Daybreak on the Downs, Sussex Coast

I had to be out the door at 2:45am in order to be sure of being in position along this bit of road just west of Beachy Head by 4:30am – so I could catch the first rays of the rising sun as they broke over the ridge-line and capture this image that I’d had in mind for some time. So many of my images are taken along intimate country lanes, and even those taken on the relative openness of the marsh road don’t have that ‘open road’ sense you get in the vastness of the South Downs with that long view down the coast to the iconic chalky cliffs of the Seven Sisters. For what is often regarded as the first day of summer I wanted to post am image that conveyed a sense of exhilaration, sunshine and limitless possibility. The weather co-operated wonderfully. The hawthorn was in bloom and the summery green of the Downs was livened by countless buttercups. It was up to me to haul myself out of bed that that ungodly hour and make the long ride by starlight to be in place.