Travel: Dover, England

The White Cliffs of Dover....I remember there was an old song about the White Cliffs of Dover; it was a popular song during the time of World War 2.  It was a pretty song...but never realized the sadness in the words...

We arrived to Dover, England a few days ahead before embarking on a cruise that would take us to the North Sea and beyond to St. Petersburg, Russia and back to Dover to disembark.




The town was charming!  It seemed to us that Hercule Poirot (our favorite Agatha Christie character) should be appear at any moment! The seaside town really grew as resort between 1800-1900.  Pretty townhouses line the streets and many have been converted into hotels or guest houses.  We stayed two nights in Dover at the Best Western Hotel (http://www.dovermarinahotel.co.uk/).  Our room had a view of the English Channel and the hotel was full of charm.  The hotel had a dining room and a very "English" bar/club room - comfy with bright floral print fabrics; we made good use of it!  The patio area was bathed in sunshine and the sea sparkling like little gems.  It was September with cool breeze steadily blowing; not a swimming time of year by my standards but obviously for others it was!  We watched as women donned bathing caps (!) and dove into the waves...I almost had a heart attack watching them.  Best to go inside and order another round of drinks!

The hotel is situated backwards...that is the back of the hotel faces the sea and the entrance was on a parallel street; we did not know this.  When we found the hotel, there was parking right on the seafront, so, being New Yorkers, you grab the spot.  We did and proceeded to enter the hotel.  We thought it was really weird that there was no reception desk at the entrance, but instead a pub.  Hmmm.  We walked to the "back" of the hotel, found the reception desk and checked in.  We asked about the parking situation and we were advised to move the car to the hotel's parking area just outside.  Back into the car and rounded the corner and down the street to the parking lot...and there it was, the front entrance to the hotel with flags and flowers welcoming guests! Geez...

We had an interesting room, top floor with twin beds.  OK, could not complain, the price was right and it included one dinner and one breakfast.  After a nice stroll around town, a lovely dinner in a charming restaurant, we settled back to our room.  We were watching TV for a bit and both started to get a headache...the room had a "slight" pitch to it and our feet were higher than our heads!  We slept that night turned around in the beds!  The shower was fabulous, once we could figure out all the dials and switches and faucets!  Being a spa town and hotel, guess back in the day, you could summon up sea water for a therapeutic bath!  We did get it all sorted and took a "normal" shower.  Off to breakfast and out for the day.

Our day trip was a visit to one of Henry VIII's many castles, this one in Dover.  We roamed from room to room and ramparts with vistas of gorgeous countryside.  Here is the link for the castle:  http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/dover-castle  After that tour, we made our way to the White Cliffs of Dover to see the WW2 command center of Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay.  Wow - this was an amazing tour.  The command center is set up as it was during WW2 and, in fact, there is an audio played as you go from room to room.  You hear explosives going off, voices speaking over them in the medical operating room - they even flickered the lights as you heard the sounds.  It was fascinating.  What was most famously accomplished from that command center: 338,000+ soldiers were rescued from Dunkirk by way of every small craft, fishing boat and pleasure craft available.  If you ever get the chance to read about it, it is a very powerful story.

That evening we had dinner at the hotel...an experience.  Our host had a suit jacket that was bit too long for him and when he removed something from our table it seem to disappear under the sleeve!  We grinned at each other and said nothing.  Dinner and drinks in the comfy pub and off to bed we went; next day was cruise day!

Departing or arriving into any of the many English ports is a great way to cruise.  There are cruises like the one we did to Russia and back; others to Ireland and Scotland, and opportunities to cruise around France, Spain and Portugal to the Mediterranean Sea.  There are plenty of car ferries crossing the English Channel in to France, and of course, there is the Eurostar train from London to Paris.

All in all, England has lots to offer, and this stopover in Dover is just one of the many we have visited and enjoyed.  Hope you find the opportunity to do the same!

Fifi