Sea mist
On a warm sunny day we sometimes get a sea mist roll in from the Channel which catches visitors unaware – the temperature drops dramatically. Above those cliffs is the village of Capel-le-Ferne which is well known for it’s foggy situation.
A couple of things worth pointing out. The white Martello tower , built as a response to the threat of invasion in Napoleonic times, stands out clearly, but on the left of my photo you can see two further towers, or forts, not painted white. They are now private residences and it is a reminder of how many were built along the coast [I suspect the gap was once filled with others]. Behind that headland is a bay known as The Warren and it was clearly thought a possible landing place for French troops.
Note also the grey cliffs as opposed to the white cliffs of Dover beyond. That’s Gault Clay, known for its exceptional diversity of fossils. Deposited across northern Europe in the Lower Cretaceous, 100-112 million years ago, its abundance of ammonite fossils shows that it was laid down in a marine environment, at a time when sea levels were rising rapidly. Along with ammonites, it is possible to find snails, clams, shark’s teeth, fish, crabs and lobsters. Even dinosaur fossils have been found.
Sea mist
On a warm sunny day we sometimes get a sea mist roll in from the Channel which catches visitors unaware – the temperature drops dramatically. Above those cliffs is the village of Capel-le-Ferne which is well known for it’s foggy situation.
A couple of things worth pointing out. The white Martello tower , built as a response to the threat of invasion in Napoleonic times, stands out clearly, but on the left of my photo you can see two further towers, or forts, not painted white. They are now private residences and it is a reminder of how many were built along the coast [I suspect the gap was once filled with others]. Behind that headland is a bay known as The Warren and it was clearly thought a possible landing place for French troops.
Note also the grey cliffs as opposed to the white cliffs of Dover beyond. That’s Gault Clay, known for its exceptional diversity of fossils. Deposited across northern Europe in the Lower Cretaceous, 100-112 million years ago, its abundance of ammonite fossils shows that it was laid down in a marine environment, at a time when sea levels were rising rapidly. Along with ammonites, it is possible to find snails, clams, shark’s teeth, fish, crabs and lobsters. Even dinosaur fossils have been found.