Langdon Bay is abay in eastKent, England. It is two miles east of the town ofDover, and is named after the nearby villages ofLangdon,East Langdon andWest Langdon. The cliffs around it are known as theLangdon Cliffs. A prominent zig-zag path down the cliff-face is visible from the sea and connects with the National Trust path by means of a step ladder. An additional means of exit from the beach being a return on foot toSt Margaret's Bay. At the far western end is a restricted area of the Port of Dover, and occasionally walkers will be escorted out by the Dover Port Police.
The bay is known for theLangdon Bay Hoard – a collection ofBronze Age metal objects found nearby in 1974.[1] This includes bronze axes of a French type[2] and is thought to represent the cargo of a boat that was caught in a storm just after leaving the English coast, either jettisoned to lighten and save the boat or sunk with it (if there was a wreck, it is now lost). This demonstrates thatcross-channeltrade was already occurring in the Bronze Age, if not earlier. The hoard is owned by theBritish Museum, but is on long-term loan and display inDover Museum in Market Square, Dover.
Three searchlight batteries – known as the Langdon Lights – were built into the base of the bay's cliffs during World War II, so that any ship trying to enter the bay could be illuminated while it was checked, though one battery has since been destroyed by a cliff fall.[3]
The area above the cliffs is now achalkdownlandnature reserve owned by theNational Trust, looking down onDover Harbour and the Channel, and centred on the 'Gateway to theWhite Cliffs'Visitor Centre. Large parts of this reserve, and of this section of clifftop in general, is anSSSI,AONB andHeritage Coast.[4] Another nearby historic site is theSouth Foreland Lighthouse, also a NT property.
51°08′01″N1°21′04″E / 51.1336°N 1.3510°E /51.1336; 1.3510