View from the Cliff-Tops, along the Saxon Shore Way, between KIngsdown and St Margret's Bay, Kent
The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times (note the changed coastline around Romney Marsh) as far as Hastings, East Sussex, 163 miles (262 km) in total. The most picturesque part of the walk is arguably, the clifftop stretch between Deal and Dover passing South Foreland, with a midway break in St Margaret's at Cliffe. The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs that form part of the English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to 350 feet (110 m),[1] owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint. The cliffs stretch along the coastline for eight miles (13 km), spreading east and west from the town of Dover in the county of Kent, an ancient and still important English port.[2] The cliffs have great symbolic value in Britain because they face towards continental Europe across the narrowest part of the English Channel, where invasions have historically threatened and against which the cliffs form a symbolic guard. The National Trust calls the cliffs "an icon of Britain", with "the white chalk face a symbol of home and war time defence."[3] Because crossing at Dover was the primary route to the continent before the advent of air travel, the white line of cliffs also formed the first or last sight of Britain for travellers. In World War II, thousands of allied troops on the little ships in the Dunkirk evacuation saw the welcoming sight of the cliffs.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: White Cliffs of Dover, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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