Now that's out of the way, over this past weekend, Lee and I headed to Dover with a couple friends, Josh and Bekka. It was a last minute trip planned by myself and Bekka, the men were just told they were going! We left from Bekka and Josh's house at 7am-ish so bright and early. We were all dead tired but super excited to go. It's about 2.5 hours to drive to Dover and it's a pretty easy highway. We ended up arriving at 9:30am, a half hour before the Castle opened (which we had planned to see first) so then we went to the cliffs first.
Luckily, we arrived at the cliffs before they really opened too so we got to park free (yea! Beat the system!) and the car park was really open since no one was there. Personally, I'd recommend to arrive around this time because as the day went on, more and more people showed up. We were about to do our hike and get great pictures with barely any people around. It was perfect. Again, to reiterate, this was planned the day before so not too much research was involved..let's just say that Bekka was in Tom's shoes.. But that didn't stop us!
We bought some very overpriced water (bring some from home!) and glanced a map (barely) then headed out. We were poised, we were ready to take on the Cliffs! There was a pretty good trail to follow so at least getting lost wasn't a problem. The trail was gorgeous! We got some fantastic views of the super white cliffs face and the harbor. Dover is also where ferries leave for France so there are a lot of big boats around. The water was a super pretty blue and felt like home. Growing up around water all my life, I have been missing it so this was nice and relaxing. Seeing pictures just does not do it justice so you should go see this!
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| Bekka and Josh |
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| On the trail! |
The hike one way was 2 miles (hence the need for good walking shoes). There are a lot of stairs and going up/down hills so be prepared as we were not. But we were troopers (especially Bekka)! The hike leads to a beautiful lighthouse. On the way there, we were taking pictures all over the place and I learned not to sit on the sides of white cliffs...it makes your jeans white. Duh! Bekka, as I discovered is another picture fiend so it was tons of fun taking pictures with her. The boys may not have enjoyed that part as much since they tended to serve as the models...
After quite a while, we finally made it to the lighthouse. It was very pretty and we enjoyed seeing it. Then it was time. It was time to head back. The men just took off and left Bekka and I behind. We were falling all over the place trying to keep up! Josh was on a mission to get back, he was so done with the hike :) So we made it back in a much shorter time than getting there.
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| Of course they end up behind that sign... |
Next it was time for lunch. We were famished (snacks might be a good idea too, oops) and found a good pub to eat at. Funny enough, we got the exact same meals even down to the Cokes. Apparently, we have some similarities. The place we ate at is apparently the place that people stop at after swimming the Channel. They write their names and times on the walls and ceilings. We saw times from 8 hours to 40 hours. There were a ton of names. Honestly, I thought it was a lot more rare to swim the Channel but I guess not? Anyways, we decided those people are absolutely crazy and no thanks.
Refueling done, we headed to Dover Castle. We arrived mid afternoon which was a great time because the big crowds left for the day so it wasn't super busy. The castle is awesome! Its complex is absolutely huge! There is so much to do! The castle is set on top of a hill looking over the water. We parked on top of the hill and for whatever reason (cough*Josh*cough) we decided to start at the bottom of the hill. During WWII, this castle was used as a base for Allied troops so underground tunnels were built for this use. The first thing we do was a tour of the hospital, which was in those tunnels (there was something like 3.5 miles of tunnels built). Men would go from the war front to that hospital then on to a major hospital after being stabilized. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures in the tunnels so you'll just have to go see them. The tour was led by a guide but was audio and interactive. We were "bombed" and crazy stuff happened like that. It was very informative and interesting to learn about the War from England's point of view and more details about their time in war.
After the tour, we headed back up the hill to the Castle itself. The Castle is in great condition. Parts of it have been there since the 11th century. That kind of history up close is just awesome to see and be able to touch. We went up the the very top of the castle and got rewarded with beautiful views all around. It was just breathtaking. We traversed all around the castle, seeing stained glass windows, bedroom set ups and every nook and cranny. There were catapults, cannons and giant machine guns from WWII. We walked through medieval tunnels as well. Those were cool to see also. Tunnels have been at this location for years! Despite its use during WWII, the castle was not targeted so it barely received any damage.
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| View from top of castle |
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| View again |
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| Add caption |
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| The models |
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| Cannon! |
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| These two look dangerous... |
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| He's smiling because he's throwing something at me... |
We also meandered to the church on site that was next to the Roman lighthouse. So many years of history here. You walk through centuries.
After thoroughly exploring the castle, we headed back down to another tunnel tour. This tour was in the tunnels used for Operation Dynamo in WWII. As a person with an International Relations degree, I felt pretty terrible for not knowing about this but it was before our entrance into the war so maybe an excuse? For those of you who do not know about it, like me, here is a little info about it. The Allied troops were tricked by the Germans and were attacked from the back in France. The French troops were pretty much decimated and the ones that weren't, along with the English troops were backed into the North of France and needed a rescue. The aim was to rescue 40,000 troops but this didn't happen. Between May 26 and June 4th, more than 380,000 troops were saved. Military and civilian ships both aided the rescue. Unfortunately, not all could be saved, those who stayed were captured by the Germans. Also, once the Germans realized what was going on, the Germans managed to bomb a few ships. This operation was planned at Dover and Dover was a major port for receiving the soldiers. It may not have been a victory for the Allies but it was a tremendous feat. So many lives were saved in a massive operation.
This tour we were also not allowed to take pictures. It was about an hour long and was very interactive. There were a ton of videos and was very high-tech. We got to see the table this operation was planned at along with D-Day along with a bunch of other artifacts. Overall, it was very interesting and again, learning about the war from a different perspective really intrigued me.
That tour brought us to the end of our day. We headed back up the hill (while hating ourselves) to get back to our car. It was a great day spent with great people. We are absolutely worn out from this weekend but won't get much rest next weekend! Lee has a long weekend for the 4th so we decided to spend it in London! London is so close that we could do it as a day trip but for my first trip, I want the tourist experience! Side note, I enjoy the fact that we will be in England during America's Independence Day. It just makes me smile.
Alright, one more time...we are going to LONDON next weekend! Eeeeeeekkkk!!
