Day 14 - Saturday, December 6

We woke up early and drove the short distance from Folkestone into Dover. Judy warned us that it was going to be cold and windy. Once again it was cold but it was a beautiful day - not much wind and the sun was shining. The castle sits up on top of the cliffs (the White Cliffs of Dover). Unfortunately the castle was closed but the rest was open. Honestly I wasn't that disappointed - we had been through lots of castles throughout the past two weeks.

This is a picture of the castle. It was amazing to me how green everything was even with as cold as it was. All around the perimeter of the castle were big cannons and guns that were used to defend its position.

One of my favorite parts was touring the secret wartime tunnels that were built in the cliffs. Some of the tunnels in this part date back to the early 1800's when the British used them when they were fighting France during Napoleon's time. The cliffs are made of chalk and are easy to dig through. During World War II they decided to expand these tunnels and make them accessible for their troops. There was an underground hospital, bunks, kitchens, offices, bathrooms, everything. We were able to tour parts of the tunnel and see a little bit about it would have been like to work in there. I found it interesting that the women who worked in these tunnels had tanning lamps that they were able to sit in front of since they wouldn't see the sun for weeks at a time. They lived and worked in these tunnels. It was mostly women because all of the men were off fighting in the war.

These tunnels were medieval tunnels that dated back at least to the 13th century. There has been some type of defensive building in this area since William the Conqueror took over in 1066.
This old Roman Lighthouse dates back to the 1st century - that means it is 2000 years old - crazy!

I included a picture of the plaque just in case you don't believe me!

Standing in front of one of the big anti-aircraft guns that was used during WWII.

Judy and Barbara above Dover Castle. Their mothers, who were sisters, lived here when they were small children. My whole life I have heard stories about Dover and it was really fun to finally get to see the place. I remember my grandma talking about the coastal breeze.

Emma and Judy enjoying some lunch!

Princess Adylaide and Queen Judy!

Standing in front of the White Cliffs of Dover. Behind us is a huge port where ferry's go between France and England. It is about a 1 hour ferry ride across the channel. There were lots of boats leaving as we watched. It was amazing to watch lots and lots of huge diesels drive onto the ferry to get over to the continent.

One of the old bombed buildings in Dover left from World War II.

I loved visiting Dover Castle because it was stuff that I have read about and heard about my whole life. There is so much history in England but this was a lot closer to my life time. I have always been interested in WWII and it was fascinating to hear about some of the tactics that were used in the war, about the evacuation at Dunkirk, and about the D-day invasion.