Dover Castle, England

We checked the weather reports for the weekend and planned to go to Dover on Saturday, but Mr. DJ (our designated long distance/highway driver) stayed up too late Friday night playing with his music. So, we saved our trip for the next day, soggy Sunday.

Dover is located in southeastern England in the county of Kent. It is famous for its White Chalk Cliffs, of course, in addition to having the shortest crossing to the Continent–about 22 miles–to Calais and Dunkirk in France.

But our reason for visiting Dover on that rainy Sunday was to see Dover Castle, the Secret Wartime Tunnels and the Medieval Tunnels. (Adults £9.80, Children £4.90, English Heritage Members FREE).

Sometimes, I like to do a little prereading before I visit a historic site just to get in the spirit of things. Sometimes, I like to just go and be surprised. I didn’t do very much research this time, other than noting that the place opened at 10 and closed at 6 every day. It was one of Mr. DJ’s preferred destinations and that was enough for me. Happily, Dover Castle proved to be a nice surprise.

The Castle is set high above the town of Dover. At the base of the hill, there was a sign letting us know the land tram was out of service and we’d have to walk to our destinations (no big deal). Amazingly, we were allowed to drive all the way up to the three small parking lots not far from the Keep.

From the roof of the castle, we could see a ferry boat making its way toward France.

Looking up to the keep from just inside the outer wall. There has been a castle on this site since 1066, retaining a garrison for 892 years or until 1958. Henry II updated the keep in the 1170s-80s.

Colton’s Gateway. That is a hole near the top.

Peverell’s Gateway. According to English Heritage, the Castle is surrounded by concentric defences and regularly spaced wall towers, a combination then without parallel in western Europe. 

Bridgeway between St. John’s tunnel and the Spur. It housed squatty little cannons used to fire a short distance in order to defend the moat. Below the moat are the Medieval Tunnels, equally cool, kind of spooky, great for people with lots of imagination. Not a good place to talk about ghosts (apparently the castle is haunted by a headless little boy). 

Queen Elizabeth’s Pocket Pistol. A brass Basilisk cannon given to Henry VIII by Emperor Charles V. Today, it points toward the cafe. 

One of the many spiral staircases in the castle. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a jacket and maybe a sweater too!

Despite the rain, we could see France. View from the balcony near Secret Wartime Tunnels entrance. 

An anti-aircraft gun makes for a nice decoration. 

The Secret Wartime Tunnels entrance. Seven parallel tunnels were dug BY HAND in the late 1700s (Casemate level). These were used during the Napoleon
ic Wars as barracks for more than 2,000 men. In the 1940s, two more layers of tunnels (annex and Dumpy levels) were added and the tunnels were used as military headquarters. It is from here that Admiral Bertram Ramsay organised Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of more than 338,000 British and French troops from Dunkirk in May 1940. 

We were hungry and in a hurry to eat. I totally forgot to take a “before” picture of our lunch. Here’s all that was left–our sandwich boxes, crips crumbs, and Roxi’s flapjack–and oaty cookie thing.

The Roman lighthouse (right) was built around the second half of the first century AD. To the left is an old (rebuilt) Saxon Church, now St. Mary-in Castro. 

The church has been “heavily” restored, but English Heritage says that it is still one of the finest late Saxon buildings in Kent. It dates back to AD 1000. 

After six hours at the Castle (they pretty much had to boot us out), we still didn’t see everything! If you go, try to get there at the opening time so you have lots of time to wander around. While we were leaving, we had an “oh yeah!” minute and remembered we were in Dover and needed to see the white cliffs. Unfortunately, the viewing area in Dover closed at 6 pm, so we drove about 4 miles down the road to St. Margaret’s Bay. This is a shot of the cliffs on the left as you face the English Channel. Sorry about the raindrops on the picture–it was raining and I left my umbrella in the car! 

Poor little guy. I was surprised to see a bunch of starfish (unfortunately dead) in the rocks along the beach. This one was on a wooden wall about waist high. I guess the tide must come in pretty high.