THE BEACHY HEAD CHALK CLIFF IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND

THE BEACHY HEAD CHALK CLIFF IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND

Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m (530 ft) above sea level. The peak allows views of the south east coast from Dungeness to the east, to Selsey Bill in the west. Its height has also made it one of the most notorious suicide spots in the world.

The chalk was formed in the Late Cretaceous period, between 65 and 100 million years ago, when the area was under the sea. During the Cenozoic Era the chalk was uplifted (see Cenozoic Era). When the last Ice Age ended, sea levels rose and the English Channel formed, cutting into the chalk to form the dramatic cliffs along the Sussex coast.

India Children of the many snake charmers in the village

India Children of the many snake charmers in the village

Sitting less than a metre away from a poisonous cobra, the children show no signs of fear and do not flinch when faced with one of the deadly snakes. 

Children in India's 600-strong Vadi tribe are first introduced to snakes at the age of two. 

All Vadi children complete a ten-year initiation ritual that culminates in the boys becoming fully-fledged performing snake charmers. 

The act of snake charming with a traditional flute is the role of the men, while the Vadi women care for the snakes and handle them when their husbands or brothers are not around. 

"The training begins at two, the children then are then taught the ancient ways of snake charming until they are ready to take up their roles in our community," says chief snake charmer Babanath Mithunath Madari, 60. 

India—Children of the many snake charmers in the village of Padmakesharpur are no strangers to cobras. Early encounters with defanged or devenomed snakes help the babies grow up fearless.
Photo by Adrian Fisk, Digital Railroad

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