White Cliffs of Dover

The chalk is the compacted remains of marine plankton laid down when this was a warm shallow sea, and it stays white because the cliff face keeps falling away - erosion of roughly a centimetre a year on average, with occasional collapses that take tonnes at once. The clifftop walk east from the visitor centre runs above the ferry port, past the chalk grassland where Adonis blue butterflies and orchids grow on thin soil, and out to the South Foreland Lighthouse, where the first international radio transmission was received in 1898. On a clear day the French coast is visible 34 kilometres away, and at night the lights of Calais are obvious. Below, the ferries move in and out of Dover harbour continuously, which is either an intrusion or half the interest.

What you actually see

• The clifftop path to South Foreland - chalk grassland above the drop.
• South Foreland Lighthouse - a Victorian light with a radio history.
• Chalk grassland flora - orchids and rare butterflies in early summer.
• France across the Strait - visible on clear days, 34 kilometres off.

When to go

June and July for orchids and butterflies on the grassland. Clear cold days in spring and autumn give the best chance of seeing France. Mornings are usually clearer than afternoons. The path is open year-round, but winter wind on an unfenced clifftop is genuinely unpleasant.

Honest expectations

The cliff edge is unfenced and undercut in places, and people have died taking photographs too close to it - stay well back from the lip. The view includes a large working ferry terminal, which is not what the postcards show. Haze hides France most days. The car park charge is significant if you are not a National Trust member.

Nearby

Dover Castle stands above the town, and Canterbury lies half an hour inland.