Lost in the mists

Recently, although the days have been beautifully sunny, early mornings have been misty and the mists have lingered over the sea.  When I went to visit the Battle of Britain Memorial site near Folkestone, it was sunny and warm so it wasn't until I had a look over the cliffs to see the view that I realised how much the mist remained even at midday.

That is the view towards Dover with the train line running at the base of the cliffs.

A year ago I travelled along that line and managed to take a picture from as the train, the high speed one, passed along.  it can't have been travelling too fast at that point and, given how near the sea is, I'm quite glad it wasn't.

The view towards Folkestone.  In the days when there was a cross channel ferry running from Folkestone to Boulogne and Calais, the London train used to finish at the harbour arm you can see there in the distance.  The luxurious Venice Simplon Orient Express stopped there for about twenty years, before changing route to Folkestone West.

Not all the cliffs are white.  I have little to no knowledge of geology, but the red earth looks to me like the presence of an iron ore.

The North Downs Way passes right along this cliff top, and in places they seem to be encouraging you to walk over the edge.  The chalk cliffs are very prone to collapse and just last week there was a considerable fall just on the far side of Dover.  I'm rather glad there isn't a guard rail all the same.  It would ruin the feeling of the wide open space.

Possibly not the place to go if it really is misty.