Langdon Bay is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

in east

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England. It is two miles east of the town of

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, and is named after the nearby villages of

Langdon Langdon may refer to: Places Australia * Langdon, Queensland, a neighbourhood in the Mackay Region Canada * Langdon, Alberta, a hamlet United Kingdom * Langdon, Cornwall, a hamlet * Langdon, Kent, a civil parish * Langdon, Pembrokeshire ...

East Langdon East Langdon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Langdon, in the Dover district of Kent, England. It is northeast from Dover town. In 1961 the parish had a population of 305. On 1 April 1963 the parish was abolished to ...

and

West Langdon West Langdon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Langdon, in the Dover district of Kent, England. It is located five miles north of Dover town. In 1961 the parish had a population of 68. On 1 April 1963 the parish was ab ...

. The cliffs around it are known as the Langdon Cliffs. A prominent zig-zag path down the cliff-face is visible from the sea and connects with the National Trust path by means of a step ladder. An additional means of exit from the beach being a return on foot to St Margaret's Bay. At the far western end is a restricted area of the Port of Dover, and occasionally walkers will be escorted out by the Dover Port Police.

History

The bay is known for the Langdon Bay Hoard – a collection of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

metal objects found nearby in 1974. This includes bronze axes of a French type and is thought to represent the cargo of a boat that was caught in a storm just after leaving the English coast, either jettisoned to lighten and save the boat or sunk with it (if there was a wreck, it is now lost). This demonstrates that cross-channel

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

was already occurring in the Bronze Age, if not earlier. The hoard is owned by the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, but is on long-term loan and display in

Dover Museum Dover Museum is a museum in Dover, Kent, in south-east England. History Founded in February 1836 by the town's mayor Edward Pett Thompson, it was initially housed in the old Guildhall and run by the Dover Philosophical Institute. The Town C ...

in Market Square, Dover. Three searchlight batteries – known as the Langdon Lights – were built into the base of the bay's cliffs during World War II, so that any ship trying to enter the bay could be illuminated while it was checked, though one battery has since been destroyed by a cliff fall. The area above the cliffs is now a

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, looking down on

Dover Harbour The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pas ...

and the Channel, and centred on the 'Gateway to the White Cliffs'

Visitor Centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic c ...

. Large parts of this reserve, and of this section of clifftop in general, is an

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

AONB An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

and

Heritage Coast A heritage coast is a strip of coastline in England and Wales, the extent of which is defined by agreement between the relevant statutory national agency and the relevant local authority. Such areas are recognised for their natural beauty, wildlife ...

. Another nearby historic site is the

South Foreland Lighthouse South Foreland Lighthouses are a pair of Victorian lighthouses on the South Foreland in St. Margaret's Bay, Dover, Kent, England, used to warn ships approaching the nearby Goodwin Sands. There has been a pair of lighthouses at South Foreland s ...

, also a NT property.

Notes

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20040825152004/http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/places/langdon_cliffs.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20110727015244/http://www.geog.sussex.ac.uk/BAR/images/Kent/langdon_stairs/Page.html
Hourly Met office weather observations from the Bay
{{coord, 51.1336, 1.3510, display=title, region:GB, format=dms Bays of Kent English Channel Dover District National Trust properties in Kent