| The Undercliff, stretching between the cliffs and the
sea for eight miles to the west of Lyme Regis, figures vividly in John Fowles's
novel, The French Lieutenant's Woman, and the film made from it. In the
past strips were used for orchards and grazing; but today it forms an unspoilt
tree-clad wilderness sheltering a wide diversity of plants and animals. In 1959
it became one of the first of Britain's National Nature Reserves. |
Dawson's map |
Reaping the wheatfield |
The Undercliff has been formed over the centuries by the
slippage of tracts of land over the cliff-tops. The most spectacular occurred
on Christmas Eve, 1839: acres of cultivated land, including a wheatfield and a
turnip field, slid over the cliffs at Bindon and Downlands to form a new
landscape of gulleys and peaks below. What caused the tumult was not known at
the time. Was it a landslip, as many locals maintained? - Was it an earthquake?
- Or a volcano? - Or even a punishment from God? |
| The arrival of visitors in thousands to see the devastation
was soon turned to advantage by the quick-witted locals. Farmers charged
sixpence for a visit; gaieties were laid on for a gala reaping of the
wheatfield in its dislodged position. From that day to this walkers have
continued to enjoy the romantic beauty of this unique area. |
1930s photograph of visitors |
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