British Isles Explorer: Dover, England (3/27/2022)

Sunday, March 27, 2022 (continued)

After lunch on the Viking Venus, we had free time and opted to go into Dover.

Viking offered a double-decker shuttle bus to take passengers
into the center of Dover or up to Dover Castle

Whoa, will the double-decker fit
under that overpass?

It stopped drizzling, but is still misty
as we head to Dover Castle (KSS)

We paid a total of 36 GBP 60, or $51.24 (ouch!) for entry into Dover Castle. (It would have been worth it if we had more time!) Dover Castle commands the Strait of Dover, the shortest sea crossing between England and continental Europe. Henry II began building the present castle in 1179-1189, on the foundations of a pre-Roman hillfort and a later Roman fort. Other additions and changes were made through the centuries.

Constable's Gate (c 1220, by Hubert de Burgh)

View between the outer and inner walls,
and a close-up of flint rock, which is
formed in chalk deposits

Peverell's Gate (13C) and view down on the city of Dover (KSS)

Misty view of Dover

Church of St Mary de Castro (c 1020 CE, collapsed
and restored in 1860, by George Gilbert Scott)
is an example of a Saxon church

Church of St Mary de Castro interior (1888, by
William Butterfield); de Castro means within a castle

Roman Pharos/lighthouse (early 2C CE)
was paired with another across what is now
the city, and used fire beacons to guide the
ships of the Roman Classis Britannica fleet 
into the harbor at the mouth of River Dour

The Pharos is the most complete standing Roman building in England, and had been repurposed as the bell tower for the Church of St Mary de Castro.

Heading up to the innermost walls of Dover Castle,
with the fenced Well House in the foreground

Henry II's Great Tower or Keep (1179-1189); it is said
that Henry II did not build the castle for defense, but
rather to impress the pilgrims arriving by boat who
would continue to Canterbury Cathedral

We left through Colton's Gate (13C) and
started working our way downhill

Entrance to the undergound hospital (1941)

Entrance to the network of tunnels (1794-1815 during the
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars), which
were later used for Operation Dynamo during World War II 

Dover Castle was the first line of defense for England in World War I and World War II, while Dover was the base for the Royal Navy.

Still heading downhill

The steps taking us into town

Almost there!

Ancient iron fence (KSS)

Scaffolded ruins of the Church of St James (c 1070),
which was bombed during World War II

Looking SW on Castle Street

St Peter's Roman Catholic Church (1867-1868, by
Edward W Pugin in Gothic Revival style)

Poundland is the Dollar Store of the United Kingdom

Dover War Memorial (1924, by
Reginald R Goulden) is now dedicated
to all those lost in both World Wars

The War Memorial in front of the Dover Town Council
building (1665 as a residence) (KSS)

Maison Dieu (1203, by Hubert de Burgh to
provide hospitality for the pilgrims
heading to Canterbury) is now the town hall

St Edmund's Chapel (1262 as a wayside
chapel of rest for the poorer pilgrims)

What the heck is flytipping? Illegal dumping

St Mary's Church (tower is 12C, church rebuilt
1843-1844 in Early English style)

Market Square was where we caught
the shuttlebus back to the Viking Venus

Right on the docks are remnants of fortifications

View of the White Cliffs of Dover

View of the Dover Castle above the town and harbour

The White Cliffs extend east beyond Dover and
we would be sailing west along the English Channel

After dinner, we had to keep ourselves busy until the stewards finished preparing our stateroom for the evening. Fortunately (or maybe not!), there was a jigsaw puzzle.

A 3,000 -piece jigsaw puzzle!

The puzzle was 48" long and 32" wide

We know of a couple women who worked on the puzzle as well

Next: Scenic Cruising.