Country diary: waves have been lapping away at this land for centuries

Reculver, Kent: For now, granite boulders the size of a Mini keep the tide at bay, but along the coast the sandstone cliffs are left vulnerable

A church without a congregation, a lighthouse without a light, the twin towers of Reculver are a seashore emblem of solidity and transience. The fortress-like rectangularity of this imposing structure summoned me from miles away, only to find it was frontage to a roofless ruin.

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