GIBI^ A VISIT TO EECULVER. 



331 



Leaving London at a quarter-past eight on a fine Sunday morning, in 

 an excursion train, with (as it appeared to myself and others) nearly 

 1500 people, we made but few stoppages until we reached Faver- 

 sham, at half-past ten, where those who were going on to Herne 

 Bay had to change carriages. As the next train did not leave for the 

 latter place until ten minutes past eleven, it allowed of time to exa- 

 mine that small but apparently old town. We reached Herne Bay at 

 half-past eleven, stopping at Whitstable on our route. To some 

 persons the journey of three hours and a quarter may appear loug, 

 but in reality it is not so, when the distance is considered, enlivened 

 by the number of objects to be seen along the road. The sea is 

 visible for some distance before reaching Herne Bay, and the heights 

 of Sheppey could be very readily distinguished from the south. 



The railway station is about half a mile to the south-west of Herne 

 Bay, and the latter seemed to be a larger place than I had anticipated. 

 The pier, which is very long, no doubt marks the boundary of what 

 was once the mainland, washed away by the sea. Immediately op- 

 posite the town, the hand of man has provided against further denu- 

 dation. On arriving at the eastern extremity of the town, the cliffs 

 are reached, here commencing by a gentle ascent. Along their sum- 

 mit I leisurely wended my way to E,eculver, some three or four 

 miles distant. A large portion of them had fallen only very lately 

 — indeed, within the past few months, as I was informed; and to 

 some extent I could recognize the deposits as described by Dr. 

 Michell (Proc. Geol. Soc. vol. ii.), i.e. in that part of the cliff's 

 situate between Eeculver and Herne Bay, about two miles in extent. 

 " The upper part, where the beds are fully developed, consists of 

 about 35 feet of mottled, brown, and red clay; and the lower part of 

 about 50 feet of sand, containing a layer of masses of sandstone. 

 Possils are stated to be found only in the sand, and to belong chiefly 

 to a species of Venus."" 



It was this high part of the cliff which was now chiefly in ruins 

 from late slips, the result of the great rains in early spring. I could 

 observe too, many large slabs of this sandstone strewed along the 

 beach. About halfway I came to a deep ravine, and although the 

 clifl' here was very steep, I managed to descend and cross it without 

 going half a mile round. I did not stop now until I arrived at the 

 old church of Beculver, unless occasionally to gaze at it from a dis- 

 tance, its appearance being long familiar to me from the drawings in 

 Sir Charles Lyell's book. I was certainly amply repaid for my visit ; 

 here was before me a good illustration of the wear and tear of tlie 

 land by the sea, aided by the rains. Years ago I was delighted with 

 the description of this pretty spot, and had often expressed the desire 

 to visit it. Speaking of this place. Sir Charles says, " Still further 

 east stands the church of Beculver, upon a cliff composed of clay and 

 sand, about twenty feet high. Eeculver (Kegulviuni) was an im- 

 portant military station in the time of the Boiiians, and a})pears, from 

 Leland's account, to have been, so late as Henry A^llL's reign, nearly 

 one mile distant from the sea. lu the ' Gentleman's Siagaziue' 



