Our brief tour of the south-east coast began in Camber Sands and concluded in Dungeness.

There is an eerie silence in Dungeness. A walk along the dry shingle beach front, which juts out into the English Channel at Britain's most south-easterly point, made me feel a little uneasy at first, but after a few hours of exploration I learned to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of this barren landscape.


Dungeness is one-of-a-kind – no boundaries, a desolate landscape with wooden houses, two nuclear power stations (the decommissioned Dungeness A and the still operational Dungeness B), lighthouses and expansive gravel pits. Representing one of the best examples of a shingle beach in the world, it is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and its birdlife. This is recognised and protected by a number of conservation designations, namely National Nature Reserve (NNR), Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). In addition, the NNR stretches across Dungeness to encompass the vast RSPB reserve and it is home to a staggering 600 species of plants.

Birds are a speciality of Dungeness. Its geographical position makes it ideally placed to watch for migrant birds arriving or departing, such as wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe), swallows (Hirundo rustica), martins and warblers. The common tern (Sterna hirundo) can be found breeding on the gravel pit islands in the summer months and it is perhaps the best place in the UK for watching the protected smew (Mergus albellus) throughout the winter. Visit the Dungeness Bird Observatory website for an up-to-date list of bird sightings.

The legacy of the gravel extraction industry is still visible in the number of old gravel pits across the landscape. Breeding seabirds and wintering wildfowl, the rare great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) and medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis) now benefit from such wetland sites.