The National Trust's stretch of the White Cliffs of Dover, with a breezy clifftop walk out to a lighthouse above the Channel
Open accessNational Trust land — free to wander
This is the National Trust’s share of the White Cliffs of Dover, the wall of bright chalk that rises over the ferry port, the first sight of England for generations coming home across the Channel. From the visitor centre at Langdon Cliffs a broad, waymarked path runs east along the clifftop, and on a clear day you can see across the water to France, with the ferries coming and going far below.
Follow the path for a couple of miles and it brings you to South Foreland Lighthouse, a white Victorian tower that once guided ships through the Strait; behind you, above the port, sits the great fortress of Dover Castle. The first stretch from the car park is wide and level enough for a buggy, though it grows rougher further on.
Chalk cliffs are undercut by the sea and can give way without warning, so the firm rule here is to keep well back from the edge and to keep children and dogs on the landward side of the path; it’s never worth stepping out near a crack or an overhang for a photo. The clifftop itself is free to wander, while the National Trust car park at Langdon has a charge.
