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 that research puts at 22 to 32 centimetres a year over the last 150 years, 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 Marconi received the first ship-to-shore radio message in 1898 and made the first international transmission, to Wimereux in France, in 1899. On a clear day the French coast is visible some 32 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.

The landscape

• 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, some 32 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.

Good to know

The cliff edge is unfenced and undercut in places - 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.

Key facts