Not a designated bathing water, so it is not sampled.

Pevensey Bay is a long shingle shore east of Sovereign Harbour, still worked by local fishermen, with shallow sand flats showing at low water. It is a rural beach backed by the houses of Pevensey Bay rather than a resort, and its only dog rule is clearing up. Toilets, a café and the main car park are together on Sea Road.

• Surface

  shingle

• Dogs

  No seasonal ban: Wealden's only dog order, a fouling order covering all its beaches, requires owners to clear up. It took effect on 21 November 2023 for three years. Source

• Facilities

  Public toilets with baby changing and a Changing Places toilet at the Sea Road car park, open 8am to 6pm Source

• Parking

  Sea Road car park (Wealden District Council): 90 pay-and-display bays plus 15 one-hour bays; £5 up to 4 hours, £6.50 all day, charged 1 March to 30 September, Blue Badge holders included Source

• Water quality

  Good in 2025, the Environment Agency's classification for Pevensey Bay. Source

Cuckmere Haven is the undeveloped shingle beach where the Cuckmere river reaches the sea, below the first of the Seven Sisters. It is reached on foot down the valley from the Seven Sisters Country Park visitor centre at Exceat, by a level trail that also takes wheelchairs and pushchairs. Everything practical is at the top of the trail, and the river mouth is not a place to wade across.

• Surface

  shingle

• Dogs

  Welcome under close control; on a lead near livestock, wildlife, the cliffs and open water, and kept to the main paths during the March to September nesting season Source

• Facilities

  None at the beach; free toilets, including a Changing Places toilet, beside the visitor centre at Exceat, open 7am to 6pm from late October to March and 7am to 9pm April to October Source

• Access

  The Easy Access Trail runs along the valley floor from the visitor centre to the beach, about 2 km each way, and suits wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchairs; free mobility scooter hire Source

• Parking

  Two pay-and-display car parks at Exceat (postcode BN25 4AD): £3.50 up to 2 hours, £5 up to 4 hours, £7 over 4 hours, no Blue Badge concession; locked overnight and open 7am to 6pm from October to March Source

• Tides

  Do not try to cross the river mouth: strong currents can sweep you out to sea, so check tide times and follow the coast path round the river Source

• Water quality

  Not a designated bathing water, so it is not sampled.

Bexhill's long, gently sloping shingle beach lies below a promenade, with shallow sand flats at low water. It is the one beach in this group with RNLI lifeguards, though only in the peak summer weeks, and its water rating is the lowest here. Dogs are banned from the main town stretch all summer, so between May and September it suits a family day more than a dog walk.

• Surface

  sand and shingle

• Dogs

  Banned from 1 May to 30 September between Brockley Road (Sovereign Light Café) and Sea Road (Sailing Club); on a lead on the promenade between groynes 34 and 78 in the same months Source

• Lifeguards

  RNLI lifeguards daily 10am to 6pm in the 2026 season (18 July to 6 September) Source

• Facilities

  Public toilets on the seafront at East Parade and West Parade (run by Bexhill Town Council) Source

• Parking

  On-street parking and car parks along the Bexhill and Cooden seafront Source

• Tides

  Sandbars can cut walkers off: check tide times and take care on the sand as the tide comes in Source

• Water quality

  Sufficient in 2025, the Environment Agency's classification for Bexhill. Source