surrounded by flat countryside that is well suited to walking and cycling. It has two nearby holiday parks, and an amusement park with "the usual offering of Ghost Train, Dodgems, Log Flume and other rides which will keep the whole family entertained". The Dr Syn Books Russell Thorndike, the creator of Dr Syn, was born on 6 February 1885 in Rochester, Kent. Thorndike was a British actor and novelist, best known for the Dr Syn of Romney Marsh novels, and brother of renowned actress Dame Sybil Thorndike. Thorndike's first appearance on stage was in Cambridge in 1904. In 1914, Thorndike joined the army as a trooper in the 1st Westminster Dragoons, but due to being severely wounded at Gallipoli in 1916, he was discharged and returned to acting. Touring the USA with his sister and a theatrical company, a murder took place outside their hotel. The body was left all night on the street below their window. Unable to sleep, they passed the time by telling stories. The character of Dr Syn is said to have been created that night. Due to his successful life as both a Shakespearean actor, a writer and playwright, in 1922 Thorndike played the leading man in his own Dr Syn play, which he adapted from his books. During his lifetime, Thorndike created and published seven Dr Syn novels; he died on 7 November 1972. Several films featuring Dr Syn were made in and around Dymchurch, including Doctor Syn (1937) with George Arliss, Captain Clegg – the lead character was renamed for legal reasons (1962) featuring Peter Cushing, and the Disney TV film The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1963) with Patrick McGoohan. Russell Thorndike was buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul's Church, Dymchurch. RH&DR There is train station here, situated on the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. Sea defences Dymchurch has had a sea wall since Roman times, with the original development being constructed to protect the harbour at Port Lympne. The original structure is believed to have run for some 4 miles and to have stood 20 ft high. This wall, together with the Rhee Wall erected between New Romney and Appledore, ensured that the rich alluvial land deposited by the river Limen (Rother) which had initially been used as salt pans, slowly became rich and fertile farmland. In July 2011, a new sea wall, built at a cost of