August 12, 2013 – Dover, England

We wanted to see the famous White Cliffs of Dover so we took the train to Dover, England. We were going to take the ferry across the English Channel to Calais, France and return, but we decided that the town of Dover was interesting enough to stay for the afternoon.

Above, the Dover Castle sitting on the cliffs above the town.

We decided to take a walk out onto the Prince of Wales Pier for a good view of the town.

Note below the land in the distance from the end of the pier between the lighthouse and the sailboat. That is Calais, France 26 miles across the Channel. Anyone up for a swim?  Isn’t there a song about “26 miles across the sea”.  Oh, yes, that is Catalina, California.

Below, views of the white cliffs from the pier.

The beach at Dover.

Cullins Yard Wine Bar named for the old ship repair yard once located here. Nice place to stop for a drink. We see nachos on the menu. What are the odds that they will be any good? Actually, they were not bad. We had lunch and then off to tour Dover Castle.

We arrive at Dover Castle and begin our tour of the tunnels that are built into the casemates under the walls of the old castle. From these casemates, the British Navy planned and executed the evacuation of the soldiers from Dunkirk, France in 1940 when they were shoved off the continent by the German Army. There were 388,000 soldier trapped at the sea in Dunkirk by the German army. An armada of every kind of boat available was organized and hundreds of civilian boaters took to the sea to rescue the soldiers in some cases a few at a time in various small vessels.

Edward at an exhibit showing the organization of the naval evacuation.

Above, the castle above the casemate walls. This site was originally the location of a Roman fort and lighthouse. Below are the remains of the old Roman Lighthouse from the first century. Amazing that the lighthouse is still standing and in relative good condition after almost 2,000 years of wind and erosion sitting on the edge of the English Channel.

Left, castle walls from the Roman lighthouse. Below, the church of St Mary’s adjacent to the lighthouse. This small church has been the parish church for the military personnel stationed at the fort/castle/naval base.

We have seen a number of palaces in our tour of the UK and a few old castles that have been turned into palaces. The Dover Castle is the most intact castle we have seen showing what life would have been like living in this castle during the time of Henry II. The castle began as the site of a Roman Fortress since it overlooks the narrowest point of the English Channel. During the Norman invasion in 1066, the castle was enlarged and it became the main post of the Norman Army. Its been in continuous use as a fortress since 1066. The Normans, the various Henry kings of England and thereafter a military base for the English army and navy.

The dining room for the staff of the castle.

The old well within the castle Keep.

The Throne Room where Henry II sat when he was in residence.

The king’s bedroom

Storage room in the castle.

Banquet Hall in the castle.

Above, the queen’s bedroom and small beds for the children in the nursery area of the queen’s bedroom and Elaine sitting beside the fireplace in the queen’s bedroom.

Above and left, the knights shields in the armory and Elaine trying on a suit of mace. I think the mace suit weighed more than her. How did the Knights wear that plus armor plus carry their shield and weapons. Pity the poor horse. No wonder the Clydesdale war horses were so popular.

The kitchen area of the castle.

Castle wine room.

Cooking area in the kitchen.

Bakery in the kitchen area.

Scale model of the castle.  Impressive with all the rooms decorated.

Above and below, views from the castle walls looking down over the town of Dover.

During World War II, a navy evacuation hospital was opened in the castle walls.

Left, the story of the rescue of the British Army from Dunkirk. Below, an antiaircraft gun that fired at the German Air Force as it came across the English Channel. And, finally a view of the walls of the old castle.