Day 25: Dover -Castle Day: And the White Cliffs of Dover

June 14, 2012

When the dawn comes up
There'll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see

Last night I dreamed that somehow everything I did in life was like having an electric assist bike. Everything was easier and more comfortable. When we woke up, at 5:30, I realized that what was behind the dream was our bed here at the Regency Guest House. It is cushy and springy and has a thick duvet. Heaven, and not a Thermarest.

We were ready to go out and frolic but cooled our heels until breakfast was served at 8:30. It was an automatic Full English. That differs from a "Full Canadian" - bacon is not smoked, comes with baked beans, toast is dry, only one egg and no choice of how it is prepared - it's always sunny side up.

We went down to the bike shop to visit our bikes and pull some bags off. Had a chance to look around the shop and saw it is quite well stocked. Dennis, the owner and mechanic was extremely kind to us, and the shop is right in central Dover. So if you are ever in this town, please drop in:

One place to avoid though, is the Honeypot Cafe.

We bought a coffee there, at the normal but still outrageous price of $2.40 for a 6 oz cup. We took a seat at some outdoor tables to drink the coffee. I hauled out a cookie from our bag too. Then a rude fellow who I take to be the owner came out and said we could not eat the cookie at his table, since we did not buy it there. I then requested they fix up my coffee as a takeaway. The waitress said "You want to take it away?" "Yes, far away" was my reply. Her boss was only the second really rude person we have met in Britain. That's him scuttling back in to the building on the left of the photo.

Our 6 oz of regular coffee (for $2.40!) and the Criminal Cookie.

Our only plan for the day was to visit Dover Castle. One day was the right amount of time to allocate, since we ended up spending six hours there!
We walked up to the castle, which is on top of the eastern cliffs. The next nine shots are a bit of what we saw on that walk:

A swimmer out in the harbour, presumably not headed for Calais.

The white cliffs of Dover. Dodie thought they were too grey, but it depends on the sun.

Oh God - NCN Route 1! We will have to follow this when we get back here in 90 days.

A lady in her small house right under the white cliffs.

Today's paper shows flooding in Bognor Regis. So despite it all we missed the worst of it.

The castle has obviously been there a long time (since 1179!) and naturally has gone through a large number of phases. Weaponry changed from swords and crossbows to nuclear bombs in the period, and the identity of the supposed enemies changed on a regular basis. Other parts of the complex date from even earlier than the castle.

Dodie took care to start with displays about the earliest period, and only then to move to later periods. The oldest bit is a Roman lighthouse. It stands beside a thousand year old church. The lighthouse was later used as the bell tower for the church.

The roman lighthouse (pharos) built about 120 AD.

The church of St Mary in Castro, built about 1000 AD

The main Castle was erected by Henry II, who was one of the most powerful of the British kings. His domain included big chunks of France and Ireland as well. The castle was meant as a display of power, and they say it was built in a slightly "retro" style to portray some conservative reserve. Consequently other castles were more high tech in terms of defensive design.

The German invasion - high school kids, the way it should be.

Inside, the atmosphere of ancientness (and chilliness) was palpable. This was helped by it's having been fitted out with period furnishings. This was real dungeons and dragons stuff, with narrow spiral stairs, mega thick walls, uneven stone floors and walls. It looked like this:

At the top of the tower you are really high up. There are excellent views back to Dover and over to France, as well as on to the surrounding grounds.

The church and tower. We could also see France from here.

On the other hand, there is also a network of medieval tunnels under the castle. These look excellent for sword fighting your way down.

There is a network of medieval tunnels underneath the castle.

Jumping forward in time, other extensive tunnels housed the command centre for Channel operations during WWII. Further, deeper tunnels, were designed as a nuclear bomb shelter during the 80's.

Other tunnels were used as a main war command post. Operation Dynamo was responsible for the evacuation at Dunkirk. This is the iconic actual table at which WRENS pushed around symbols of enemy forces. We have seen this on Foyle's War and in movies.

A section depicting military costumes from various periods had this one and a lot of others. This is a coast guard one from 1818. Sabrina: we have shots of others!

A guided tour of almost an hour led us through some of the WWII tunnels, and multimedia presentations told the story of what went on here. The presentations were not nearly as complete as a typical BBC program on the same subject, but having them projected on the actual walls of the actual place was eerie.

The gift shop and cafe was a welcome relief. Here we found what would have been some great stuff for Avi and Violet:

This game has it right. Touring England is a game of skill.

Touring England game. Like the real thing, this apparently requires skill and judgement.

British idea of soda pop. Slightly femented, gingery, not too sweet.

This castle was absolutely the real thing. As I said, it was eerie being in the exact place that such history was made. That applies equally to 1940 and 1179. This was time well spent.

Well, this is our boat, waiting to take us to France tomorrow!

Today's ride: 20 km (12 miles)
Total: 808 km (502 miles)

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