14 haunting images that show the emptiness of Britain's only desert

Many people will be surprised to hear that England has a desert. Located on the southeastern coast of Kent, Dungeness is a somewhat desolate landscape that is home to two nuclear power stations and a small estate.

The United Kingdom's national weather service, the Met Office, classified Dungeness as Britain's only desert due to its dryness and lack of surface vegetation. Other than power plant workers, occasional tourists, and the few residents who live in homes on the estate, it's rare to see any signs of human life, and it's unclear just how many people live there.

Photographer Robert Walker first visited Dungeness in 2011 and decided to document what he saw. "I am struck by the emptiness, the exhaustion, and the excess of weather," Walker told Business Insider. "The area feels out of sync, self-contained, and beyond conventions, all of which I find surprisingly liberating."

Over the course of four years, he visited the desert multiple times to create a series he called "The Fifth Continent".

Below, see the emptiness of Dungeness, Britain's only desert.