GIBE A VISIT TO EECULYER. 
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 apparentl}'' 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 long, 
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 cliifs 
are reached, here commencing by a gentle ascent. Along their sum- 
mit I leisurely wended my way to Eeculver, 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 clifts 
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. 
Fossils 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 
cliff 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 Eeculver, 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 the 
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 Eeculver, upon a cliff composed of clay and 
sand, about twenty feet high. Eeculver (Eegulvium) was an im- 
portant military station in the time of the Eomans, and appears, from 
Leland's account, to have been, so late as Henry YllL's reign, nearly 
one mile distant from the sea. In the ' Gentleman's Magazine' 
