View southwards from the Purbeck ridge

The Purbeck ridge, from which this photo was taken, is the westwards continuation of chalk hills on the Isle of Wight; the Needles are part of the system.

In Purbeck there is a second, more southerly ridge, abundant in stone quarries (producing both Portland and Purbeck stone).  This ridge is very close to the English Channel.   In this photo, much of it is obscured by thick mist drifting in from the sea.

On a cloudy day in the early stages of World War II, two fighter planes on patrol over Purbeck - their pilots were not well acquainted with its geography - flew southwards over the Purbeck ridge.  The pilots knew that they were very close to the sea; the south ridge was at the time obscured by low cloud and the two planes flew straight into its side.