Iconic designer Zandra Rhodes is passionate about the White Cliffs of Dover and is backing the National Trust’s £1.2million appeal to buy the ‘missing’ section of nearly a mile.
Speaking from California, flamboyant Zandra, 61, who was born in Chatham and studied at Medway College of Art, described to the Mercury her love for the cliffs as Britain’s gateway from the continent.
She is the latest of a host of stars to support the charity’s campaign to find the money by the end of 2012. In just the first month of the appeal, £600,000 has been raised.
Kent supporters include Dover-born and educated soul singing sensation Joss Stone and comedian and presenter Paul O’Grady, who lives at Aldington.
Zandra, known for her zany and distinctive style and penchant for wearing pink, has described how the cliffs provided an early and lingering artistic inspiration.
She said: “I have walked on that land. They are wild acres, you forget about time when you are there. They have such a wonderful wild quality about them."
Zandra spoke of the importance of the cliffs as a valuable habitat, supporting a wealth of wildlife.
The chalkland fauna and flora include the Adonis blue butterfly, rare coastal plants such as oxtongue broomrape and sea carrot, and birds including the skylark, the only colony of kittiwakes in Kent and peregrine falcons.
She fondly recalled the cliffs “fantastic wildflowers, including thrift and birdsfoot trefoil.”
Zandra, who returns to the UK about once a month, regularly visiting her old stomping ground in Medway, was speaking from her home beside the sea in San Diego, where she lives with her partner.
The full interview is in this week's East Kent Mercury and Dover Mercury, chosen as media partner for the National Trust appeal.