National Trust to buy 'missing link' of White Cliffs of Dover

The whole of the White Cliffs of Dover, the traditional gateway to England, will be permanently protected from development if a new appeal by the National Trust is successful.

The Trust is seeking to buy the "missing link" in the cliffs – the stretch of the five miles of celebrated coastline either side of Dover which it does not own.

The "missing" section, which is just under a mile long, is one of the most beautiful and wildlife-rich parts of the cliffs. The Trust needs to raise £1.2m by the end of the year to buy it from a local landowner.

Fiona Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, said yesterday: "Immortalised in song and literature, the White Cliffs of Dover have become one of the great symbols of our nation. We now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure their future for everyone to enjoy."

The Trust, which looks after more than 720 miles of coastline across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, acquired its first stretch of the cliffs in 1968. Their white chalk faces stand 350ft high.