“Bombing the Channel Ports” by Eric Ravilious, then and now

A comparison of the 1941 watercolour painting “Bombing the Channel Ports” by war artist Eric Ravilious, and the same view of the Abbott’s Cliff sound mirror on 13 August 2017.

Bombing the Channel Ports
Bombing the Channel Ports © IWM (Art.IWM ART LD 1588)

The painting is described by the Imperial War Museum as showing “a deserted coastal road that leads past an ‘acoustic mirror’ early warning device. In the top right of the composition there are searchlights beaming up into the sky, and a large circular glow of light to one side.”

Sunderland sound mirror goes viral

This tweet about the Sunderland sound mirror was a little bit popular!

2015 Denge sound mirror open day date

The 2015 open day at the Denge sound mirrors near Dungeness in Kent is on Sunday 19 July 2015. The opening times are 10.00-17.00, with last entry at 16.30.

There are full details at the Romney Marsh Countryside Project website:

The RMCP will be present all day to talk you through them and help with any questions and we ask for a donation per person to cover our costs for the day. You will need to park at Lade car park and follow the signs to make your own way to the Mirrors, where staff will be positioned at the bridge and on the island. Last entry 4.30pm. Suggested donation of £2 appreciated.

The RMCP events are the only way to visit the Denge sound mirrors. The events are always popular, and well worth going to.

Please note that I have absolutely no connection with the RMCP. Make you sure that you confirm the details of the open day with them before going – do not rely on my Sound Mirrors website!

Kilnsea sound mirror in the Hull Daily Mail

6) Kilnsea Sound Mirror: Fears of attacks on Hull during the First World War led to the construction of this concrete “sound mirror”. The dish, a precursor of radar, would focus the sounds of distant engines to a listener. It is said they could identify surface vessels or aircraft up to 25 miles away.

10 TOP secret places in Hull and East Yorkshire. Hull Daily Mail, 28 February 2015.