Wild Brighton: Starlings, the Downs and the Sea

The natural side of Brighton and Hove, from the starlings that roost under the Palace Pier each winter to the chalk grassland of Devil's Dyke and the South Downs and the cliffs and river mouth of the Seven Sisters, with a directory of the parks, wildlife rescues and places in our guide.

Brighton is a city between the Downs and the sea, and its wild side comes in both directions. Behind it, the South Downs National Park begins at the city's own edge; in front of it, the sea and the piers draw one of Britain's great winter spectacles, the starlings. The whole stretch of land and sea from Shoreham to Newhaven is a UNESCO biosphere, The Living Coast.

This is a short, honest guide to the natural side of Brighton and Hove: the starlings, the chalk downland and the white cliffs to the east. For the rescue of injured wildlife, see our animals pages.

On winter evenings, thousands of starlings swirl over the piers before dropping to roost beneath them.

The South Downs

Stanmer Park, on the city's northern edge, is its largest park and, in the council's words, the gateway to the South Downs National Park. Above it, Devil's Dyke is, according to the National Trust, the longest, deepest and widest dry valley in the UK, nearly a mile long, and its chalk grassland, rare and endangered, is what the Trust calls England's most colourful habitat: a carpet of wildflowers alive with insects in summer. Dartmoor ponies, sheep and cattle graze the slopes to keep it open.

Ditchling Beacon, on the escarpment of the Downs along the South Downs Way, looks north across the Weald.

The cliffs and the sea

East of the city, Seven Sisters Country Park follows the Cuckmere river to Cuckmere Haven and the white chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters, one of the classic views of the English coast; the Coaster buses from Brighton stop nearby. On Brighton's own seafront, SEA LIFE Brighton, opened in 1872, describes itself as the world's oldest continually operating aquarium.

Feature: the starlings of the piers

From November to March, just before sunset, starlings gather over Brighton's seafront in flocks of literally thousands, as The Living Coast puts it, and swirl in murmurations before dropping to roost for the night under Brighton Palace Pier; they gather too around the skeleton of the West Pier. In November 2021 the pier opened #StarlingsRoost, the south coast's only dedicated starling observation post, with a camera under the pier streaming a live feed. Starling numbers are dwindling across the country, which makes the spectacle all the more precious.

Did you know? The starlings spend the night under the Palace Pier itself, and a camera beneath the pier lets you watch them roost.

Our advice

Our advice: be on the seafront by the Palace Pier or the West Pier a little before sunset on a clear evening between November and March, and watch from the beach or the pier. Keep to the paths on the Downs, keep dogs on a lead near grazing animals, and if you find an injured wild animal, call one of the wildlife rescues in our guide.