Dover Castle

Sunday 22 June 2008

With a strained ligament in his foot, Stephen looked to do something different but easy today, and a train ride through Kent was settled upon....

Walking from the railway station towards the town centre, the castle looms over the town. Although I was supposed to be resting my foot, the castle was a great temptation, and with my foot behaving itself after a week of rest, I decided to see how I got on, and walked through the town and up the hill

Once there I found that English Heritage were demanding £10.30 to enter the castle, even though the keep was closed because of the strong winds. It being such a large site, with so much to see, this isn't bad value if you make the most of it, but I didn't have time to linger, and really wanted a cheap "quickie" ticket, but there was no such thing available. After wavering for several minutes, I decided that I might as well see the place having got this far, and pulled out my wallet.

Looking through arrow-loops on Avranches Tower, which dates from the 12th century

The sea to the east

Looking back to Avranches Tower

The keep - closed today but looking very imposing

Looking down on the Eastern Docks

A World War II anti-aircraft gun, with on the left the Roman lighthouse, 11th-century church, the keep, and various 19th-century magazines

The Western Docks

A gull watches over the entrance to the Western Docks

The church of St Mary-in-Castro dates from around 1000, but was in ruins by about 1720, and restored as the garrison church in 1826: the crossing tower was completed in 1888. At this end is the Roman lighthouse (Pharos) which dates from the 1st century: the top section was reconstructed c1415-37. A second lighthouse stood on Dover's Western Heights.

Inside the church

The moat as I make my departure after a whistle-stop tour.

Looking out over the town before a fairly quick  descent of the hill through Dover to the station for the 1522 back to London