White Cliffs and Castles
Or, more acurately, a castle. Still, it was a castle and that's always exciting.
This weekend's destination was Dover, about two and a half hours to the southwest by bus. The day was sunny which made for a beautiful ride through the countryside. When we arrived around noon, we wandered through the town in search of something to eat and happened across a pub called The Eight Bells. They had a Burger, Beer, and Chips for only £3.99 deal, and I hopped on that. Upon finishing, we asked the man at the bar for directions to the castle (had to re-ask a man at a bus station for walking directions) and headed up the hilly pathway to Dover Castle on the top of town. The hike was strenuous (as was pretty much every "walk" we took over the two days).
The man at the entrance booked us on a tour of the Secret Wartime Tunnels without us even having to ask, but unfortunately, we'd missed the last tour of the Medieval section of the castle grounds. Having an hour to kill before our tour, we enjoyed the sunshine and took in the views of Dover below and took pictures of ourselves with cannonballs. We also visited the on-site church, which had a lovely invitation on the front door saying we could get in, but after many failed attempts to open the front door, we realized it was lying. But I took some more pictures anyway - of it and its neighbor the old Roman lighthouse.
The Wartime Tunnels were really interesting, but we weren't allowed to take any pictures which upset me a little. Also, the Underground Hospital was closed for renovation (because we were there on their off-season), which upset me just a bit more. Still, the Tunnels were really cool to be in and seeing everything that took place in them was just unbelievable. After the Tunnels, we explored the rest of the castle, mainly the Keep (which is the main building), the Medieval tunnels, the Battlements, and the little shops. The Medieval tunnels scared me a bit, but the rest was great. I love castles.
We followed a very large group of French students out of the castle, and luckily, went in the opposite direction of them when it came to the pathway back to town. We found our B&B, checked in, and took a nap because we were exhausted. Around 6ish, we headed down to the High Street for a meal, and when we got there, we realized that all of Dover closes its doors when the sun goes down. We opted for The Eight Bells again rather than KFC or the Chinese place that was open. We took our place at table 41 again and placed our orders for fish & chips. We tried to prolong our stay as much as possible, knowing that the only thing that was waiting for us was our room at the Bed & Breakfast and a whole lot of nothing to do. We ordered desserts and eventually left around 8.
Nothing much exciting happened back at the room, except for the tea-maker which eluded me and caused me to pour water all over the floor. Hey, it was entertainment. We watched some TV, I read a book, midnight came and home called to wish me Happy Birthday (as did a sleepy Paddy). I went to bed with the least amount of voice I've had in a while and was worried I would wake up without one altogether.
We woke up extremely early - 7am - to go downstairs for the breakfast part of our B&B. We got the traditional English breakfast, which I was originally excited for and which, I can now say, I am not a fan of. It is, by the way, an egg (this one was poached), a fried? or poached? tomato, baked beans, some sort of sausage, and bacon (which isn't American bacon because they don't have that here - more Canadian). And tea, which I liked. We went back upstairs, attempted to go back to sleep, showered, watched cartoons and other weird British shows, re-packed, and killed time until 10am checkout.
Upon leaving, we followed signs to the Dover Information Centre and, right before we reached it, were accosted by a marketing research team offering chocolate (a whole lot of it!) if we taste-tested some crisps. I wasn't allowed because I'd never had the flavor - Thai Sweet Chili - but Paddy participated. She collected the chocolate and, at the Info Centre, we got directions to the pier (the best place to see the Cliffs) and to the Cliffs. We headed off in the direction of the pier, thinking we should see them before we hike up them. From a distance, they were gorgeous as was the Castle and the town. Again, it was sunny and beautiful, which made everything better. We walked along the beach and hiked up the long, steep path to the beginning of the White Cliffs.
Being on the Cliffs was absolutely amazing, albeit exhausting. The views were beautiful and being on the top was such a cool feeling. Paddy and I took loads of pictures until my camera was filled up and then just sat around at the top and soaked it all in. Luckily, we got such a beautiful weekend.
This weekend's destination was Dover, about two and a half hours to the southwest by bus. The day was sunny which made for a beautiful ride through the countryside. When we arrived around noon, we wandered through the town in search of something to eat and happened across a pub called The Eight Bells. They had a Burger, Beer, and Chips for only £3.99 deal, and I hopped on that. Upon finishing, we asked the man at the bar for directions to the castle (had to re-ask a man at a bus station for walking directions) and headed up the hilly pathway to Dover Castle on the top of town. The hike was strenuous (as was pretty much every "walk" we took over the two days).
The man at the entrance booked us on a tour of the Secret Wartime Tunnels without us even having to ask, but unfortunately, we'd missed the last tour of the Medieval section of the castle grounds. Having an hour to kill before our tour, we enjoyed the sunshine and took in the views of Dover below and took pictures of ourselves with cannonballs. We also visited the on-site church, which had a lovely invitation on the front door saying we could get in, but after many failed attempts to open the front door, we realized it was lying. But I took some more pictures anyway - of it and its neighbor the old Roman lighthouse.
The Wartime Tunnels were really interesting, but we weren't allowed to take any pictures which upset me a little. Also, the Underground Hospital was closed for renovation (because we were there on their off-season), which upset me just a bit more. Still, the Tunnels were really cool to be in and seeing everything that took place in them was just unbelievable. After the Tunnels, we explored the rest of the castle, mainly the Keep (which is the main building), the Medieval tunnels, the Battlements, and the little shops. The Medieval tunnels scared me a bit, but the rest was great. I love castles.
We followed a very large group of French students out of the castle, and luckily, went in the opposite direction of them when it came to the pathway back to town. We found our B&B, checked in, and took a nap because we were exhausted. Around 6ish, we headed down to the High Street for a meal, and when we got there, we realized that all of Dover closes its doors when the sun goes down. We opted for The Eight Bells again rather than KFC or the Chinese place that was open. We took our place at table 41 again and placed our orders for fish & chips. We tried to prolong our stay as much as possible, knowing that the only thing that was waiting for us was our room at the Bed & Breakfast and a whole lot of nothing to do. We ordered desserts and eventually left around 8.
Nothing much exciting happened back at the room, except for the tea-maker which eluded me and caused me to pour water all over the floor. Hey, it was entertainment. We watched some TV, I read a book, midnight came and home called to wish me Happy Birthday (as did a sleepy Paddy). I went to bed with the least amount of voice I've had in a while and was worried I would wake up without one altogether.
We woke up extremely early - 7am - to go downstairs for the breakfast part of our B&B. We got the traditional English breakfast, which I was originally excited for and which, I can now say, I am not a fan of. It is, by the way, an egg (this one was poached), a fried? or poached? tomato, baked beans, some sort of sausage, and bacon (which isn't American bacon because they don't have that here - more Canadian). And tea, which I liked. We went back upstairs, attempted to go back to sleep, showered, watched cartoons and other weird British shows, re-packed, and killed time until 10am checkout.
Upon leaving, we followed signs to the Dover Information Centre and, right before we reached it, were accosted by a marketing research team offering chocolate (a whole lot of it!) if we taste-tested some crisps. I wasn't allowed because I'd never had the flavor - Thai Sweet Chili - but Paddy participated. She collected the chocolate and, at the Info Centre, we got directions to the pier (the best place to see the Cliffs) and to the Cliffs. We headed off in the direction of the pier, thinking we should see them before we hike up them. From a distance, they were gorgeous as was the Castle and the town. Again, it was sunny and beautiful, which made everything better. We walked along the beach and hiked up the long, steep path to the beginning of the White Cliffs.
Being on the Cliffs was absolutely amazing, albeit exhausting. The views were beautiful and being on the top was such a cool feeling. Paddy and I took loads of pictures until my camera was filled up and then just sat around at the top and soaked it all in. Luckily, we got such a beautiful weekend.
posted by Megan at
6:00 AM
2 Comments:
Loved your pictures - can't wait to get some into frames. Looks like you were having a ton of fun!
Love ya
Mom
By
Anonymous, at 6:54 PM
SOunds like a very interesting and from the pictures, an extremely beautiful time! I would have loved to see the castle, as you know I am a castle lover as well!! Keep those pictures rolling and thanks for sharing it all!!
By
Anonymous, at 6:54 AM
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