Panorama of the White Cliffs below Dover Castle, Kent, UK

To the left, the White Cliffs of Dover descend to the River Dour valley and the town itself.

To the right, the cliffs dip briefly to a low point called Broadlees Bottom from which the A2 Jubilee Way flyover passes over the Eastern Docks before turning inland and dropping down to the A20 roundabout in the center of the photo:

Today, the cliff-top forms the southern boundary of the grounds of Dover Castle; earlier, it formed the base of an Iron Age Hill Fort.

Repairing the Cliffs of Dover

Before showing close-ups of three points of historical interest in the above image, there is also a one minute video film clip from a 1968 British Pathé newsreel showing three workmen suspended in a cradle as they repair unstable areas on this part of the cliff face.

One of the workmen is Graham Barker who is my brother-in-law - click the link on the left to have a look.

The first point of interest, left of center, is the concrete platform topped by a white mast that juts out from the cliff edge. This is the Admiralty Lookout and Port War Signal Station:

This structure is a Listed Building and had been in a state of dilapidation until it was subject to major conservation and repair carried out over three phases between 2005 and 2008 by the Radley House Partnership (Chartered Architects).

Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay's flag flew from this signal station at the start of the Second World War.

The obsolete Hospital Battery of 1874 (contemporary with St Martin's Battery on the Western Heights) was converted in 1905 to a Fire Command Post. Admiralty installations were added on top in 1914 (World War I) and the concrete roof in the photo was added in 1941 (World War II).

The second point of interest is found by following the cliff edge to the left of the signalling station until you come to a v-shaped notch in the vegetation. Immediately below is Casemates Balcony and the cliff entrance to what English Heritage describe as the Secret War Time tunnels:

Calling the chalk excavations, "Secret War Time Tunnels" focusing attention on their role in the Second World War although the tunnels were begun during the Napoleonic Wars (under Colonel Twiss, RE) and continued to be expanded in the Cold War with Russia.

On the left of the Casemates Balcony is a low red-bricked structure with a blocked-up window in front of which Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Field Marshall Jan Smuts (alt. Field Marshal) were photographed during the Second World War.

 Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay planned Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk in these tunnels.

The final point of interest is the very left-most house of the Georgian houses of East Cliff (Marine Parade) on the left-hand side of the main photo (those on the right are Athol Terrace).

Built in 1834, Number 8 East Cliff (Marine Parade) is the former home of Charles Lightoller who survived the 1912 RMS Titanic iceberg disaster in the North Atlantic:

Elizabeth House is the left-hand third of the Georgian Listed Building. Charles Lightoller moved here after being posted to the Royal Navy's "Dover Patrol" during the First World War and served on HMS Falcon.

Commander Charles Herbert Lightoller DSC & Bar, RD, RNR (March 30, 1874 - December 8, 1952) was the second mate (second officer) on board the RMS Titanic, and the most senior officer to survive the disaster.

Lightoller ("Lights") was decorated for gallantry as a naval officer in World War I and later, in retirement, further distinguished himself in World War II by providing and sailing the Sundowner (one of the "little ships") during the perilous Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo).

NB There is a single row of modest terraced houses behind East Cliff (Marine Parade) that is known simply as "East Cliff").

The main photo were taken during a permitted Coronavirus (alt. Covid-19) Lockdown bike ride.

A cycling route map and biometrics can be seen on this Polar Flow web page.

Abridged versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter.