White Cliffs of Dover
The white edge of England.
Rising sheer from the sea and gleaming white above the busy Strait of Dover, these chalk cliffs have been England's front door for centuries. The National Trust clifftop path runs east from Dover toward the South Foreland Lighthouse, with the coast of France often visible across twenty-one miles of water.
The chalk was laid down from the shells of tiny sea creatures over tens of millions of years, and the dark bands running through it are flint. Skylarks sing over the downland in summer and the rare Adonis blue butterfly flickers across the grass.
It is an easy, breezy walk with grand views both out to sea and back over Dover's harbour and castle. Keep to the marked path — the chalk edge is undercut and crumbling, and there are no barriers.
Getting there
Dover is about 1 hour 10 minutes by train from London St Pancras to Dover Priory, then a short taxi or bus to the National Trust visitor centre at Langdon Cliffs. By car it is roughly two hours from London via the M20/M2. The clifftop path begins at the visitor centre car park.