The Louis Bleriot Memorial from South-East Northfall Meadow, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

Prior to the July 2009 Centennial of Louis Bleriot's historic first flight across the English Channel, the immediate area had been landscaped and new access pathways laid. Even so, the location is still hidden from view and not a place visitors would find by acident. This view is from the south-east:


(Click this Louis Bleriot Memorial text link to see the largest size)

The inscription on the 'Cockpit Stone' between the propellor and fuselage reads:

After making the first Channel flight by aeroplane
LOUIS BLERIOT
Landed at this spot on Sunday 25th July 1909
This memorial was presented to the Aero Club of the United Kingdom (1) by Alexander Duckham

The memorial is located in Northfall Meadow, now a wooded area, behind Dover Castle.

Extract from an Aviation Online Magazine article (2):

July 27, 2009, Edmond Salis a Frenchman restored a Blériot XI Monoplane and flew it from Calais to Dover on Saturday to commemorate the centennial of the first airplane to cross the English Channel.

Other news articles about the anniversary can be found at The New York Times, Life Magazine, and The Observer (UK).

Bleriot XI Video Links

Panorama of the White Cliffs of Dover in Sunlight and Shadow, Kent, UK

The iconic White Cliffs of Dover viewed from the the lighthouse and cafe end of the Prince of Wales Pier:


(Click this White Cliffs of Dover text link to see the largest size)

The strange-looking object on top of the cliffs just right of centre is the South Foreland lighthouse. The top of the darker Old South Foreland lighthouse, built in 1793, can be seen near the right-hand edge of the cliffs. Both lighthouses are over 5000 yards distant.

At the bottom of the cliffs is the Eastern Arm pier which runs out from the ferry terminal in the Eastern Docks (out-of-shot to the left) to the Eastern Entrance (bounded by the Southern Breakwater, out-of-shot to the right).

Dover Castle (also out-of-shot to the left) is located above East Cliff.

The photo was taken on Monday, May 10th, 2010 (the day the MV Princess Daphne cruise ship arrived in port).

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The White Cliffs of Dover (1)

Introduction

The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to 107 metres (351 ft), owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk (pure white calcium carbonate) accentuated by streaks of black flint. The cliffs spread east and west from the town of Dover in the county of Kent, an ancient and still important English port.