On Sunday July 10th I shall be doing a sponsored walk for East Sussex Freedom From Torture - I ask for your support

 Last year I raised £1,132 for the victims of torture please help me raise more this year

Cuckmere Haven in East Sussex with the Seven Sisters in the background (Image: Adam

Last year I raised £1,132 for ESFF. Please help me raise even more this year. Freedom from Torture is part of a coalition groups who came together to successfully prevent the first deportation flight to Rwanda. It does vital work in helping refugees cope with the traumas associated with torture and that is why I am happy to do this walk each year.

My son Daniel and me

The walk takes about 3 hours and involves walking up and down 4 or 5 hills in what is known as 7 Sisters. I shall be doing it with my son, Daniel, who is autistic. Whilst I was puffing and panting as I ascended the hills Daniel, who is 32, barely had a bead of sweat! But I am happy to put myself through this in order to try and raise a similar amount of money again.

I will be travelling from what was the ancient village of Exceat (now the 7 Sisters Country Park) to East  Dean. Walking up and down 5 of the Sisters or hills with my son, Daniel.

A picture from last year's walk

Exceat was a bustling fishing village founded in Saxon times. It was sheltered from the weather by the protection of the Cuckmere Valley. The village was also said to have been one of the most important naval bases for King Alfred the Great, widely recognised as the first King of England.

Alfred was thought to have had a palace at nearby West Dean, and it is believed that Exceat served as one of his main naval bases in his wars against the Danish.

A picture from last year's walk

However, the village's glory days would be cut short in the 14th century.

Along with most of Europe, England suffered heavily when the Black Death arrived in 1347. It was the deadliest pandemic in human history, with some estimates guessing that the plague wiped out 60 per cent of Europe's population.

A picture from last year's walk

Exceat was one of many casualties to the deadly plague. In just a few years, the population of the village was almost completely wiped out.

As a port village, Exceat was especially susceptible to a disease which arrived by boat. To make matters worse, the village began to fall victim to attacks from French raiders who targeted villages on the English coast.

The few who survived soon left Exceat for pastures new, and the village was completely abandoned by the mid 1400's.

The ancient village was surrounded by rolling fields and stunning

Nowadays Exceat is nothing more than a ruined church, a visitor centre, and a stone marker memorialising the old village.

The Cuckmere Haven area is a beautiful spot; with the dramatic Seven Sisters cliffs to the east, the blue expanse of the English Channel to the south, and the rolling hills of the South Downs above.

The whole valley is traced by the winding river Cuckmere, which gives the valley its name.A stone marking the site of Exceat (Image: Creative Commons)

After the village was rediscovered in the early 20th century, a stone marker was placed atop the hill to mark where Exceat once stood.

If you would like to contribute there are a number of ways to do so.

i.              You can transfer money by BACS to

Name of account: The Brighton Trust

Sort Code             09-01-28

Account No:        91420311

ii.            Paypal info@thebrightontrust.org.uk

Please ensure that it is a personal donation and not payment for a service as otherwise Paypal takes about 5%!

iii.        You can send a cheque made out to the ‘Brighton Trust’ to:

Brighton Trust at PO Box 173, Rottingdean, Brighton BN51 9EZ

In all cases please put as a reference ‘Torture’ so that it doesn’t get confused with any other payments.

Thank you,

Tony Greenstein