However, there is also plenty of strife, messy politics and difficult decisions. (My inbox reflects the high emotion. I get hate and love mail, just like other reporters.)
Take a saga I’ve been writing about for more than a year concerning a plan by federal wildlife officials to shoot up to nearly half a million barred owls over three decades to save spotted owls in California, Washington and Oregon. Even someone who knows nothing about the matter can guess it’s controversial.
Since the strategy was approved last year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, animal rights groups have fought to stop it, gaining traction with some U.S. lawmakers. Bipartisan legislators signed onto letters urging the Trump administration to cancel it, citing costs they said could top $1 billion. Then, this summer, Republicans in the House and Senate introduced resolutions that, if successful, would overturn the plan for good.
It was a nightmare scenario for environmental nonprofits, which acknowledge the moral quandary involved with killing so many animals, but say the barred owl population must be kept in check to prevent the extinction of the northern spotted owl, which is being muscled out of its native territory by its larger, more aggressive cousin. They also dispute that ten-figure price tag.
Then, at the eleventh hour, there was an upset in alliances. Logging advocates said canceling the plan could hinder timber sales in Oregon, and threaten production goals set by the Trump administration. That’s right: Loggers were now on the same side as conservationists, while right-wing politicians were aligned with animal welfare activists. Talk about unlikely, uncomfortable political bedfellows.
The loggers’ plea may have tipped the scales. Louisiana Republican John Kennedy, who spearheaded the Senate resolution, said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum — whose portfolio includes timber — personally asked him to abandon the effort. Kennedy, in colorful terms, declined to back down. He called the planned cull “DEI for owls” and said Burgum “loves it like the devil loves sin.” The resolution didn’t pass, splitting the Republican vote almost down the middle.
You don’t have to go to Washington, D.C., to find epic battles over wildlife management.
In California, there’s been much discussion in recent years about the best way to live alongside large predators such as mountain lions and wolves.
Wolves in California were wiped out by people about a century ago, and they started to recolonize the state only 14 years ago. The native species’ resurgence is celebrated by conservationists but derided by many ranchers who say the animals are hurting their bottom line when they eat their cattle.
State wildlife officials recently euthanized four gray wolves in the northern part of the state that were responsible for 70 livestock losses in less than six months, my colleague Clara Harter reported, marking the latest flashpoint in the effort to manage them.
“Wolves are one of the state’s most iconic species and coexistence is our collective future,” said Charlton Bonham, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “But that comes with tremendous responsibility and sometimes hard decisions.”
Even hulking herbivores such as wild horses stir passionate disagreement.
In the Eastern Sierra last month, I walked among dozens of multi-colored equines with members of local Native American tribes, who told me of their deep connection to the animals — and their heartbreak over U.S. government plans to send them away.
Federal officials say the herd has surged to more than three times what the landscape can support, and pose a safety hazard on highways, while also damaging Mono Lake’s unique geologic formations. Under a plan approved earlier this year, hundreds are slated to be rounded up and removed.
A coalition that includes local tribes — which have cultural ties to the animals that go back generations — disputes many of these claims and argues that the removal plan is inhumane.
“I wish I had a magic wand and could solve it all,” Beth Pratt, of the National Wildlife Federation, told me after my article on the horses was published.
Stay tuned. I’ll be writing this newsletter about once a month to dig into important wildlife stories in the Golden State and beyond. Send me feedback, tips and cute cat photos at [email protected].
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Speaking of wolves: The Trump administration ordered Colorado to stop importing gray wolves from Canada as part of the state’s efforts to restore the predators, a shift that could hinder plans for more reintroductions this winter, according to the Associated Press’ Mead Gruver. The state has been releasing wolves west of the Continental Divide since 2023.
More than 17,000 acres of ancestral lands were returned to the Tule River Indian Tribe, which will allow for the reintroduction of Tule elk and the protection of habitat for California condors, among other conservation projects, my colleague Jessica Garrison reports.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office called it “the largest ancestral land return in the history of the region and a major step in addressing historical wrongs against California Native American tribes.”
One year after the discovery of golden mussels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, dense colonies cling to boats and piers, threatening water for cities and farms — and there’s no help on the way, reports CalMatters’ Rachel Becker. State agencies have prioritized protecting other areas in the state from the infested Delta, the hub of the state’s water supply.
Will traditional holiday fare such as crab cakes be on the menu this year? As fellow Times reporter Susanne Rust writes, the need to protect humpback whales in California’s coastal waters, combined with widespread domoic acid contamination along the northern coast, has once again put the brakes on the Dungeness crab commercial fishery and parts of the recreational fishery this fall.
A few last things in climate news
My colleague Ian James wrote about a big shift in where L.A. will get its water: The city will double the size of a project to transform wastewater into purified drinking water, producing enough for 500,000 people. The recycled water will allow L.A. to stop taking water from creeks that feed Mono Lake, promising to resolve a long-running environmental conflict.
California’s proposed Zone Zero regulations, which would force homeowners to create an ember-resistant area around their houses, have stirred backlash. One provision causing consternation may require the removal of healthy plants from within five feet of their homes, which some say isn’t backed by science. Those in favor of the rules say they’re key to protecting dwellings from wildfires. Now, as The Times’ Noah Haggerty explains, state officials appear poised to miss a Dec. 31 deadline to finalize the regulations.
Clean energy stocks have surged 50% this year, significantly outpacing broader market gains despite Trump administration policies targeting the sector, Bloomberg reports. Demand for renewable power to fuel artificial intelligence data centers and China’s aggressive clean-tech expansion are driving the rally.
If you’re not quite ready to let go of the Halloween mood, I have good news. November generally marks the end of tarantula mating season. As I reported, male tarantulas strike out every year from their burrows in search of a lover. Finding one can be fatal, whether she’s in the mood or not. Females are known to snack on their suitors. Gulp.
While the arachnids inhabit areas such as the Angeles National Forest and Santa Monica Mountains year-round, mating season — when the males are on the move — offers the best opportunity to spot one. Through the month of November, you can also gaze at them at the Natural History Museum’s spider pavilion.
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A defining image of the horrors of slavery has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the Trump administration’squest to root out what Trump has called “divisive, race-centered ideology” from the nation’s museums and national parks.
Earlier this week, the Washington Postbroke the news that the administration had ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks, “including a historic photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back.”
The photo in question — “The Scourged Back,” 1863 — is among the most famous images of the Civil War era and has been credited with driving home the brutality of slavery to the masses in what would become a turning point for the abolitionist movement. The image, which appeared in the political magazine Harper’s Weekly the day after the battle of Gettysburg, showed the deeply scarred back of an escaped slave-turned-Union soldier referred to as “Gordon,” but whose real name may have been “Peter.”
The photo was copied and distributed far and wide in pamphlets and on cards, eliciting shock and raising awareness wherever it appeared. Today, the image is housed in the collections of major museums including the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery of Art, as well as at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The New York Timesreported that the copy of the photo the administration has targeted for removal is on display at Georgia’s Fort Pulaski National Monument, which was a Union-captured Confederate stronghold that served as a prisoner-of-war camp. The story notes that a spokeswoman for the Interior Department wrote in an email that “all interpretive signage in national parks is under review”; she also “accused media outlets of spreading ‘false claims’ and ‘misinformation’ about the review, although she did not specify what information was incorrect.”
The review of signage, monuments and display materials at national parks, as well as at the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, stems from a March executive order titled “Restoring truth and sanity to American history.” In the order, Trump wrote that the Secretary of the Interior would work to identify “improper partisan ideology” at properties within its jurisdiction.
In August, Trump made it clear in a post on Truth Social that focusing on the country’s history of slavery was unacceptable. He criticized museums for being the last bastions of “woke” in the country, and zeroed in on the Smithsonian in particular for exhibits that discuss “how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.”
It’s unclear if the indelible photo of Peter will remain on display in national parks, but one thing seems certain: The controversy surrounding the way we engage as a country with our shared history is likely to rage on for quite some time.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, looking back to make sense of the present. Here’s your arts news for the week.
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Lee Byung-hun in the movie “No Other Choice.”
(Neon)
Beyond Fest The event “proves once again why it has become much more than a genre festival and is now the best film festival in L.A.,” says Times film writer Mark Olsen, ”playing movies straight from Sundance, Cannes, Venice and Toronto with guests including Conan O’Brien, Al Pacino, Luca Guadagnino and John Carpenter.” The award-winning “No Other Choice,” Park Chan-wook’s adaptation of the Donald Westlake thriller “The Ax,” opens the festival, 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Aero. Through Oct. 8. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd.; Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave. americancinematheque.com
Gustavo Dudamel performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall in April.
(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)
Gracias Gustavo Gustavo Dudamel’s farewell season as the Los Angeles Philharmonic‘s music and artistic director begins as all his 17 seasons in Walt Disney Concert Hall have begun — with a world premiere. Ellen Reid’s “Earth Between Oceans,” a co-commission between the L.A. Phil and New York Philharmonic (which Dudamel will take over in 2026), evoking nature’s command of the four elements (earth, air, fire and water) as they operate in both cities. In our case, that involves contending with fires and our swelling oceans but also the promise of a future of unity through celebration of our multicultural communities. The opening program also includes Richard Strauss’ nature-saturated “Alpine Symphony.” — Mark Swed 8 p.m. Thursday-Sept. 27 and 2 p.m. Sept. 28 Where: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Francesca Zambello’s staging of “West Side Story.”
(Todd Rosenberg / Lyric Opera)
West Side Story L.A. Opera turns to Broadway for this Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim-Jerome Robbins masterwork, which was originally conceived as an opera. James Conlon conducts the orchestra in such classic songs as “America,” “Somewhere” and “I Feel Pretty” as director Francesca Zambello utilizes Robbins’ original choreography in a “maximalist” production. Through Oct. 12. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laopera.org
The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
The cast of South Coast Repertory’s production of ”Million Dollar Quartet,” includes Chris Marsh Clark as Johnny Cash, JP Coletta as Jerry Lee Lewis, Armando Gutierrez as Carl Perkins and Rustin Cole Sailors as Elvis Presley.
(Scott Smeltzer / SCR)
🎭 🎶 Million Dollar Quartet On a December night in 1956, music legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins gather to jam on “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” “Who Do You Love?” and more in this jukebox musical written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux. Through Oct. 11. South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scr.org
🎥 Mysterious Skin The Academy Museum presents a 4K screening of Gregg Araki’s haunting 2004 coming-of-age drama. In his review, Times critic Kevin Thomas wrote, “It’s hard to imagine a more serious or persuasive indictment of the horrors inflicted on children by sexual abuse.” Oscar-winning filmmaker Sean Baker will moderate a Q&A with Araki, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and novelist Scott Heim. 7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
SATURDAY 🎥 Born in East L.A. Cheech Marin’s 1987 comedy about a third-generation Chicano who is inadvertently deported following an immigration raid is a chilling reminder that this type of behavior from the government isn’t new, just more flagrant. Filmmaker Jorge R. Gutierrez will moderate a Q&A with Marin. 7 p.m. Academy Museum, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Derek Fordjour “Nightsong,” a solo exhibition that combines painting, sculpture, live performance and video to create an immersive, multifaceted experience. 6-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Oct. 11. David Kordansky Gallery, 5130 W. Edgewood Place. davidkordanskygallery.com
🎭 Go Play! Three strangers meet for the first time at a dog park, while their four-legged companions — a flamboyant show poodle, a pampered Yorkie and a scrappy rescue — offer a running commentary in writer-director Barra Grant’s new stage comedy. 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 2. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. GoPlayOnStage.com
🎨 Habitat: Making the California Environment Period landscape paintings depict the radical change in the region between the state’s late-19th century genocide of Indigenous people and the urbanism that erupted in the 1920s. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Langson Institute and Museum of California Art, UC Irvine, 18881 Von Karman Ave. imca.uci.edu
🎥 🎶 La La Land in Concert Moonlit screening of Damien Chazelle’s Oscar-winning 2016 romantic musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling with a live concert conducted by the film’s composer Justin Hurwitz. Food trucks and local vendors offer gourmet fare, and themed cocktails will be available from a full bar. 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, door opens 4:30 p.m. Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1245 N. Spring St. streetfoodcinema.com
💃 San Pedro Festival of the Arts Eighteen dance companies perform a wide variety of styles including modern, ballet, Indian, jazz and flamenco. 1 p.m. Peck Park near the Community Center, 560 N. Western Ave. triartsp.com
🎨 Manoucher Yektai A survey of early paintings of the Iranian-born artist and poet, “Beginnings” charts the first decades of his career and early experimentation with genre, color, shape and form. 6-8 p.m. Saturday, opening reception; 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, through Nov. 1. Karma, 7351 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. karmakarma.org
THURSDAY Carol Bove The industrial heritage of Cold War-era Los Angeles is evoked in “Nights of Cabiria,” a new exhibition that incorporates the artist’s sculptures into the architecture of the gallery. 6-8 p.m. Thursday, opening reception; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, through Nov. 1. Gagosian Beverly Hills, 456 N. Camden Drive gagosian.com
🎨 The Other Art Fair Larger than ever, the quirky event presents affordable works from more than 150 independent artists alongside immersive installations, performances, DJs and and a fully stocked bar. 6-10 p.m. Thursday; 5-10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. 7 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Barker Hangar, 3021 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. theotherartfair.com/la/
📷 Paul Outerbridge The exhibition “Photographs” celebrates the work of the provocative artist (1896–1958), presenting a rare selection of Carbro prints, silver gelatin photographs and platinum prints. 7-9 p.m. Thursday, opening reception; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Nov. 8. The Fahey/Klein Gallery, 148 N. La Brea Ave..faheykleingallery.com
📷 Matthew Rolston A multi-venue Los Angeles exhibition of the photographer and artist’s latest series “Vanitas: The Palermo Portraits,” in which he uses “expressionistic lighting” to document dozens of 500-year-old mummified remains in Sicily’s Capuchin Catacombs, accompanying the release of a special limited-edition monograph from Nazraeli Press. 7 p.m. Thursday, opening reception; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Nov. 8. Fahey/Klein Gallery, 148 N. La Brea Ave. faheykleingallery.com; 6 p.m. Saturday, opening reception; 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 9. ArtCenter College of Design (South Campus), Mullin Transportation Design Center – Oculus Space, 2nd Floor, 950 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. artcenter.edu; 1 p.m. Oct. 26, Opening reception, artist talk and book signing; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 2. Leica Gallery, 8783 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood. leicagalleryla.com
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Roxana Ortega in “Am I Roxie?” at Geffen Playhouse, directed by Bernardo Cubría.
(Jeff Lorch)
The fall theater season is in full swing and Times critic Charles McNulty has been busy seeing as much as possible. First up this week: his review of the world premiere of Groundlings Theatre alum Roxana Ortega’s world-premiere, one-woman show, “Am I Roxie?,” which has the actor exploring what it was like being the caregiver for her mother as she suffered from the increasing effects of dementia. “The show is more of a personal essay composed for the stage than a deeply imagined performance work. Ortega’s approach is friendly and wryly conversational,” McNulty writes.
McNulty was effusive in his praise for the concert version of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish, which staged its West Coast premiere at the Soraya. He begins his review with one word, “Magnificent,” and the plaudits keep coming from there. If you were not in the audience for the show’s three performances, reading McNulty’s words will make you very sorry indeed.
“Eureka Day,” a comedy that skewers the vaccine-mandate debate at a liberal private school in Berkeley, is making its L.A. premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse. In many ways, the play is more topical than ever given the current “anti-science” moment of the Trump era, but it was first performed in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic. “The production, directed by Teddy Bergman, has a field day with the woke-run-amok ethos of Eureka Day, where kids at the school cheer the other team’s goals at soccer games,” McNulty writes.
Gustavo Dudamel officially stepped into his role as the New York Philharmonic’s music and artistic director designate on the 24th anniversary of 9/11, and Times classical music critic Mark Swed was there to take stock. The New York orchestra, Swed writes, “is basically his baby now.” From here on out, Dudamel will increase his presence on the East Coast while winding down his work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic during his final season in L.A. Read Swed’s review of Dudamel’s inaugural performance, here.
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Big news for L.A.’s gallery scene as Venice Beach’s L.A. Louver, established in 1975 by Peter and Elizabeth Goulds, announced that it’s winding down its public exhibition program in order to “shift to a new model that embraces private art dealing, artist support, consulting, and projects.” As part of that move, the gallery said it is donating its archive and library, including correspondence, photography, publications, records, objects, graphics and related ephemera, to the Huntington by 2029. “Until that time, L.A. Louver and Huntington archivists and librarians will collaborate to process and prepare the collection to facilitate its transfer, and optimize access and use,” L.A. Louver said in a news release.
School children’s access to the Getty Museum received a significant boost with the establishment of the Mia Chandler Endowment for School Visits — a $12-million gift from the Camilla Chandler Family Foundation in support of the Getty Museum’s Education Department and its engagement with the city’s students and educators. The money will go toward the Getty’s free bus service for field trips to both the Getty Center and the Getty Villa. The gift is the largest financial contribution received by the organization since J. Paul Getty’s original bequest, the Getty says. Camilla “Mia” Chandler Frost died in 2024 at the age of 98; she was the granddaughter of Harry Chandler and daughter of Norman Chandler, former publishers of the Los Angeles Times.
A new one-hour PBSdocumentary on theGetty’s 2025 PST: Art and Science Collide, which, according to a news release, “highlights collaborations between artists and scientists in Southern California to address some of humanity’s most urgent challenges, from climate change and space exploration to biodiversity and environmental justice,” is scheduled to air Friday, Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal and at 10 p.m. on PBS stations nationwide. It will also stream on PBS.org and the free PBS App.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Spooky season is just beginning, and features columnist Todd Martens checks in with a creepy séance at Heritage Square Museum called “Phasmagorica.”
Mining proponents are expecting to see an increase in activity under President Noboa, a right-wing candidate who won re-election in April.
In 2024, Noboa travelled to the World Exploration and Mining Convention in Canada and signed six agreements worth $4.8bn.
And just this month, Noboa issued a presidential decree that would dissolve the Ministry of Environment and fold its duties into the Ministry of Energy and Mining.
Critics warn these developments threaten to undercut environmental causes and the right for Indigenous communities to have prior consultation before development projects.
To prevent conflicts like Rio Blanco’s, experts emphasise that implementing these rights in good faith is key. They also say communities need more resources, so that mining is not the only way out of poverty.
“These places often have no government support, leaving people to fend for themselves,” said Patricio Benalcázar, a sociology professor and mining conflict researcher at the University of Cuenca.
“The government should create programmes that improve people’s lives, provide basic utilities, schools, healthcare — and should help create other ways for people to earn money, besides mining.”
Alfaro, however, believes that communities cannot rely on the national government’s support. Activists, nonprofits, universities and others need to step in.
“Río Blanco is the best example we have of a community working together to stop a big international mining project,” he said.
“But that doesn’t mean the next steps will be easy. How do you rebuild and heal families after the industry’s damage? For a small place like Río Blanco, they can’t do it alone.”
Community members in Rio Blanco gather for a Mother’s Day event [Anastasia Austin/Al Jazeera]
Community members, however, are taking small steps to begin healing the rifts the mining caused.
In May, Durazno — the local leader — organised a Mother’s Day event to bring together Rio Blanco’s residents.
A mother of four herself, she felt the holiday could be unifying. Still, the attendance was not what Durazno had hoped for.
As she watched a dozen children from pro- and anti-mining families play together in a sunlit courtyard, she reflected on the toll the conflict has taken.
“It took too much to drive mining out,” she said. “People are tired and don’t want to hear about mining any more. If the company comes back, I don’t know if we’d have the strength to take them on again.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp resigns after failing to secure sanctions against Israel over Gaza atrocities.
Earlier this month, Slovenia joined Spain and Belgium in imposing an arms embargo on Israel.
Germany followed suit, partially, halting the sale of weapons to Israel that could be used in Gaza “until further notice”.
The Netherlands has also imposed a partial ban on parts for Israeli fighter jets, while Italy suspended all new military exports to Israel in October.
But it is the recent resignation of Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, after his government failed to agree to sanctions against Israel, that raises questions:
Will this one action trigger a broader political fallout across the 27-nation bloc?
Presenter:
Adrian Finighan
Guests:
Mpanzu Bamenga – member of the Dutch Parliament and human rights lawyer
Ori Goldberg – political commentator and author
Rene Wildangel – Middle East analyst and former foreign policy adviser to the German Parliament.
Consumer rights magazine Which? has surveyed 3,800 members of the British public to find out what is the overall best seaside town, with Bamburgh in Northumberland hitting the topspot again
Dungeness has been elevated to UK seaside town heaven
A ‘unique’ coastal spot that is variously loved and loathed has been named one of the best seaside towns in the country.
Dungeness in Kent has been named the seventh-best beach town in the UK in Which?’s annual survey of the British public. The consumer organisation surveyed more than 3,800 people about their experiences of UK seaside destinations and their opinions on beaches, scenery, food and drink offerings, accommodation, tourist attractions, and value for money.
The elevation of Dungeness into the top ten is a major scoop for the Kentish settlement, which languished in 35th place last year.
Not everyone is a major fan of Dungeness. It is a curious place long haunted by rumours that it is technically the UK’s only desert—something that the Met Office has previously confirmed is pure myth. You’d be forgiven for believing the lie, given the way random shacks, homes and cafs stretch out across the shingled headland.
The power stations have been out of action since 2006(Image: Getty Images)
It is a place that feels like it should be the setting for an American Western dystopian flick, rather than somewhere that sits on the south coast of England. Bikers whizz along the roads that wind through its flat, marshland extremities; a constant breeze ruffles the pampas grass; wildfowl bleat mournfully. To add to the end-of-days feel of the place, boats filled with asylum seekers regularly make land here.
Inarguably, the bleak jewel in the Dungeness crown is its twin nuclear power plants, which once whipped a patch of nearby sea into a whirlpool but have lain dormant and decommissioned for the past 19 years.
Prospect Cottage is a major attraction for Jarman fans(Image: Martin Burton/SussexLive)
The unique feel of the place has been best captured by artist, filmmaker, gay rights activist, and gardener Derek Jarman, who turned his home into Prospect Cottage—a point of pilgrimage for his fans and those who love the way he carefully manicured the garden into a concentrated miniature form of Dungeness.
But not everyone is a fan. In fact, many are left cold by Dungeness’ charms.
“Bleak is an understatement,” one detractor of the place recently wrote on Reddit. Another added: “Bleak to Dungeness is like ‘a wee bit cold’ in Antarctica. The missus loved it though…” A third wrote: “I find it dismal down there. Old nuclear power station for a view.”
The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch steam railway train makes its way between homes along the Kent coast(Image: Getty Images)
Others love Dungeness and how different it feels from other parts of the UK.
The science writer Ben Goldacre recalled his experience of riding through Dungeness on the small railway that takes day-trippers down the coastline.
“The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway has a strange, dreamlike existence, on the border between fantasy and reality. You leave toytown in a cute miniature train, surrounded by excited children. But Disney, this is not. Suddenly you’re riding through real life: past clothes lines, collapsing breezeblock walls, an abandoned washing machine in a back garden, chuffing along behind a miniature steam train. Finally, you’re ferried across a beautiful, windswept shingle peninsula, spotted with railway carriage houses and abandoned shipping containers. Then you are delivered to the foot of a nuclear power station,” Ben wrote.
“This meeting of toy train sets and grim industrial purpose is what makes the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway so perfect.”
What do you think about Dungeness? Let us know in the comments below.
