This morning we got an early start to drive to the southeast coast of England to the city of Dover. We had several things we wanted to do here. First on the list was the Dover Castle. This castle was built in the 1180's by Henry II and has been a military fortress protecting England ever since. Overlooking the English Channel between England and France this castle was used as a military base during WWII to protect England from being invaded by Germany. It was used as a residence by Henry II during the 12th century, so the Trust has redecorated it to look like it did during that time. There are 124 steps to the top of the castle and I climbed to the top!
Also on the castle grounds is the oldest lighthouse in Great Britain. It was built by the Romans in AD 100 and is called a "pharos" which, I think, is Latin for light. It was actually 40 feet taller when in use and the light was a bonfire in the top of the tower. Men had to haul wood to the top and maintain the fire. They must have had a staircase built in it, but it is missing now.
You may have noticed the fog in the outdoor pictures. Dover was socked in with fog most of the day. After we visited Dover castle we were going to take our Dover Sea Safari ride in the rigid inflatable boat to look at the white cliffs. But when we got to the dock, all the boat trips had been cancelled due to the fog. We were disappointed but we understood. We wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway. So instead, we drove up to a different lighthouse - the South Foreland Light located on the south cliffs. This lighthouse is no longer used as the ships in the English channel use radar and GPS to get their location. It's a pretty lighthouse - I went up to the top (only 64 steps). The fog had lifted off the land and the sun came out, but we sill couldn't see any ocean out there.
After leaving the lighthouse, we stopped at the White cliffs of Dover visitor center - but we still could not see any cliffs or sea due to the fog.
By this time we were hungry so we went back into town to find a place to eat. The first place we went to - the Archer Pub - the kitchen was closed (it was about 3 p.m.). The second place we looked at was closed all together. so we looked for a third place and didn't find it but found the Castle Take-away Fish and Chips place. We decided to eat there - it's take away so we ordered and took the food outside. Reed said this was by far the best fish and chips he has had yet this trip. Well, we were right on the coast - so of course they would be the best!
We then walked around town and took pictures. We stopped in at a charity store which is a thrift shop. Reed and I both love to peruse the thrift shops, looking for bargains and we found a few. Reed here - I was keenly disappointed that the Dover Sea Safari was cancelled - it was to be my high light, but we still had a good time. For Jan the high light was the S. Forland Lighthouse. It was supposed to be a two mile walk, but I had been in contact with the lighthouse people, and a gentlemen name Jon had emailed back special instructions on how to drive right up to the lighthouse and park in a lay by there. Directions included things like Drive past the school, down the dip and up the other side -follow through houses and onto the track (narrow dirt road) - Follow onto the end of track and turn right. What is amazing is that my navigator (Jan) followed these unusual instructions and got us right there. Then when we left she read the directions backwards and got us out of there. For me the highlights were the excellent fish and chips, and the bargains at the thrift store. I'm starting to feel a little sad because we only have two more days and then we fly back to the U.S. It would be nice to keep doing this, but I must go back and face reality - the VISA bill for next month is going to be a whopper!.