Tag: Sussex Downs

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Parson Darby’s Hole Part Two

We return to the curious life of Parson Darby, whose gravestone says he was the sailor’s friend. Was he a hero? Was he helping the smugglers? Emily and Cole are keen to discover more about the local legend who spent his nights keeping a light alive in a hole in the cliffs near Birling Gap and Beachy Head, so visit historian and writer Elizabeth Wright in today’s episode, recorded on a hot summer’s day in 2019. Elizabeth plays valiant referee to Emily and Cole’s theorising and sparring, defends the parson with passionate eloquence and reveals a surprising twist in the tale, after being contacted by members of a family in the United States who claim to have links to the tragic, heroic Darbys.

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Home

Sometimes, and only sometimes, the sea is so calm as it tickles the edge of England that the gentle tease and retreat of the waves over the shingle sounds like breathing. Closing your eyes, hearing the repetitive rasp of pebbles and water and feeling the sun on your face can take you to a happy place. A safe place. This is the story of Misgana, who came to the South Coast from Eritrea as a young girl, without really knowing why. The episode is about finding safety. Navigating through unfamiliar territories, new languages, and unexpected and difficult challenges. It’s also about finding a new place to call home.

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Eastbourne

This episode is about a stroll along the seafront and a bit of a sit down in Eastbourne. Emily and Cole explore their feelings for the town as they wander past regimental railings, day trippers and residents, elegant buildings and quite a lot of pampas grass. But this is a surprising place where grit and intrigue lie just beneath the surface. Throw in some ‘posh police’, a ghost and a bit of Scandi Noir and perhaps you’ll begin to see why we love exploring fascinating stories of people and place down here on the Edge of England.

Let’s also just talk about big skies and sunsets for a moment. There’s been some corkers recently with the added showbiz of starlings in their thousands, their mesmerising murmurations against the back drop of pinky-orange dusks and the golden-topped Pier.

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Hope Gap

What’s even better than a good walk and talk in the glorious outdoors? Doing it with a new friend who takes us to a new place. When writer and podcaster Giles-Paley-Phillips joins us near his home in Seaford we wander past a row of unit vehicles on location for the film ‘Hope Gap’. It’s now been released on Netflix, so along with our audio ‘pictures’ of this amazing landscape, you can watch the film and see what we’re on about. Despite Emily’s best efforts she didn’t spot Bill Nighy – maybe he’ll agree to be a guest on a future episode. What we did encounter were dazzling white cliffs, a hidden cove, enticing rock pools and a Spitfire. (Watch out for that Spitfire in coming episodes: strangely, it becomes a recurring them). The latest shiny new edit of an episode of Edge of England with Cole Moreton and Emily Jeffery, released each week during lockdown.

Giles Paley-Phillips shows Emily Jeffery the view from Hope Gap

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Season Two, Episode One: Detectorists With Wings

In which Cole and Emily meet a man who makes supermodels look even better for a living, but who heads for the cliffs in his own time to spot birds as they arrive on their extraordinary journeys from the south reaches of Africa to the green hills of England. Why do they do that? What can you hear? We explore the wonders of nature and the nature of obsession, find out what it’s like to be a twitcher’s girlfriend and get a bit transcendental. Walk with us, chill, listen, wander, wonder … 

(If you’ve seen the show Detectorists, it’s a bit like that with wings. Or not.)

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