My Dover Day Trip (2019)

Updated: Sep 21, 2023

Dover is the major ferry port in Kent which is located South East of England, as it is located on the narrowest part of the English Channel allowing the crossing to France using the trait of Dover. Due to its location, Dover is the busiest shipping lane in the world and it is also has a very reach history making this an excellent day trip from London.

During Roman times, Dover was one of the ports that the Roman used for trade and transportation of army equipment. They constructed two lighthouse and a fort as part of the protection against invaders.

During the middle ages, the Dover Castle complex was developed under the supervision of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and comprised of two churches, a chapel, a priory, a college, and a hospital.

During the Tudor dynasty, due to the threat of invasion via the continent many improvements to the Dover’s defences were made in both the castle and the Moat Bulwark.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Dover became a garrison town to defend against the French invasion which gathered at Boulogne.

During World War I, it was one of the main troop embarkation ports for France and due to the extensive bombing, their citizens sheltered in caves and dug-outs.

During World War II those shelters were developed to sustained bombing and shelling from cross-channel guns. In addition to this, a series of caves and tunnels in the cliffs were used as air-raid shelters.

Dover has been the most important port from England since Roman times and due to its location has been the first defence to prevent invasion from the continent since Napoleon. Therefore, this place has everything for a tourist as it counts with a beautiful seaside, historic medieval complex, and the legacy from both World Wars.

We left London around 10am and after a late breakfast, we arrive to Dover Castle around 1pm. We made our way to the top of the hill to find parking and then start our amazing tour of the Dover Castle Complex.

Dover Castle is a Grade 1 listed medieval castle, and its curtain wall are located at the edge of the White cliffs. The castle was founded in the 11th century by William the Conqueror, is considered the largest castle in England comparable with Windsor Castle, and it has been described as the Key to England. The castle was rebuilt in the 12th century by Henry II of England, and began to take a recognisable shape. During the reign of Henry VIII, the cannons were installed at the castle. The inner an outer bailey were built during this period.

After parking the car, we made our way via Mortimer Road towards Colton’s Gate. Colton’s Gate is the main entrance to the castle complex, was built as a turret by King John during the 13th century, and is part of the curtain wall or outer baileys surrounding the castle.

After passing the gate, we made our way to the lighthouse which is located next to St Mary’s Church. The Lighthouse was built during the Roman period and is one of the tallest, oldest, and the most complete standing Roman structure in England. The lighthouse was built in the early 2nd century, consists of an 8-sided tower of 5-level built by layers of tufa, and it is built with Kentish ragstone and red brick.

The Church of St Mary in Castro is a Grade 1 Saxon structure which serves as the local church for the Dover garrison. The church was consecrated in the 600AD, designed by architects George Gilbert Scoot and William Butterfield, and was built using many of the Roman lighthouse materials as they were two in the grounds.

After visiting the church, we decided to continue our tour towards the main building. On our way, we saw that there was a medieval fair and we stopped to do some souvenir shopping and during this shopping, we decided to have a medieval type lunch, which was a delicious hotdog.

After lunch, we crossed the Palace Gate which is part of the inner bailey, and was built during the reign of Henry II between 1179 and 1188.

After this, we continued our tour towards the Great Tower. The Great Tower also known as the keep was built also during the reign of Henry II. This impressive keep is the centre piece of the castle, and the basis of this new fortification which consists of a series of concentric rings of defences. The keep consists of three-towered structure holding the main entrance staircase, and two chapels which were used for royal use and are highly decorated.

Inside the keep, we saw the recreation of the castle’s interior depicting life within the castle during the medieval area. It was very educational to see the type of equipment that they used in the kitchen, in the laundry, in the armoury, in the dormitories, in the dining room, and the royal rooms. The decoration were amazing as you were able to see how the decoration increased its complexity the closest we got to the royal chambers.

However, for me the most amazing part of the keep were the amazing views that I was able to enjoy once I reach the gallery, top of the keep. I was able to see the entire castle complex, the beach, the pier, and the town. I would speculate that with some binoculars I could even see France.

After an extensive tour of the Great Tower, we made our way back to the parking lot and we stopped in front of the officer’s barracks. The Officer’s New Barracks is located the south of the castle complex in a Grade II building.

After taking photographs of the barracks, as you are not able to enter as it is part of the current garrison, we made our way to the wartime tunnels. The Secret Wartime Tunnels are located south of the complex and are all underground. During World War I, the tunnels were used as air-raid shelter. During WWII, they were converted into a military command centre, and underground hospital. This is where Operation Dynamo was planned and executed, which consisted of the evacuation of French and British soldiers from Dunkirk.

Currently of the five levels of tunnels only two are open to the public (Annexe and Casemate), two were converted to use in case of nuclear attack, and the last one has been lost.

We did not have a lot of time at the tunnels as the complex closes around 4pm, giving us the choice as to cover the medieval castle or the tunnels as it is not possible to have a detailed visit of both parts in a single day, so we chose the castle for this our first visit.

After an extensive visit to the castle, we made our way to the shore. Dover Beach is a very popular shore as has climate similar to the rest of Britain with mild temperatures all year-round and light amount of rainfall each month. This is a pebble beach with amazing views of the shore.

After finding the perfect parking space, I decided to go the shore and take some daytime photographs of the beach, the pier, the harbour, and the White Cliffs. The White Cliffs face the Strait of Dover, and have a height of 110m. They owe their colour to the chalk, and the streaks of black flint were deposited during the late cretaceous period.

After this brief photographic session, we made our way to find an amazing restaurant for dinner. We decided to pick a seafood restaurant next to the shore for dinner to enjoy a beautiful meal with an amazing view.

After dinner, we sat at the balcony to have coffee and enjoyed the sunset. The sunset at the seashore is my favourite view since childhood. However, the temperature was decreasing and we decided that this would end the perfect trip to the beach.

After enjoying this amazing seafood dinner, we made our way to back to London and we returned around 11pm.

Although Dover is very near to London, there are many things to see depending of the type of adventure that you are seeking. If you love medieval history, there is no better sample than the Dover Castle. If you preferred world war history, there are the famous bunkers of Dover Castle and the fortress of Western Heights. If you preferred the beach life, although the beach is made of pebbles, you still can enjoy the weather and the food for the perfect summer day.

Therefore, the most important thing to decide before coming to Dover is to select the type of adventure that you want and the pick the places that you are want to see as there is no enough time in one day to do them all. However, you still need to consider that being so close to London you can either visit different locations in various day trips or this is the perfect weekend trip, as there are many amazing places to see. Dover Castle is an exception building in the best location and regardless of your interests this is the perfect outing for all ages. Therefore, I highly recommend a visit to Dover and especially Dover Castle. Currently, the adult ticket for Dover Castle is £21.80 and opening time is from 10.00 to 16.00 hrs.