My friend Emily and I went on a day trip to Dover this past Saturday and boy, what a day it was! First off, I woke up late because my alarm did not go off and had only half an hour to get ready and leave to catch my train. Thankfully we planned for a lot of extra time so boarding the train was super smooth and we lovingly nicknamed it “The Homework Train”, as we did homework the entire way there to make up for our missing a whole day of work.
We arrived in Dover and were greeting by a very misty and gloomy landscape. The sky threatened to rain heavily multiple times on our walk to The White Cliffs of Dover, but never surmounted to anything more than glasses-speckling mist. The website that we got the directions from on how to get to the cliffs described the journey as a 4o minute “walk”. Lies. More like HIKE! Ok sure, we walked for maybe 2o minutes along the seaside but then had to begin our ascent into the cliffs. I guess it hadn’t occurred to me that we had to somehow incline to be able to reach the tall cliffs…duh! Anyway the climb was really beautiful and was filled with lovely greenery and the white chalkiness of the cliffs up-close-and-personal. Not to mention the steps! So many steps. The only consolation was that they were all really rustic and pretty, but that doesn’t make them any less painful.
We arrived in Dover and were greeting by a very misty and gloomy landscape. The sky threatened to rain heavily multiple times on our walk to The White Cliffs of Dover, but never surmounted to anything more than glasses-speckling mist. The website that we got the directions from on how to get to the cliffs described the journey as a 4o minute “walk”. Lies. More like HIKE! Ok sure, we walked for maybe 2o minutes along the seaside but then had to begin our ascent into the cliffs. I guess it hadn’t occurred to me that we had to somehow incline to be able to reach the tall cliffs…duh! Anyway the climb was really beautiful and was filled with lovely greenery and the white chalkiness of the cliffs up-close-and-personal. Not to mention the steps! So many steps. The only consolation was that they were all really rustic and pretty, but that doesn’t make them any less painful.
We finally reached the top of the cliffs and could begin actually taking in the views. So gorgeous! The misty day made the green grass even greener and the muddy paths, unfortunately even muddier. After exploring for a while, we opted not to continue all the way down the designated path because the next section began with a long stairway covered in slip-worthy mud and we had already fallen several times and were cold, hungry, muddy, and soaked. This didn’t take away from the fun that we had on the cliffs, but it merely means we shall have to return again someday, on a less mud-prone afternoon and explore the rest. Still, we got some fantastic pictures and hurried inside the visitors center for some hearty soup and bread, and some afternoon tea with scones. The sky finally opened up by this time so thankfully we were able to wait out the rain during lunch.
After stuffing ourselves, we made our way back down the intense hiking trail and across the town to the Dover Castle, which, SURPRISE, was on a hill. So that meant more steps and climbing! This climb was much steeper but it was also very transporting. We were literally climbing up into a forest that was on the edge of the castle grounds. I felt like I was climbing into A Midsummer Night’s Dream or something and I expected little fairies to come zipping out of tree trunks all covered in moss and dew. It definitely put us in the mood for castle viewing.
The castle began with some tours of the underground tunnels that were used in WWII and The Cold War. They had some really cool projections and media usage to tell the stories of the wars and how the tunnels were used. We also toured the underground hospital, which had mocked-up versions of all the rooms and all the items in the rooms were authentically from the time period they were used in. The rooms even intentionally smelled authentic, if you know what I mean. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take pictures in the tunnels so you’ll have to use your imagination.
We spent the rest of the day walking around the castle and taking lots of pictures. My favorite part was touring the great tower where the royal family lived. The rooms were again made to look like they did way back when and the best part was that in each room, you could hear recorded chatter of who would’ve been speaking in that room at that time. SO when we walked by the monastery portion of the tower, we could hear the monks singing and prayer and in the dining room you could hear guest chattering and dishes clanging. It was a very immersive experience. It also felt like there were no areas that were off limits. There were so many nooks and crannies to pop your head into that you could easily get lost inside if the castle employees weren’t there to help you. And there were also lots of…say it with me…stairs! SHOCKING! Well it’s a tower right? So there was no way around it, but the winding staircases just seemed never ending. More pictures in the gallery!
The castle began with some tours of the underground tunnels that were used in WWII and The Cold War. They had some really cool projections and media usage to tell the stories of the wars and how the tunnels were used. We also toured the underground hospital, which had mocked-up versions of all the rooms and all the items in the rooms were authentically from the time period they were used in. The rooms even intentionally smelled authentic, if you know what I mean. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take pictures in the tunnels so you’ll have to use your imagination.
We spent the rest of the day walking around the castle and taking lots of pictures. My favorite part was touring the great tower where the royal family lived. The rooms were again made to look like they did way back when and the best part was that in each room, you could hear recorded chatter of who would’ve been speaking in that room at that time. SO when we walked by the monastery portion of the tower, we could hear the monks singing and prayer and in the dining room you could hear guest chattering and dishes clanging. It was a very immersive experience. It also felt like there were no areas that were off limits. There were so many nooks and crannies to pop your head into that you could easily get lost inside if the castle employees weren’t there to help you. And there were also lots of…say it with me…stairs! SHOCKING! Well it’s a tower right? So there was no way around it, but the winding staircases just seemed never ending. More pictures in the gallery!
After getting our fill of the castle, we returned to the train station and hopped on an a train back to London. Unbeknownst to us, the train was an Express so it got to London really fast, but it wasn’t technically what was on out ticket to take. Oops. The grumpy lady at the exit told us that we had to upgrade our tickets and pointed us to the ticket area near the exit. We were so mad and flustered! When we got to the window, we quickly explained to the lady that we didn’t know it was an Express and it was the only train back and…she just smiled and unlocked the little gate and let us through to the exit. Sometimes being flustered and overwhelmed pays off! A solid end to a solid day.
Top British facts/oddities of the week:
Check out the pictures in the October gallery! Thank you!
Top British facts/oddities of the week:
- lemonade in the UK is generally sparkling, and usually it is actually another name for Sprite/Sierra Mist
- When waiting for a bus, you must hail it, or it most likely won’t stop
- Games shows are wildly popular here and…um…interesting. We have a whole game show channel that we watch that has: the British version of Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud (which is called Family Fortunes), Stars in their Eyes (a singer impersonation contest), Catchphrase (not like the board game at all), Countdown, and The Chase.
- England’s public school is like our private school, in the sense that they have to wear uniforms, pay for their schooling, and apply to their high school.
- Zucchinis are called courgettes
- Eggplants are called aubergines
Check out the pictures in the October gallery! Thank you!