South East coast

[cybermule]

The trip along the South East coast revealed a country's edge that was giving up and falling over. Brighton's a faded old happiness smelling of the sweet sugargrease of many donut stalls. But nobody is swimming in the sea - even with the sun beating down - and the pebble beach shelves hard into a pressing mass of empty molten-glassy water. Swelling under the glittery heat. Pushing back against the swell of people.

Travelling east from this jewel of the coast, civilisation expires gently into the water, rolling down to the dirty kerbstone of the not-cliffs into an oily sea. Scattered low-pressed dismal towns of unpainted fences and burgeoning drug use, elderly and young alike. Even the duolingo of Newhaven's centre ville is the last gasp before the rolling downs and dropping lands of the Seven Sisters - beautiful, yet corralled as tourist land and sanctioned extraLondon countryside.

The grim psychogeography of Beachy Head belying the bright snake rivers and snowy cliffs.

And into Kent - Cinque ports, high weald knifefolded wooded wilds. And the press of the ocean against its sea walls and grimey forts.

Photos - mostly Dungeness

Comments

[inulro]

I haven't spent a lot of time there, but I love Kent and would like to get to know it better. People think it's all Home Counties but it's very Other, actually.

[cybermule]

I'd go again. I don't have much time for the "Outer Essex" bit of Kent, but the rest seems pretty interesting.

[ashlyme]

You have a wonderful way with landscapes.