Dover
6/28/2025
We did a day trip to the coast to see the Cliffs of Dover and the Dover Castle. It took a little over an hour to get there on the fast train. If you visit and want to do this, do it on a weekend. The train was MUCH cheaper on the weekend than when we priced it for a weekday trip. If you are in London and want some fresh air and outdoor time, this is a nice day trip.
When we arrived at the Dover train station, we took a taxi to the Cliffs of Dover - which was easy as they wait in front of the train station. The cliffs were pretty, but definitely not as awesome as the ones we had seen on the southern coast. The cliffs are made of chalk and are over 100 million years old !!
The hike was easy. We went a little less than 2 miles out to a light house where you could do a 45 minute tour and they had a tea room. We didn’t do either. We headed back so we would have plenty of time for the castle.
After the cliffs, we queued up a taxi and went to the Dover Castle - we called the same guy that brought us, but then realized there was one sitting in the parking lot. So very easy to get one!
The castle is said to be the largest in England (but we heard that about Windsor as well, do who knows!). Construction of the castle as it appears today was started in the mid 1100’s by Henry II and it continued being added on by subsequent kings. It was used by the monarchy until about the early 1600’s. Henry VIII spent some time there, and the royal apartments were refurbished in 1539 to receive Anne of Cleves when she arrived to marry Henry VIII. The castle was cool, but they didn’t have an audio guide or enough information available.
Because the castle is right on the English Channel and built on the chalky white Dover cliffs, it was ideal for building tunnels. There are literally miles of tunnels that were used in WWII. Thousands of soldiers lived in the tunnels and they built a fully equipped hospital. Troops from Dover rescued over 300,000 troops from across the English Channel at Dunkirk. We toured the tunnels, but weren’t allowed to take photographs while inside.
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