2003 Letter from Dover: From Canterbury, we drove to Dover. In the morning we would be taking the ferry back to the continent, but we thought we should find a campground before we did anything else. That’s when we found ourselves on another country lane that no self-respecting town of 100 people would allow in the U.S. We managed pretty well until we came upon a dump truck doing something on the road. Then there was a very long wait. When he finished his job, he moved forward enough to let us and the long tail of cars behind us go ahead. We were quite shaken by the time we got to the campground. We were dreading the trip back and forth to Dover for the rest of the day, and worried that the trip to the docks in the morning would be equally difficult. After driving a bit, we found there was a shorter country lane to the main road and successfully navigated through the fields. Frankly, we understand narrow lanes when it comes to hills and mountains, but do not understand the concept when the roads lead between two flat farm fields. We found, however, that the people in Kent are perversely proud of their country lanes.

After finding out details about the next morning’s ferry ride, we decided to visit Dover Castle. We could see it up on a hill – but the city had a very bad case of B.L.S.M.S. (Remember: the last sign is always missing!) It took a long time and many reverses before we finally got to the Castle.

The Castle itself was very interesting. It dated from 1100 and had been the scene of a siege at the end of the reign of King John (of Magna Carta fame) when Louis of France wanted to be King of England. There was a lot to see. Several audio-visual presentations that explained life in the palace, discussed the siege, etc. Even more interesting, though, were the underground tunnels. They had been built through the years – some in medieval times, others during the Napoleonic Era, and finally some during the two world wars. Under that castle were miles and miles of tunnels, an underground hospital in which medical staff treated airmen and sailors hurt on or over the Channel, and the HQ of the admiral who masterminded the rescue of the troops from Dunkirk. France is clearly visible from Dover and both sides had artillery that could reach the others. Winston Churchill came here often to observe naval skirmishes and dog-fights. The tunnels were damp and smelled bad but were very interesting. Again, it was amazing to find that they dug new tunnels during the war, taking the chalk out in trucks during the night, and no one seems to have spilled the beans! Of course, civilians were not allowed to come near the coast.

We are now leaving the White Cliffs of Dover by ferry. This seems like the right place to end this letter

Back to Dover
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