Beachy Head

Beachy Head, England - darkometer rating : 4 - A chalk headland on the south coast of Great Britain that is notorious as the country's foremost suicide cliff. While I'm not suggesting you go there to follow the practice, it is still an eerie extra dark-tourism element undeniably present at this otherwise extremely scenic spot. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > photos More background info: The nearly 600 foot high cliffs (the highest chalk cliff in the country) have been a favoured suicide spot in Great Britain for centuries. In fact it's even been ranked one of the world's premier such spots – together with e.g. the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA . Recent years have seen phases of increase, but also improved measures to counter the rise in suicides (once averaging at 20 a year). A telephone box has been installed with helpline numbers clearly displayed, and the local Chaplaincy is keeping a watch on the cliff. Still, tragedy at the spot doesn't go away. People still go over the edge here, either jumping or driving. At one particularly dramatic instance in August 2008, a car plunged past a rescue team while they were still busy retrieving the body of a previous jumper. Another notable recent case was that of the joint suicide of a small family: the parents had lost their beloved young (disabled) son to meningitis and decided they couldn't live without him, and chose to "follow" him. In practice, the son's body followed the parents suicide, though. They jumped off, with the son's body in a rucksack – as the rescue team found to their astonishment when they recovered the two adult bodies.