Friday Cow Blogging

Cows at Samphire Hoe near Dover

(Again, I missed Friday, but remember: Friday is a state of mind.)

Last Saturday I took my daughter and her boyfriend to Dover. Since he especially wanted to see the famed White Cliffs, I searched online for a good viewing spot. Several people mentioned Samphire Hoe, the charmingly named piece of land reclaimed from the sea when the Eurotunnel was dug under the Channel.

 

The construction company needed somewhere to put all the material pulled out of the tunnel, obviously. (Or not so obvious: I never before considered what must have happened to all that dirt.) This spot between Dover and Folkestone fit the bill, and as the land mass grew, it was used to store equipment used in the construction of the tunnel as well. Eventually the spot was turned into a nature reserve. It's still owned by Eurotunnel, but managed together with White Cliffs Countryside Partnership.

It's a wonderful place to visit, perhaps on your way to Dover Castle.

As we drove, the clouds grew thicker and thicker. I had to turn on my fog lamps several times, so I was worried that once we got there we wouldn't be able to see the cliffs. No need to worry; the cliffs are so close even thick fog can't hide them.

The cliff at this spot is called Shakespeare Cliff, which inspired the name for Samphire Hoe: 

During the construction of the Channel Tunnel, the area was known as Shakespeare Cliff Lower Construction Platform. In 1994 a competition was organised by Eurotunnel and the Dover Express to find a new name for the newest part of England which was reclaimed from the sea. Hundreds of entries were received, from which the judges chose Samphire Hoe.

Gillian Janaway came up with the name. Having been an English teacher, she was familiar with Shakespeare’s King Lear.

"There is a cliff whose high and bending head looks fearfully in the confined deep… The crows and choughs that wing the midway air scarce so gross as beetles; halfway down hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade!".

At the time that William Shakespeare was writing King Lear he was said to have travelled regularly through Dover. It was his familiarity with the cliffs that may well have inspired his descriptions. To this day the first cliff on the West side of Dover is known as Shakespeare cliff.

Great story, but this post is really about the cows.

When we got to the parking area at Samphire Hoe (after passing under the cliffs through a one-lane tunnel), I immediately noticed sheep on an outcropping, staring at us. (Next week, Friday Sheep Blogging!) But as we walked along the path, I saw evidence of cows:  their poop is much larger than sheep poop. So I was not surprised when we rounded a curve and found a few black cows grazing the grass. When we walked back, they'd moved into an attractive position overlooking the Channel.

Worth waiting until Saturday for, don't you think?