Moving along (the cliff)

Further around the coast and just beyond Dover, you come to Langdon Cliffs owned by the National Trust.  I have always resolutely turned my back on this because it seemed somehow very wrong to have to pay to walk along the coast.  I take it all back now.

I did have to pay to park the car but had I been on foot there would have been no charge.  Of course there is nowhere remotely close by for parking at the Dover end of the cliffs.  Maybe there is further along but that I don't know.  A nominal fee of £3 isn't exorbitant in any case so I was perfectly happy, the facilities provided are good (lovely cakes!), and the cliffs are well maintained.

The car park, part of it anyway, over looks the cross channel Eastern docks at Dover.  There is something mesmerising about watching the ferries arrive, manoeuvre into position, disgorge passengers and freight, re-load and depart, only to have the berths re-occupied within a very short time.

But I was here to see the cliffs so off I trotted.  Not too fast because the paths, which were on at least three levels, were really quite rough and really quite close to the edge....

There were warning signs up about the recent landslip but that seemed rather like shutting the door after the horse had bolted.  The result of the slide was easily visible from quite a distance.

Neither that nor the signs stopped people from looking closely.

I didn't notice anyone until I was going through these photos at home, and I've had to zoom as much as possible.  If you click on the picture you should be able to make out a few foolhardy souls who had gone for a closer inspection of the landslip and appeared to be standing right on the edge.

The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the varieties of flora and fauna to be found on the chalk grassland.  To maintain the grassland, the National Trust has brought in a number of Exmoor ponies to graze the land and keep over-vigorous grasses under control.  The ponies looked at me with some suspicion but didn't run away.

I imagine they would soon move if anyone approached too closely but I don't know how tame they are.  There are notices asking people not to feed the ponies.

The views are superb:

over the cliff tops

towards Dover Castle

and to the rocks below.

On a clear day, of course not this day, you should be able to see France.

The protected area continues over the cliffs to South Foreland Lighthouse and St Margaret's Bay, a route I'm saving for another day.

Foreign

The meaning of the word foreign can mean so many different things, especially depending on your point of view.  Britain has been invaded by foreigners so often that in time the invaders have become amalgamated into the population, and been invaded in their turn.

The first foreign invasion came from the Romans who crossed the English Channel and landed just to the north of Dover, here -

They probably thought the shingle (pebbled) beach was less of an obstacle that the white cliffs.

This stretch of coast was a target for all sorts of foreign invasions from the Vikings to William the Conqueror.  In 1539 Henry VIII started a defence programme of castle building along the south coast, and again in 1544.  Two of these were Deal Castle...

Deal Castle at sunset

and Walmer Castle.

Entrance to Walmer Castle

Cannon at Walmer Castle pointing out to sea

But the castle at Dover had been in existence well before either of these.  Its site, high on the cliffs overlooking the Channel, means that it has been a place of defensive significance throughout history.

Entrance to Dover Castle

It's spectacular enough when approaching from the landward side, the north-west.

Dover Castle from the sea

But it's when you are going out to sea and see it stretched along the top of the white cliffs that you realise just how significant the position is.  There are tunnels underneath which at one time housed 2000 men.  It remained important even until World War II, when the tunnels were used as air raid shelters and then a military command centre.  Many of the tunnels are now open to the public. If you enlarge the picture, you can see some of the windows and openings into the cliff face.

This has become rather long, sorry.  We've had a lot of foreign invasions!

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