Kent - Reculver Towers tea towel

An Iron Age settlement. A Roman fort. An Anglo-Saxon estate for the kings of Kent. Reculver on the south-east coast has a long and rich history. No doubt it was chosen for its strategic location just west of the Wantsun Channel, once one of the country's most important shipping routes. But when the Wantsun Channel silted up in the 1400s, Reculver began to decline. By the late 18th century, it was almost totally abandoned.

The village may have vanished, but the marks of its history haven't. Reculver is now a popular tourist spot, and the coastline here is part of the Reculver Country Park, a nature reserve home to curlews, brent geese, sand martins and skylarks. And at the centre of it all are the ruins of the old Anglo-Saxon church, now managed by English Heritage. Now maybe you think an undamaged church is better than a ruined one, but we disagree: surely there's nothing more sublime than a stack of ruins sitting atop the wave-beaten rocks.

This design shows St Mary's Church from along the shingle beach. Most of the Anglo-Saxon structure has been completely destroyed, but the two medieval towers stand as iconic landmarks on the shore - the perfect scene to enjoy when drying the dishes!