The Varne Bank or Varne Shoal is a long

sand bank In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It o ...

in the

Strait of Dover The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (french: Pas de Calais - ''Strait of Calais''), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, separating Great Britain from continent ...

, lying southwest of

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East 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 south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. With the Lobourg Channel running along it, the Varne bank lies immediately south-west of the deepest point in the strait of Dover. Its rectilinear shape is similar to other banks in the strait such as South Falls bank bordering the Lobourg Channel on the east, the Colbart bank (a.k.a. the Ridge) and others. Rectilinear-shaped banks are only present on the English side of the strait. Lying almost in the middle of the south/west international traffic English-side channel of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, the Varne Bank is a constant concern for both British coastguards and shipping. The sea above it presents strong rippling, especially when strong tides occur, and is noted for its extra roughness during bad weather.Ogden C. K.
''Sailing directions for the north coast of France from cape Griz-Nez to cape Levi''
1908. (search for the words "Varne shoal".) ''archive.org/stream/sailingdirection00londiala''''Pas de Calais - Dover Straight''
''sea-seek.com'' With a minimum depth of about , it is marked by lighted buoys to the West, East and South. Due to its heightened risk, there has been a

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, t ...

positioned near the western end of the Varne Bank since October 1860. Varne Lightvessel

Ships that founder on the Varne Bank are often stated as being lost on the

Goodwin Sands Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...

in error, perhaps because the Varne Bank is less well known than its close northerly neighbour. Due to the volume increase in shipping through the world's busiest channel, several proposals have been made to eliminate the Varne Bank through

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

. However, also due to its shallow depth, the Varne Bank is a productive location for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, especially for

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

and

scallops Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famil ...

. In 1802, mining engineer Albert Mathieu made proposals to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

for turning the Varne Bank into an island staging point for the

Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...

. In the 20th century, a proposal was made for a Channel bridge, which would have used the Varne Bank as a staging post for a support structure. Several

naval battle Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large lan ...

s have been fought nearby, including the

Battle of Dover The Battle of Dover may refer to: * Battle of Sandwich (1217), also known as Battle of Dover, 24 August 1217, a naval engagement between England and France in the First Barons' War * Battle of Dover (1652), 29 May 1652, in the First Anglo-Dutch War ...

and

Battle of Dungeness The naval Battle of Dungeness took place on 30 November 1652 (10 December in the Gregorian calendar) during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the cape of Dungeness in Kent. Background In September 1652 the government of the Commonwealth of En ...

in 1652 and the Battle of Dover Strait in 1917. The Varne Bank along with its neighbouring bank ''Colbart'', the ''Vergoyer'' bank, the ''ridens ( fr) de Boulogne'' and the French side of the ''Bassurelle'' bank, form part of a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

protection zone listed under the name « ''Ridens et dunes hydrauliques du

Pas de Calais The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (french: Pas de Calais - ''Strait of Calais''), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, separating Great Britain from continent ...

'' » ("''ridens'' and sub-aqueous dunes of the

").Ridens et dunes hydrauliques du Pas de Calais
''inpn.mnhn.fr'', Natura 2000.

References

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