A recent survey revealed many Brits think the White Cliffs of Dover should be classed as one of the Wonders of the World, rivalling the Taj Mahal and Christ the Redeemer – and rightly so.

Maybe I’m biased, having lived in Dover for 37 years, but I believe this iconic landmark deserves the status, providing stunning views and having great significance as the Gateway to England, as well as incredible history.

The cliffs are the nearest part of Britain to mainland Europe and have been hugely symbolic, especially during the Second World War when they were the first sight of Britain for homecoming troops. They were a particularly joyous sight for soldiers rescued in the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940.

When I visited last weekend, Langdon Cliffs, the eastern section owned by the National Trust, was busy with several groups of tourists - some from the US, others from across Asia - eagerly taking snaps.

It is not just the natural beauty of the place, with the majestic cliff faces as high as 300ft, and it being immortalised in song, literature and art. It is the fact that it has so much to offer.

There is Dover Castle, the wartime tunnels, a spot that inspired Shakespeare, a country park created after the Channel Tunnel was built and clear views of the French coast.

One advantage of the eastern side is that you can, with enough care, walk safely to the top even in darkness. Pale asphalt paths there are even - and light is given by the bright glare from the Port of Dover’s Eastern Docks.

At night you can see the lighthouse at Calais flashing, as well as the line of lights of the French coast.

This part of the cliffs has plenty of parking and you can explore further deeper inland, reaching the Bleriot Memorial. This is dedicated to Louis Bleriot, the first person to fly across the Channel in 1909.

There are breathtaking views of the ferry terminal from the top and the wider harbour, with the Westen Docks in the distance. Exmoor ponies can sometimes be seen grazing on the hillside.

The eastern side of the cliffs also has the National Trust’s visitor centre, the South Foreland Lighthouse and Dover Castle.

In the Fan Deep Shelter, there are a series of tunnels constructed during the Second World War to house artillery batteries and opened to the public in 2015.

Their lower levels were the operations room for Channel Command during the Battle of Britain and used by Winston Churchill as his personal wartime headquarters.

The White Cliffs go all the way between Folkestone and Walmer, split by the Dour Valley in the centre of Dover town.

The most striking part of the western side is the imposing high point of Shakespeare Cliff.

The Bard frequently passed through Dover when writing the play King Lear. The towering natural structure inspired him to create a scene in which the character Gloucester tries to throw himself off the top.

Downhill from there, the tiny Aycliffe estate has streets named after the play such as King Lear's Way, Kings Ropewalk and the Gloster Ropewalk. It also had a pub called the King Lear.

The Channel Tunnel was dug on the English side at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s from the bottom of the cliff.

Spoil from the digging was used to create the present Samphire Hoe Country Park, which became the newest part of England. The 30-hectare (74-acre) site reclaimed from the sea was created in 1994 and opened to the public in 1997.

The name is from the samphire plant mentioned in King Lear: “There is a cliff whose high and bending head looks fearfully in the confined deep… Halfway down hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade.” A hoe is piece of land that sticks out into the sea

The name was put forward by local schoolteacher Gillian Janaway when she entered a competition in 1994, the year the Channel Tunnel opened.

High up on the western cliffs is the A20, completed in 1993.

It was built over the previous four years, at massive stress to the Aycliffe community who had to suffer noise plus chalk dust powdering their houses and cars.

At the top of the far western end is the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, opened in 1993.

The eastern side of the cliffs was a natural barrier - but strength on the other side needed to be built up, hence the complex of fortifications on the Western Heights, directly overlooking the coast and further inland.

These were initially built in the 18th century and particularly enhanced during the Napoleonic Wars.

There is now a 128-acre nature reserve on the Western Heights with three main trails for walking, offering splendid views of the town centre, harbour and nearby communities such as Maxton and Elms Vale.

Exploring this area is best in the summertime and in daylight. The trails have no form of light when it gets dark - the paths are rough and uneven and can be very slippery on damp winter days.

One of the most famous cultural references to the cliffs is the Second World War song from Dame Vera Lynn, ‘(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover’.

However, there never would be bluebirds there. The American lyricist Nat Burton didn’t realise that the species is found in his country, but not in Britain.

But the song and Dame Vera’s performance became an inspiring and popular wartime tune.

In 2021, a year after her death, two pieces of land on the cliffs were named after her. A meadow was called Dame Vera Lynn Down and the footpath going from near the seafront up to the Langdon section became Dame Vera Lynn Way.

Britpop paid tribute to the cliffs in the song Clover over Dover through Blur on their groundbreaking 1994 album Parklife.

The 1969 song Many Rivers to Cross by Jimmy Cliff has the line: "Wandering I am lost, as I travel along the White Cliffs of Dover."

In terms of nature, the site is the first landing spot for migratory birds coming from the Continent.

The rarest bird there is the peregrine falcon but the red-billed chough has returned there over the last year in a reintroduction programme, having been gone from Kent for 200 years.

Currently, the Seven Wonders of the World include the Taj Mahal mausoleum complex in India, the Great Wall of China and the Colosseum amphitheatre in Rome.

The others are the giant Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the Inca fortress Machu Picchu in Peru, the 4th century city of Petra in Jordan and the 7th century city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico.

A survey by the holiday company Travelbag said that 12% of British people say the White Cliffs should get the status too. I 100% agree.