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Open Country

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Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of Britain

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

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Open Country: White Cliffs of Dover

White Cliffs of Dover

26/07/2012

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, White Cliffs of Dover

Helen Mark meets Dame Vera Lynn to discuss an iconic landmark, the white cliffs of Dover.

Helen Mark meets those whose lives are inextricably linked with the white cliffs of Dover, including Dame Vera Lynn.

In a year in which the world will be looking in on Britain as we celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and host the London Olympics, Helen Mark goes in search of the people whose lives are inextricably linked with the White Cliffs of Dover.We find out about this iconic part of the British landscape which has played such an important part in our nation's history and discovers why it still holds a special place in the nation's heart.Brian Whittaker and Rob Sonnen of the National Trust tell us why it is so important that landscapes like the White Cliffs are preserved for the nation. Jon Iveson from the Dover Museum tells Helen about the vital part that Dover and the White Cliffs have played in Britain's past and geologist Melanie Wrigley of the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership, which was set up to conserve and enhance the coast and countryside of Dover and the White Cliffs as the gateway to England, takes Helen for a walk on Shakespeare Beach in search of fossils. 
Helen also meets Kaimes Beasley of HM Coastguard who tells her about the vital role that they play in ensuring the safety of the seas around the cliffs over which bluebirds have never really flown.....or have they? Finally, Helen meets Dame Vera Lynn, whose wartime anthem firmly placed this most iconic of British landscapes in the hearts and minds of the nation.

Presenter: Helen Mark
Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

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