William Collins's painting shows three children sitting on an exposed chalk plateau at Seaford Head in Sussex, high above the beach below. A layer of darker, sandy soil can also be seen on the clifftops at either side of them. One of the children is making a toy boat, or perhaps modifying a traditional basket known as a Sussex trug. Another wooden trug lies on the chalky ground beside him, along with raw materials, a knife and some wood shavings.

Down on the beach, a man seems to be loading lumps of loose chalk onto a horse and cart, while others are digging the sand or handling fishing nets. Seaford's Martello Tower is visible on the right of the picture, and the harbour wall at Newhaven is visible further west along the coast. Beyond Newhaven, the white cliffs lead towards a darker Brighton in the far distance.

When Collins painted the view in 1844, Seaford was a small seaside town with a large, sandy beach. However, the expansion of Newhaven harbour in the following years had a significant impact on the coastline nearby. Much of Seaford's sand disappeared as a result, only to be replaced by shingle instead. The cliffs at Seaford Head were also subject to constant erosion and sudden collapse, as the crumbling ground to the right of the children suggests.

A related drawing by Collins, entitled "The Young Boat Builders", is also in the V&A collection (FA.10). This shows the two boys in a similar pose, but without the girl or the Sussex trug.