Writing Our Legacy @ Downs to the Sea: The Four Directions

On-site creative writing workshop, with slow meanders around Warren Hill Dewpond, which has panoramic views of the sea and Downs.

The workshop activity is inspired by the themes and viewpoints of The Four Directions, four verses inscribed into artist benches set around the dewpond, written by Alinah Azadeh.

Warren Hill Dewpond near Beachy Head on the South Downs Way close to Eastbourne and the Seven Sisters. BN20 7TZ or ///finger.worry.status on what3words. Locatable on an OS map.

• From Brighton Station on our free minibus. Limited spaces, you have to book this with your ticket. Pick up at 10:30am from the back of Brighton Station (please select minibus in the ticket options ). The minibus will depart at 2:30pm to return to Brighton.
• Walking: from Eastbourne, take the steep path up from Paradise Drive.
• Driving: 5 minute walk from Warren Hill Car Park ; as you face the sea / Eastbourne, take the left hand path – narrow, chalky, firm and through low grassland – and you will see the raised mound of the dewpond ahead and the white trig point beyond that.
• Bus: Eastbourne Sightseeing Coaster (5 mins walk) or 2A Coaster Bus (12 mins walk) both stop opposite the car park.

Please note this day is weather dependent and there is no immediate access to shelter on the site so please bring appropriate clothing/shade. There are benches that provide some seating around the dewpond but do bring mats etc.

Alinah Azadeh is a writer, artist, performer and cultural activist of British Iranian heritage. She writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction as well as recording for radio and podcast. Alinah was inaugural writer-in-residence at Seven Sisters Country Park and Sussex Heritage Coast for the South Downs National Park (SDNPA) 2020-24, and ran a pioneering two year outdoor creative writing programme, resulting in We Hear You Now, an audio walk of new literature by writers of global majority heritage, now installed across the coast, co-funded by Arts Council England. Her most recent public commission is The Four Directions for Towner Eastbourne. Alinah is working on her memoir and a novella. She is Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing at University of Chichester and publishes regularly on Substack.

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Downs to the Sea brings together a partnership comprising the South Downs National Park Trust, South Downs National Park Authority, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Western Sussex Rivers Trust (formerly known as Arun and Rother Rivers Trust), Brighton and Hove City Council, and Writing Our Legacy.

The partnership focuses on the two following strands:

• Water in the landscape, focused on restoring and improving vital wetlands, ponds and rivers, and increasing the landscape’s resilience to climate change and other threats;
• Water in people’s lives, focused on connecting people to natural heritage and the water in their lives, to benefit their health and wellbeing, to develop skills and knowledge, and to help protect precious freshwater resources that are vital to our communities.
  

All ticket purchases are non-refundable. As a small grassroots organisation, ticket income directly supports the delivery of our events and programmes. Unfortunately, we’re unable to offer refunds for non-attendance or changes in personal circumstances, as doing so would put our work at risk. Thank you for understanding and for supporting our mission.

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