Day 19 - Dover

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Not only did we do 9.25km of walking today, most of it was on the steep inclines of Dover Castle and the white cliffs. I’m exhausted!

We headed over the Dover Castle right when it opened at 10:00. Before we got here, we had no idea how big it was. We started our tour with the Saxon church and Roman lighthouse at the Center of the grounds both of which were built pre-1000 AD.

From there we went through the medieval castle built in the late 1100s. As the castle has been in continuous use since then, it has never fallen into ruins. It has been modified quite a bit over the centuries as is use shifted from imposing residence to an important defensive position. This was particularly true during the Napoleonic threat and WWII.

There was so much to see including the tunnel system under the castle in the cliffs first dug by hand in the 1700s. The tunnels were where the rescue mission of Allied troops from Dunkirk was planned. New tunnels dug in the 1940s housed a hospital and barracks deep underground.

We finally headed out about 2:30 and the drive over to the White Cliffs recreation area and walked along the cliff edge. We could see the busy port of Dover as well.

After that, we headed back to our guest house and relaxed for a bit before heading for a walk into town. We had a quick drink at a local pub before heading to another pub for dinner.

Where we had dinner was covered in the names, dates and times of people who swam the English Channel. The food was good and it definitely had a local feel despite the bartender being from Vancouver Island.

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