2025.10 UK & More – Dover Castle
We visited Dover Castle and also determined something worthwhile — getting an English Heritage membership can pay for itself in a few weeks depending on what sites you’re going to visit.
Location
Taking a ferry between Dover to Europe (France), is the shortest ferry ride possible across the Channel. Signage to Dover was clear, and as we approached the town directional signs for the castle appeared and we easily followed them to the castle. Being a weekend with good weather there was a sign for additional parking before the main parking area. To me, I thought that meant regular parking on the castle grounds were already full and this was our only option. We parked and quickly realized that Little Miss isn’t a fan of hills. Once we sorted out getting tickets, I somehow had managed to walk what felt the elevation between the sea and the castle several times. This might have been an indication that I need to add exercise into my regular activities.
Once on site, the reason of the castle is obvious. Preached on the top of a hill, you can see land on the other side of the Channel (full disclosure, this was the first time I’ve ever been here, as we took the Eurostar between London and Paris several times) making defense of the island easy on clear days.
Here are a few pictures from the top of the tower:
This was a working castle, and so when traveling through the tower to the top there were areas setup to be period specific. One interesting item we learned was the size of beds — they were able to be short because most people slept sitting up. We learnt this when we cracked a joke “The bed looks almost as small as Napoleon’s from the Louvre”, and one of the staff commented “Well Thomas Beckett was 6’7″ and would have fit into the bed as they slept sitting up.”
(Another slideshow, of items that caught my eye inside):
The fortifications for the castle were impressive as it used the hillside to make it even harder to approach the walls. Somewhere in the pictures should be some sheep working at the cost effective, environmentally friendly grass cutters. Another slideshow of pictures from the Castle:
Not all of the castle in on uneven ground, actually there were many parts that were quite scenic around the tower and inner buildings within the castle (slideshow):
With it being a fair weather weekend day, there were a lot of crowds and that made us choose not to tour the tunnels/bunkers that were used in World War II, as well as a tour of another tunnel network that was to look like its used in the medieval era. The former had over an hour wait for the tour, and the other did not interest Little Miss.
After a tasty lunch from one of the restaurants on the grounds, Little Miss was exhausted from the hills — I retrieved the rental car and then picked her up. From there we had a quick drive around town before returning to Canterbury.
Dover
We can’t say much about the town as we didn’t even stop to explore any of the shops or the seaside. We were both tired from all the elevation changes, walking around the castle. On our way out, the main road provides a glimpse of the mighty Cliffs of Dover before we joined the road back to Canterbury. Had we continued through the roundabout that was an entrance to the passenger ferry terminal to cross to France.
Once back at our hotel, we had a quiet evening and planned for the next day — a visit to Canterbury Cathedral.
Explore other parts of this trip:
Part 1 – Air Canada Flight Toronto to Halifax, to London
Part 2 – Hilton Garden Inn, Heathrow
Part 4 – Best Western Abbots Barton Hotel, Canterbury
Part 5 – Dover Castle (this post!)
Part 6 – Canterbury Cathedral & Abbey
Part 7 – Hilton Garden Inn, Silverstone
Part 8 – Hardwick Hall
Part 9 – Newcastle Upon Tyne Doubletree Hotel
Part 10 – Alnwick Gardens & Corbridge Roman Town
Part 11 – Premier Inn Penrith
Part 12 – Castlerigg Stone Circle & Lake District
Part 13 – Hilton Garden Inn Manchester
Part 14 – Isle of Wight
Part 15 – Carisbrooke Castle
Part 16 – Osborne
Part 17 – Heathrow Terminal 4 Hilton
Part 18 – Flight to Amsterdam, Hilton Dusseldorf
Part 19 – Doubletree NDSW Amsterdam
Part 20 – Mauritshuis, The Hague
Part 21 – Hilton AMS
Part 22 – Flight home via Newark