Dover

Last weekend we decided to take advantage of the Community Rail Festival (ie. weekend when train tickets are only 10 pounds) to do another day trip. After some random flipping through our Great Britain travel book, we decided that Dover sounded like a great place to visit - and it was!

Dover is on the southeastern tip of England, just across the English Channel from France. You can even see the shady outline of France from the Dover shores. Dover is also the home of the white cliffs (aka. the Cliffs of Insanity, for those of us who grew up with the Princess Bride); it is a really cute port town and, on the top of its cliffs, houses an incredible fortress complete with "Secret Wartime Tunnels" that were first excavated during the Napoleonic Wars and then expanded and improved upon over subsequent wars, particularly WWII. For a large part of WWII, these tunnels housed Britain's key military personnel and intelligence. Neither words nor pictures can really describe what these tunnels were like, and even our imaginations could only go so far in picturing what life must have been like for the thousands of people who passed through the tunnels during the wars.

All around the fortress there are mounds like this one that reveal the tunnel paths beneath.

The fortress was built for defence, not as a pleasure palace. These 'murder holes' are everywhere and between them, the moat, the cliffs and the cannons, it is not the most welcoming facade!

Dover is now a bustling port with a huge harbour and dozens of ferries coming in and out - most heading to France.

The next shot took 25 or so attempts and is a major reason the camera battery died....I hope you all enjoy.

The views from the top of the fortress were breathtaking. On one side there are the stunning white cliffs, on another side there is the channel, and then surrounding the rest are these rolling hills and the town sites. Amazing!

This is one of the medieval tunnels that form an amazing labyrinth under the fortress and throughout the hills. Lots of them were not lit, were totally deserted and were very, very quiet. Not going to lie - we walked pretty quickly through some of them!

I like this tree

The fortress site has been in use for over 2000 years. This building is a Roman lighthouse which dates back to 50 AD and which, according to the guide book, may be the oldest standing building in Britain.









This is a view of the fortress from the town and yes - we did climb all the way up!



Aren't they incredible? There seem to be countless walks you can do on top of them and over the hills that surround them. The beach at the bottom is made entirely of black sand and makes for a really striking contrast with the brilliantly white cliffs. Unfortunately, our camera died before we really got onto the cliffs so this is the only picture we have - so sad. We decided it is one more reason we have to go back!









In real life this was one of the ugliest fountains I have ever seen. Obviously I had to take a picture. I'm really surprised how pretty the photo is.
Essential Daily Exercise....take a peek.....that's Amy up there...
Imagine what would happen if I owned this Castle....The Power!
Big Gun


It was a terrific trip and definitely a spot we'd love to go back to!

Stay tuned for Paris pictures . . .

by Amy

and Ry