Things to do in Eastbourne: free airshow, £11 Towner

The best thing happening in Eastbourne this month costs nothing: Airbourne, the Eastbourne International Airshow, runs from Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 August 2026 and entry is free. The two things people most often turn up expecting to visit, the Beachy Head visitor centre and the Redoubt Fortress, are both shut.

Every price and opening time below was checked against the venue’s own site or ticketing system on 9 August 2026. Where something is closed, we say so.

Free this month

Airbourne, Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 August. Four days of flying displays over the seafront, in its 32nd year, and one of Europe’s biggest free seafront airshows. The Western Lawns event site runs 10.30am to 5pm each day. Confirmed for 2026: the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight with the Dakota, Spitfire and Hurricane, the RAF Typhoon, the Royal Navy Black Cats helicopter display, the P-51 Mustang “Marinell” making its Airbourne debut, and the Red Devils parachute team also appearing for the first time.

The Ravilious Collection at Towner. Towner holds the largest public collection of work by Eric Ravilious, and the display is free, though you need to book a ticket. Open Tuesdays to Sundays and bank holiday Mondays, at Devonshire Park, College Road, BN21 4JJ.

Eastbourne Bandstand. Back in business for a full 2026 season running from May through to October, after Eastbourne Borough Council committed more than £1 million to structural repairs and safety works, carried out with Historic England’s involvement. Shows are ticketed and deckchair hire is charged separately, so check the programme before you turn up expecting to sit down.

The pier. Grade II listed and open, according to its Visit Eastbourne listing, 9am to 6pm every day*, closing later on Wednesdays and Saturdays when the nightclub is running. Shops, a chip shop, the Victorian Tea Rooms, a café bar and fishing off the end, all pay as you go.

Worth paying for

Towner Eastbourne

The town’s gallery, at Devonshire Park. The main summer show is Comrades in Art: Artists Against Fascism, running 7 May to 18 October 2026 at £11 with concessions. A second exhibition, Cecilia Fiona, runs 18 July to 1 November 2026 with a major new body of work by the Danish artist. The Ravilious Collection is free with a booked ticket. There is a cinema, the Light at Towner restaurant and a shop, and the Make Space drop-in activity is free. Open Tuesdays to Sundays and bank holiday Mondays.

Eastbourne Miniature Steam Railway

A mile of one-eighth scale steam railway round a country park at Lottbridge Drove, plus crazy golf, the Grandmas Garden maze, an adventure playground, an under-fives area, a five-acre lake, a model railway display and tea gardens. Open daily 10am to 5pm. Admission is £13.95 for adults and for children aged 3 to 17, £12.95 for over-60s, £11.95 for disabled visitors and carers, and free for under-3s. That includes everything plus one train ride; further rides are £1.50 each. Booking ahead is cheaper than the gate price. Flying Scotsman Days run 10 to 14 August, so this week.

Sovereign Centre

The borough’s big pool complex on the seafront at Sovereign Harbour, run by Better. A standard swim is £8.40 for adults and £5.30 for under-18s, with under-3s free. The family fun swim, which is the one with the wave machine and the slides, is £10.50 for adults and £6.30 for juniors. An Eastbourne residents card brings both down, to £7.30 and £4.20 on the standard swim.

Devonshire Park theatres

Three venues under one banner: the Congress Theatre, the Devonshire Park Theatre and the Winter Garden. What is booked for the rest of August:

• Stepping Out, Thursday 13 to Saturday 29 August, Devonshire Park Theatre, from £33.50
• The Bodyguard, Monday 17 to Saturday 22 August, Congress Theatre, from £30.50
• The Ballad of Johnny and June, Tuesday 25 to Saturday 29 August, Congress Theatre, from £27.50
• Dog Man: The Musical, Friday 4 to Saturday 5 September, Devonshire Park Theatre, from £27

The same Devonshire Park site hosts the Lexus Eastbourne Open every June, the grass-court warm-up for Wimbledon. The 2026 edition ran from 22 to 28 June and was won by Madison Keys and Zizou Bergs.

Out of town, and worth the drive

Seven Sisters Country Park, west along the A259 at Exceat, BN25 4AD. Owned by the South Downs National Park Authority since 2021. Walking the Cuckmere valley and the cliffs costs nothing; the car park is £3.50 up to two hours, £5.00 up to four hours and £7.00 for longer, with coaches and motorhomes at £10 for three hours or £20 a day. Motorbikes park free and there is no Blue Badge concession. The car parks are open 7am to 9pm from 27 March to 26 October, and the visitor centre and café open 10am to 5pm daily. Pay by coin, card or the RinGo app, location 40750. Note that the A259 crosses the Cuckmere here on the single-lane Exceat Bridge, which is on temporary traffic lights, so summer weekends queue.

What is closed

The Beachy Head visitor centre. The Beachy Head Experience is closed. Its own site says “Opening Summer 2026”, with the date still to be confirmed. The clifftop, the walk out to Belle Tout and the view are all still there and still free; the exhibition is not open.

The Redoubt Fortress. Closed to the public. The circular Napoleonic fort on the seafront, built in 1805, shut in 2021 and its damp interior was found unsuitable for keeping museum collections. Eastbourne Borough Council owns it and is weighing future uses and funding routes rather than reopening it as a museum. Do not plan a visit.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Eastbourne airshow in 2026?

Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 August 2026, the 32nd Airbourne. Entry is free and the Western Lawns event site is open 10.30am to 5pm each day.

Is Towner Eastbourne free?

Partly. The Ravilious Collection is free but you need to book a ticket. The main exhibition, Comrades in Art, is £11 with concessions, and runs to 18 October 2026.

Is Beachy Head open?

The clifftop and the walks are open and free. The Beachy Head Experience visitor centre is closed, with its own site saying it will reopen in summer 2026 on a date still to be confirmed.

What is there to do in Eastbourne when it rains?

Towner for the galleries and cinema, the Sovereign Centre for the pool at £8.40 an adult, and the Congress, Devonshire Park Theatre or Winter Garden for a matinee. The pier’s shops and tea rooms are under cover too.

How much does it cost to park at Seven Sisters?

£3.50 up to two hours, £5.00 up to four hours and £7.00 for anything longer, at the two pay and display car parks at Exceat. Motorbikes are free and there is no Blue Badge concession.

Sources

• Airbourne: Eastbourne International Airshow for the 2026 dates, free entry, site hours and confirmed displays.
• Towner Eastbourne for opening days, the £11 exhibition price, the free Ravilious Collection and the current exhibition dates.
• Eastbourne Miniature Steam Railway admission prices and its home page for prices, opening hours and the Flying Scotsman Days.
• The Sovereign Centre prices, Better for swim and fun swim prices.
• Eastbourne Theatres for the August and September programme and starting prices.
• Seven Sisters Country Park, plan your visit for parking tariffs and opening times.
• Beachy Head Experience for the closure and the summer 2026 reopening statement.
• Eastbourne Bandstand summer season for the 2026 season and the repair programme.
• Eastbourne Pier listing, Visit Eastbourne for opening hours and what is on the pier.

Prices and opening times change, particularly out of season. Check with the venue before you travel. Getting here by train is covered on Eastbourne to London trains, and current road closures are on Eastbourne roadworks and travel.