Dover Castle & the White Cliffs of Dover

The weather cooperated perfectly today. We drove down to Dover. Our first stop of the day was Dover Castle. This castle was memorable for many different reasons. Its history is one of constant use. At the top of the keep is a Roman lighthouse that dates to the first century. Right next to the lighthouse is a Saxon-era church where services are still held. There are medieval tunnels that were used up to the 1700's for defenses.

Perhaps the most important era of the castle is one that is both the latest and cannot be seen. Underneath the castle is over 3 miles of tunnels that were carved into the chalk cliff. It served as the organizational hub of the "Miracle of Dunkirk," the evacuation of 300,000 British, French and Belgian soldiers from across the English Channel that were surrounded by German soldiers in the early days of World War II.

After visiting the castle we went to the White Cliffs. We parked the car and walked along the paths that run along the edge of the cliffs. From the top you can watch the ferries load/unload the vehicles to/from France. There was a long line of trucks just waiting to get into the complex.
The cliffs themselves are very soft and piece of chalk were lying everywhere. There were veins of flint within the walls. They grew from the minerals in the chalk that were dissolved over time by the rain that came through the porous chalk. Information in the visitors center says that the chalk grows at only 1cm/100,000 years! The cliffs are Dover at one time connected England/Wales/Scotland to the mainland via a land bridge that collapsed following the last ice age.

The weather, as I said, cooperated perfectly. It was very clear and one could see France across the channel.