Head out of Camber on the road towards Lydd, past the MOD FIBUA training area, and take the right hand turn that heads through into Dungeness. The road into town – if town is the right word – is a potholed, concrete track running through fields of shingle, rotting houses and disused fishing boats. The most obvious thing about Dungeness is the sodding great nuclear reactor that looms over the whole place like some nightmarish overgrown kitchen utensil.
Less obvious is the fact that, once in Dungeness, you are now standing in the middle of a vast nature reserve. The flowers are extraordinary – all sorts of unnerving colours, and there are lots of interesting birds too. Also not immediately obvious is Derek Jarman’s former house, which has an alien-like driftwood sculpture garden at its front, full of contorted beams and assorted, other-worldly detritus. Just down the road, a fish smokery.
A badly-made concrete track runs all the way up to the power station itself, where you find, of all things, a pub – which serves splendid fish and chips. You have never seen anything like Dungeness.
It’s best enjoyed in deep midwinter for the full-on fish-based, arthouse, industrialist nightmare, post-nuclear holocaust-chic vibe.