Dungeness

My most recent field trip, in the name of photographic opportunities was to the baron, shingle plains of Dungeness.

The New York Times reportedly once stated:

'If Kent is the Garden of England, Dungeness is the back gate'

I have to say, it's a remarkably accurate analogy of the area.

On the other side of the coin though, Dungeness is also home to a unique variety of wildlife and more than 600 different types of plants, it is one of the best places in Britain to find rare species of moths, butterflies, bees, beetles and spiders, many of which are apparently not to be found anywhere else. The whole area is unique and the shingle headland is a protected area with many endangered species of plant and wildlife.

Dungeness nowadays, is mostly renown for it Nuclear Power Station, but when the RH&DR (Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway) was brought to Dungeness in 1928 by Howey, it was even more desolate than it is today; there wasn't a road or Power Station and it only had one lighthouse.

Most of the houses here are owned and lived in by fishermen, their boats are kept along the shingle ridges. When you think about the houses though, do not think of the traditional English brick built dwellings, but of the converted railway carriages and small, ramshackle cottages which look like they might fall like a pack of cards if you breathe on them too readily.

In truth, these worn, mostly haggard looking cottages must be tremendously strong to withstand the extreme and constant strengths of the winds which swirl, and blast through Dungeness at will. As you drive down the single roadway across the land to the Foreland, there are no traditional gardens, normal horticultural garden plants and flowers could not survive in such harsh conditions, but the ever resourceful residents have adapted their small spaces and created architectural gardens, some are quite beautiful.

The old lighthouse, stands majestically in her rightful place beside the Power Station and is open to visitors. I have not yet been up myself as when I was there last week it was closed. The view from the top I believe is quite amazing though, being able to see for miles across the open flat lands of Dungeness and Romney Marsh.

The new lighthouse, opened in 1963, is not open to the public, and stands tall, and somewhat characterless, with it's feet securely buried in the shingle ground.


The other dominant feature of the landscape are the two nuclear power stations. There was a Visitor Centre open to the public but I believe it has recently been closed. The Dungeness 'A' Power Station is to be de-commissioned at the end of this year, a process which I believe is going to take approximately 3 years to complete.


The Light Railway Cafe at Dungeness Station is renowned for its locally caught fish and chips, and is a great place to watch the tiny little engine of the RH&DR arrive at the station coupled to the equally tiny carriages which transport tourists between the picturesque Cinque Port of Hythe, near the channel tunnel, to the fisherman's cottages and lighthouses at Dungeness. When it was first opened to traffic in July 1927 it was advertised as the 'World's Smallest Public Railway' and even today, there is a element of playing toy trains when you see one of the many different engines arrive and depart at the station.

The sea cannot be viewed from the road due to the shingle ridges and the walk down to the shoreline is made immensely easier by way of a wooden boardwalk which was erected with the aid of a lottery grant. Once at the end of the slatted walkway, the going is a lot tougher.

At first the shingles are large, forming ridges. The grasses grow in a seemingly horizontal direction, effected by the strong winds which are so often gusting around Dungeness, and it is these same winds which are responsible for the unwitting backwards flight of the many seagulls in the area. It is quite amusing to watch.

As you climb the small shingle ridges, getting ever nearer the shore, the size of the stones reduce until they are quite tiny and pouring into your trainers with every difficult, sunken step.

Once on the flattened, more solid beach area, with it's copper red sand the shingle only consists of those larger stones which are embedded in the beach.

Dungeness, although seemingly isolated, exposed and eerily quiet also boasts not only it's own pub but it's own lifeboat station, both of which go to complete the seemingly self sufficient, and very tight knit community that is Dungeness. It is a place that most everyone has strong feelings about.

You either love it, or you hate it.