The White Cliffs end on a south-facing hill, covered in short-cropped grass and topped by a Martello Tower-a tall, thick-walled cylinder upon which cannons were mounted to repel any invaders trying to land. This is the only place where a walker can follow a safe, marked path straight down the cliff face from top to bottom. Below the platform are the final 50 feet of cliff, protected by huge sea walls. Here the top 100 yards of the cliffs have retreated about a quarter of a mile inland, leaving a rough platform perched above the sea. These great, vertical cliffs end five miles west of Dover, and the White Cliffs enter their final phase. Seagulls glide high above the water-far, far below. Unfenced and unstable, the edge is a dizzying place, to be approached with the greatest caution. The drop is completely vertical, and in many places has a substantial overhang. Now the really tall cliffs begin! Views from the edge are the most breathtaking in the entire length of the White Cliffs, reaching heights of nearly 500 feet.
#WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER GUITAR JONNY RIVERS FULL#
Although the cliffs around Kingsdown are the lowest in the White Cliffs, a mere 150 feet above the sea, the views are spectacular.įrom Dover, the cliffs run mainly westward, their bright white wall catching the full southern sun. Those steps are the beginning of a footpath that proceeds along the edge of the White Cliffs for their entire 14-mile length, an easy and well-marked walk over grassy meadows alive with wildflowers. To the right of the cliff, a grassy verge climbs up from the shingle and a set of steps follows it to the cliff top. As you explore the cliffs, both stories weave in and out before your eyes, creating a tapestry of history and grandeur. So the White Cliffs have two stories, a nature story and a history story: the tale of a natural wonder of great beauty, and the tale of England’s independence and freedom. The shepherd will tend his sheep, the valley will bloom again,Īnd Johnny will go to sleep in his own little room again. There’ll be love and laughter and peace ever after There’ll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover The 1941 song “The White Cliffs of Dover” expressed this sense of the world turned upside down: The English military lined the cliff tops with defenses they had never before needed-gun emplacements and a network of tunnels and bunkers dug deep into the cliff rock. After Germany conquered France in 1940, it assembled an enormous invasion fleet at Calais. In the 20th century, this protection wore thin. And they are protection-a defensive barrier that bars enemies from invading. They are the very edge of England, the place where home begins and the wide world ends. When an English soldier went to war, the White Cliffs were his last sight of home when he returned, the White Cliffs welcomed him to a normal life. The small city of Dover sits closer to mainland Europe than any other port on the island of Britain, a mere 25 miles over the English Channel to the French port of Calais. To the English, the White Cliffs of Dover are not only beautiful, they are also deeply symbolic. The Cliffs of Dover The Cliffs are symbolic
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