Once described as the English Seaside redesigned by Tim Burton, Dungeness is a wild, isolated, historic and ever changing almost lunar landscape where houses are encased in rubber and light houses lie miles inland. Romney Marsh Times reveals five little known facts about this unique corner of England.

1. Dungeness was once the scene of a mighty sea-battleOn the 9th December 1652 a huge sea battle was fought off the Dungeness Headland between the then mighty English and Dutch fleets. 88 Dutch men-of-war and five fire ships engaged 43 ships of the English fleet and vanquished the home side. The Dutch navy ruled the Channel for 3 months until a revitalised English navy, with new strategies, regained control. It was after this loss that navy commanders issued the ships-of-line battle formation instructions that saw the English navy rise to dominance on the world stage.

2. 90,000 cubic metres of shingle are moved here every year
An army of engineers are in a never-ending battle with nature to prevent the Nuclear Power Stations at Dungeness being washed away by the sea. The shingle banks that make up the point have been laid down over the last 3000 years as the sea moves shingle along the coast. To keep the power stations safe and prevent the shingle being moved, an army of diggers continually dumps shingle in front of the power stations to replace that swept away. Each year 90,000 cubic metres of stones are moved.

3. The D-Day invasion relied on a pipeline from hereDuring World War II a huge pipeline was constructed from Dungeness, under Channel, to the D-Day landing sites in France to supply allied forces fighting in France with fuel. Called PLUTO (PipeLine Under The Ocean) the pipes pumped 1 million gallons a day at their peak and were pivotal in the Allied forces victory.

4. Marconi tested radio transmissions at Dungeness
The inventor of radio, Guglielmo Marconi, conducted early trials of radio at Dungeness and in 1899 became the first person to transmit radio messages across the English Channel. His research sheds at Dungeness still stand (picture above). The intriguing story of how wireless was invented by Guglielmo Marconi is wonderfully described in the enjoyable book: Signor Marconi's Magic Box: The Invention That Sparked the Radio Revolution.

5. It's a desert - and that's official
Dungeness is officially a desert and the only one in the UK. Although on the coast and surrounded by large man-made lakes the climate is very dry and water scarce.

If you're looking for more information on this intriguing corner of England, RMT recommends the excellent book The Romney Marsh Coastline: From Hythe to Dungeness (Britain in Old Photographs).

Pictures and words (c) 2009, Romney Marsh Times & Andrew Leaning. All rights reserved.