Distance 4 miles (6.4km)
Classification Easy
Duration 2 hours
Begins Gateway visitor centre, White Cliffs
OS grid reference TR336422

Walk in a nutshell
A hearty jaunt up and back along the famous white cliffs on two different paths from Langdon cliffs, just east of Dover, to South Foreland Lighthouse.

Why it's special
You're going to need a pretty hefty field guide if you're going to identify everything you see. There are the wildflowers beneath your feet as well as the butterflies that live off them, and kittiwake, fulmar and peregrine falcons in the sky above. And, although there have never actually been bluebirds here, you are walking on the white cliffs of Dover, which is still pretty cool.

Keep your eyes peeled for
The old Langdon convict and military prison, the remains of which you'll pass near the start of the walk. The chalky grassland, grazed at Langdon cliffs by visiting Exmoor ponies, is home to the yellow-flowered wild cabbage and horseshoe vetch. In spring you might even see the rare early spider orchid, which is only found on the south coast. There are butterflies aplenty, including the small blue, the adonis blue and the chalkhill blue. As for non-blues, there are droves of red admiral, painted lady and clouded yellow butterflies, some of which will have flown all the way from Africa to see you. Be on the alert for the endangered hornet robberfly (Britain's largest fly, fact fans) and, in July, the rare day-flying straw belle moth. Above them, kittiwakes cry out and fulmars swoop by on the breeze. In summer both birds breed on tiny ledges on the precipitous cliffs. Meanwhile, where scrub has been left to grow, you may see warblers such as the whitethroat, as well as colourful seed eaters such as linnets and yellowhammers.

Recover afterwards
At The Allotment in Dover, an urban bistro serving delicious locally sourced food.

If it's tipping down
Try Dover Castle, not so much an ancient fortress nowadays as a life-changing experience, its latest attraction being Operation Dynamo: Rescue from Dunkirk.

How to get there
From Dover Priory railway station either walk (2.5 miles) or take the 15 bus from Pencester Road, alighting at Castle Hill.

Step by step

1 From the Gateway to the White Cliffs visitor centre, head east to the coast path with the sea on your right.

2 Keep on this path, taking in views of the French coast from the rim of Langdon Hole. On a clear day you can see 21 miles right across the Channel to France.

3 At South Foreland Lighthouse make your way to the surfaced path just inland.

4 Return to the visitor centre, this time keeping the sea on your left.