Dover, the gateway to England 08/20/2023

 Today is our last touring day in England.  Tomorrow we will train back to London and work our way home.  Today's destination is Dover and Dover Castle.

Dover has been a focal point for invasion and immigration since recorded history.  The history of England is forever tied to Dover.  Due to its close proxmity (30 miles) to the Continent (France), it has been the focal point of sucessive invasions through the centuries.  The Romans used Dover as the base for their navy.  They used two other ports along the coast, Lympne and Richborough.  All three ports were connected at Canterbury. The Romans left in the year 403. After the Romans came, the Saxons came, the Vikings came, the Danes came, the Normans came.  In 1066 Dover was sacked and burned by the Normans. (no mean feat, it was mostly wood).

This area needed to be protected. In the later 12th century King Henry built a massive stone fort, the Dover Castle.  The French attacked the fort in 1295, but were unsucessful, so they burned the city.

Going forward in history, the Germans came in World War I.  Dover was bombed  by aeroplanes and zepplins and shelled by passing German warships.  Dover was the embarcation point for British troops traveling to France to fight the Germans.  When World War II began Dover, once again was on center stage.  It was the focal point for the Dunkirk evacuation of over 300,000 allied troops that were in danger of being captured by the Germans.  Dover played a major part in defending England during WW II.

Today Dover is a thriving seaport town and a tourist destination for people interested in its history. The population in 2022 was 36,000.  If you get a chance, visit Dover, see the White Cliffs.  Just be glad you are reading their history than living it back in the 10th or 12th century.

This will be the last entry for this travelog.  Our train for London leaves in two hours and we will be on it.  When you read this, we should be somewhere over the Atlantic.

Until the next trip........

Entrance to the underground hospital

View of Dover City from castle

Entrance gate to castle

Our last stop in Canterbury (boast the longest beer garden in Canterbury)

Canterbury city wall

White cliff over the castle

Dover train station

Picture view of castle (from above)

Castle view from city

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