Fan Bay, Langdon Bay & Crab Bay, Dover, Kent, English Coast

Fan Bay and Langdon Bay

Langdon Bay is reached by descending the white cliffs of Dover via a steep zig-zag pathway, ending with a climb down a 20ft ladder. The nearby Crab Bay is perhaps best known as the final resting place of the largest sailing ship in the world at that time, the 4765 ton Preussen. The five masted Preussen was shipwrecked in 1910, after an earlier collision with the steamer Brighton near Beachy Head. The lines to a tug were lost in a storm while attempting to reach Dover harbour and the Preussen was eventually destroyed on the rocks. Parts of the masts, and other remains of the Preussen are still visible at low Spring tides.

Another wreck in Langdon Bay is visible on the Google map (click on the Map link above to view) if you look carefully at the shore line. This is the SS Falcon, a 675 ton steamer which caught fire in 1926 and drifted ashore. Also of interest in Langdon Bay are the World War II search light positions accessible just before the climb down the ladder.

References: Calamity Corner, The Wrecks of the Eastern English Channel - Anthony Lane 2004 (Tempus Publishing), Shipwrecks of Great Britain & Ireland - Richard Larn