Cuckmere Haven (also known as the Cuckmere estuary) is an area of flood plains in Sussex, England where the river Cuckmere meets the English Channel between Eastbourne and Seaford. The river is an example of a meandering river, and contains several oxbow lakes. It is a popular tourist destination with an estimated 350,000 visitors per year, where they can engage in long walks, or water activities on the river. The beach at Cuckmere Haven is next to the famous chalk cliffs, the Seven Sisters. The wreck of the Polynesia, a German sailing ship that ran aground in April 1890 west of Beachy Head laden with a cargo of sodium nitrate, is exposed at low tide. History The beach was commonly used by smugglers in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. For example, in 1783 two gangs of smugglers (each numbering 200 or 300) overcame officers of the law by weight of numbers and carried away a large quantity of goods. In the Second World War, the site was studied by the Luftwaffe as they flew missions to identify potential landing sites for the invasion of the UK mainland. As a result, the British constructed a series of counter-landing defences, of which numerous pillboxes, anti-tank obstacles, ditches and tank traps survive. Admiralty scaffolding blocked the inlet, but is now gone. Cuckmere Haven featured heavily in the war effort: at night lights were placed to confuse bombers into thinking they were above Newhaven and an airfield was set up further inland. In addition to the permanent land-based constructions, the river was heavily mined. The East Sussex Transport and Trading Company extracted gravel from the beach at Cuckmere Haven. It transported the material to the road at Exceat on a 2-foot (610 mm) gauge tramway a mile (1.6 km) long, established in the early 1930s and closed in 1964. The tramway began in what is now the car park on the southern side of the main road. The footpath to Cuckmere Haven (east of the river) follows the line of the tramway. Settlements within the park Two hamlets, Exceat and Foxhole, are in the park, along with a small group of cottages on the cliff edge (known as the coastguard cottages) – these are mostly kept as holiday homes. Next to the Friston Forest car park, Exceat is a group of farm buildings with facilities and a café. There is also a tiny