We spent most of Saturday at Dover
Castle. It was less than a ten minute walk fromwhere we were staying.
When we arrived a guided tour of the tunnels was about to start, so we
joined it. Afterwards, we had lunch. I got sushi, as one does when one
visits a medieval English castle. I like to keep things traditional.
A magpie pooped on Newman. I suppose that's traditional as well.`
After lunch there was another tour about to start of the WWII tunnels,
including the hospital they had.
It was around 1pm or so when that tour ended, and we walked by a
WWII-era anti-aircraft gun. People in period military uniforms
were getting ready to fire it. It was near the cliff edge.
Obviously it was just a blank—a bang with no shell. But it
was a pretty loud bang (but again, probably, not as loud as a real
shell. Next to the gun was a platform that was used to spot planes
and ships that might be coming from across the Strait of Dover to
attack. This was the same platform that we saw the previous day
from the harbor area downtown.
After that, we went to the ancient Roman lighthouse, Pharos, which is
the oldest Roman-era lighthouse that still stands, and the St. Mary's
in Castro Church that is right next to it.
Next, we went to the castle itself, starting at the bottom, where a
historian was in period dress and talking about what life would have
been like then (her role was a cook for "the people upstairs"). We
made our way up the levels to the top of the tower, which has a great
view of the area.
We took a break, then took a tour of The Spur, which was an addition
during the end of the Naponeonic Wars in the early 19th Century.
After that, we walked around the outer wall, sawa the officer's
barracks that were built in the mid-1800s.
As we were wrapping up our visit and about to head out, I noticed
that the haze in the sky had lifted and I could see the coast of
France, with its white (or grey) chalk cliffs, 20 miles away.
I had to break out my telephoto lens and take some pictures. It
was a nice way to end the tour. Also, we were not allowed to take
pictures in the tunnels (they didn't want people messing things up
or not paying attention and getting lost, as there are 4 miles of
tunnels below the castle, and more beyond it.
When we got back, we looked at the ruins of an 11th century church
that was right next to where we were staying.
Saturday, September 27, 2025.
001-DSC_0366-header: Approaching and Entering Dover Castle.
001-DSC_0366-headertext:
We walked from Castle Street to Castle Hill Street. 001-DSC_0366: The view of Dover Strait on the way to Dover Castle. 002-DSC_0367: The outer wall of the castle. 003-DSC_0368: It would be a bit of a climb to storm the castle. 004-DSC_0369: Stephanie walks towards the entrance to Dover Castle. 005-DSC_0370: Lookng back at the entrance to Dover Castle. 006-DSC_0371: A sign with information on the castle (from the late 18th/early 19th century). 007-DSC_0372: A sign about the anti-aircraft guns that were used to protect the the castle and town. 008-DSC_0373: One of the mobile 3.7-inch WWII British anti-aircract guns. 009-DSC_0374: 010-DSC_0375: 011-DSC_0376: 012-DSC_0377: 013-DSC_0378: 014-DSC_0379: 015-DSC_0380: 016-DSC_0381: 017-DSC_0382: I think the “disc golf basket” in the middle is for a signal fire. 018-DSC_0383: Information on the Casemates in the Dover White Cliffs . 019-DSC_0384-header: Anti-aircraft Gun Demo and Spotting Platform 019-DSC_0384-headertext:
019-DSC_0384: 020-DSC_0386: 021-DSC_0387: Hey, this is the tower I saw from downtown dover way below yesterday! 022-DSC_0390: Smoke from after they fired the gun. It was loud, but not that loud. 023-DSC_0391: This time it was just after the big gun fired! 024-DSC_0392: Putting away things after the demonstration firing of the anti-aircraft gun. 025-DSC_0393: Watch where you're pointing that thing! An anti-aircraft gun by Dover Castle. 026-DSC_0394: “What? How many? I'll get the artillery boys right on it!” 027-DSC_0395: Note that I'm pale because the sun was shining and blew out 1/2 the picture. 028-DSC_0398: The communication room under the observation deck on the lookout platform. 029-DSC_0399: Someone cleaning the artillery gun after the daily test-firing by Castle Dover. 030-DSC_0400: A mobile WWII anti-aircraft artillery gun by Dover Castle. 031-DSC_0401: The White Cliffs of Dover, as seen from the WWII lookout at Dover Castle. 032-DSC_0402: The White Cliffs of Dover, as seen from the WWII lookout at Dover Castle. 033-DSC_0403: The White Cliffs of Dover, as seen from the WWII lookout at Dover Castle. 034-DSC_0404: A view of dowtown Dover similar to this only a bit higher up. 035-DSC_0405: Shakespeare Cliff (referenced in King Lear) just west of Dover. 036-DSC_0406: Stephanie and Newman with Shakespeare Cliff in the background on the left. 037-DSC_0407: Stephanie and Newman with Shakespeare Cliff in the background on the left. 038-DSC_0408: Frank with the White Cliffs of Dover in the background. 039-DSC_0409: 040-DSC_0410: Frank by Dover Castle, with the White Cliffs of Dover in the background. 041-DSC_0412: Frank by Dover Castle, with the White Cliffs of Dover in the background. 042-DSC_0413: Some big boats on the Dover Strait. 043-DSC_0414: An Irish Ferry coming into the port at Dover. 044-DSC_0415: 045-DSC_0416: The port of Dover and Dover Strait from the lookout deck by the cliff's edge. 046-DSC_0418: The anti-aircraft gun after the demo; a mobile gun is visible above it. 047-DSC_0419-header: Pharos Lighthouse, St. Mary's Church, and Around The Great Tower 047-DSC_0419-headertet:
047-DSC_0419: 048-Dover_Castle_Pharos_Panorama: The 2000-year old Roman-era Pharos Lighthouse. 049-DSC_0424: Information on the St. Mary Church, Pharos lighthouse, and the 4-gun battery. 050-DSC_0425: Looking up at the top of the 2000 year old Pharos Lighthouse at Dover Castle. 051-DSC_0426: The walls of the Pharos Lighthouse at Dover Castle. 052-DSC_0428: St. Mary de Castro Church next to the Pharos Lighthouse. 053-Dover_Castle_Pharos_Panorama1: Panorama of Pharos Lighthouse and St. Mary's Church within Dover Castle. 054-Dover_Castle_Panorama5: Along the inside of the outer wall of Dover Castle, with plenty of cannons. 055-Dover_Castle_Panorama6: Panorama of Dover Castle and the Great Tower. 056-DSC_0446: 057-DSC_0447: The courtyard and buildings surrounding the Great Tower. 058-DSC_0448: Some of these buildings included a gift shop and lunch place. 059-DSC_0449: Lo, all ye hail the boy who would be king! (It was a cute costume.) 060-DSC_0450-header: The Castle/Great Tower 060-DSC_0450-headertext:
060-DSC_0450: 061-DSC_0451: 062-DSC_0452: 063-DSC_0453: 064-DSC_0454: 065-DSC_0455: 066-DSC_0456: 067-DSC_0457: 068-DSC_0458: 069-DSC_0459: 070-DSC_0460: 071-DSC_0461: 072-DSC_0462: 073-DSC_0463: 074-Dover_Castle_Panorama7: 075-DSC_0467: 076-DSC_0468: 077-DSC_0469: 078-DSC_0470: 079-DSC_0471: 080-Dover_Castle_Pharos_Panorama4: blah 083-DSC_0474: 084-DSC_0475: 085-DSC_0476: 086-DSC_0477: 087-DSC_0478: What ho art those strange towers beyond the crennelation? 088-DSC_0479: 089-DSC_0480: 090-DSC_0481: 091-DSC_0483: 092-DSC_0485: Who knew those exit signs were that old? 093-DSC_0486: Barrels that would have had wine or ale or whatever. 094-DSC_0487: Examples of spices available in the 13th century (???, numeg. cinnamon, saphron, ??, black pepper, cardamon pods, ???). 095-DSC_0488: A historian in period dress who explained what life was like then. 096-DSC_0489: A recreation of how the castle kitchen might have looked. 097-DSC_0490: The gate and drawbridge to exit the inner courtyard. 098-DSC_0493: The view outside the castle of downtown Dover. 099-DSC_0494-header: The Spur Tunnels 099-DSC_0494-headertext:
099-DSC_0494: 100-DSC_0497: 101-DSC_0498: 102-DSC_0499: 103-DSC_0500: 104-DSC_0501: 105-DSC_0502: 106-DSC_0503: 107-DSC_0504: 108-DSC_0505: 109-DSC_0506: 110-DSC_0507: 111-DSC_0508-header: The Outer Wall 111-DSC_0508-headertext:
111-DSC_0508: 112-Dover_Castle_Panorama4: 113-DSC_0513: 114-DSC_0514: 115-DSC_0515: 116-DSC_0516: 117-Dover_Castle_Panorama3: 118-DSC_0520: 119-DSC_0532: 120-DSC_0533: 121-DSC_0534: 122-DSC_0535: 123-DSC_0536: 124-DSC_0537: 125-DSC_0538: 126-Dover_Castle_Panorama2: 127-DSC_0539: 128-DSC_0540: 129-DSC_0541-header: Ruins of St. James Church 129-DSC_0541-headertext:
St. James Church was a Norman-era church built in the 11th century, restored in the 19th century, had its roof damaged from a nearby bomb explosion in WWI, was restored in 1931, and destroyed by German artillery fired from France in WWII. It was turned into a public space in 1970. It is next to The White Horse pub, apparently the most popular place in Dover for food and drink, and they were booked up for the rest of the evening when we tried to go there for dinner. 129-DSC_0541: 130-Dover_Castle_Panorama1: 131-DSC_0545: 132-DSC_0546: 133-DSC_0547: 134-DSC_0548: 135-DSC_0549: 136-DSC_0550: Bottom: