Capel le Ferne

The Whte Cliffs of Dover greeted us this morning. Dover is the closest point from Britain to the continent, only 20 miles across the sea from France. As such, the Cliffs have been the first line of defense of the entire island for thousands of years.

Our adventure today is to make it up to the top of the Cliffs and to the Dover Castle to explore the grounds, storm the keep, and climb the turrets. The Dover Castle compound is truly ancient and had been continually occupied by troops until 1958!

Before the castle was erected, Dover’s cliffs were a popular site for building strongholds over the centuries, with evidence dating back to the Iron Age. In the first century, Julius Caesar landed at Dover, and the Romans built the great lighthouse to guide Roman ships into these lands. Next to the lighthouse is the Anglo – Saxon church of St Mary of Castro, which was built in the 10th-11th century. The remains of the lighthouse were used as the belltower for centuries. These two structures, along with the remains of an Anglo Saxon fort walls, are believed to be the oldest structures the castle compound.

The first incarnation of Dover Castle itself was built in the 1066 by William the Conquerer. Over the centuries, Dover Castle was improved, expanded, and renovated.

It was King Henry II (the great grandson of William) who built the stone fortress that is known as The Keep in 1180, with further adaptations being made over time to cope with the region's ever-changing threats.

Dover Castle was also an important residence for the receipt of foreign guests, including Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1522, Anne of Cleves upon her marriage to Henry VIII in 1539, and Henrietta Maria in 1625 on route to marry Charles I.

Queen Elizabeth I improved the castle during the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585 to 1604. During the Nine Years’ War of 1688-1697 and the War of Spanish Succession of 1701-1714, the castle was converted into a prison to hold Spanish captives.

One of the most interesting parts of Dover Castle is its labyrinth of underground passages. Dug deep within the White Cliffs themselves, the medieval tunnels were made to improve the defenses of the castle and conduct surprise attacks on enemies coming by sea. These tunnels were first built after Prince Louis of France besieged the castle in 1216. The extensive system of rooms and tunnels have been used for attacks on smugglers, as prison cells, as barracks, and as ammunition storage over the centuries. During World War II, after being adapted to become bomb-proof, Dover Castle’s tunnels continued to play a military role and, in what is known as their finest hour, the tunnels became the headquarters for Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of 338,000 allied troops from Dunkirk in 1940.

The tunnel tour was amazing! Short films explaining Operation Dynamo were projected along the sides of the tunnels as we walked through them. After emerging from the tunnels, we started to climb the hills, stairs, ramps, and more stairs, examining the walls and buildings along the way. The remains of the Roman lighthouse were fascinating! The outer layer has eroded away in spots and we could see how it was constructed in repeated layers of different materials to keep it level. It is an engineering marvel.

The church is a beautiful, serene place, and is still used as a parish church. There have been many military members throughout the centuries buried there.

The Keep is what most people think of as a castle. It is built inside a thick outer wall, which, at one time, had a large moat surrounding it. The interiors have been restored to show visitors what it would have looked like during the reign of King Henry II. We wandered through the castle and climbed all the way up the turrets to the top of the keep, where you could see all the way to France.

After all the adventuring, we walked to the oldest continuously operating pub in Dover, the White Horse. We took our beer (English Bitters) recommendation from an old gentleman at the bar and ordered fish and chips and a steak and ale pie. The food was delicious, the bitters were marvelous, and not bitter at all. Now we are back on the ship, footsore, fatigued, but fat and sassy.

The atmosphere on the ship is totally different with all the new people, and we miss our friends very much. We will continue to adventure, however, and will always end the day on a positive note.

Cheers!Read more