White Cliffs of Dover

[John Bull]

Your timing should be very comfortable. Your driver will probably take the motorway loop, tthe coast road after Brighton is painfully slow.

 

JB :)

[2curious]

Thanks John Bull for your super quick confirmation!

 

Your timing should be very comfortable. Your driver will probably take the motorway loop, tthe coast road after Brighton is painfully slow.

 

JB :)

[2curious]

Hi all, I just came back from my BI cruise, and want to share my experience on Dover:

1. Surprisingly I was able to see the White Cliffs from the ship! It sailed past Dover around 9:30pm and the sun has not set yet. Though we were quite far from shore, I could clearly see the iconic white cliffs that stood out from the other contrasting dark colours. Could also see Dover Castle as a tiny rectangular shape on top of the hill. I was so excited over this!

2. We had a great ride to Dover with Smith For Airports. The driver even took a slight detour to drive us to the top of a hill for a panaromic view of Portsmouth. The ride to Dover was about 3 hours, and the driver knew which roads to take to avoid heavy traffic.

3. In the end, due to a change of plan, we did not take the Dover Sea Safari. Our hotel was right at the waterfront, so we could see the White Cliffs just walking along the beach area.

4. The highlight of Dover is definitely Dover Castle. I thought it was one of the best castles we have visited on this trip. We took the taxi there and costed £7. Then we just walked down via the stairway which led to the town centre, the walk was only about 15 mins. We spent 3 hours at the Castle, but could have stayed longer. There was a lookout point in the Castle where you see a small stretch of the White Cliffs.

5. The next day, we were picked up promptly by Premier Taxi Folkestone to visit Canterbury for 2 hours, before driving us to London.

Thank you for all your advice that helped us tremendously with our planning to Dover and Canterbury. Everything turned out perfectly and we had a fantastic time visiting this beautiful part of England.

[sddsddean]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad everything worked out OK.

 

 

Simon

[John Bull]

1. Wasn't it a bit uncomfortable standing on top of the ship's mast to see the White Cliffs? :D

2. Portsdown Hill. Yes, a panoramic viewpoint. And you'll have driven past some of "Palmerston's Follies" (forts which encircle Portsmouth, built in case of an attack by the French - guns never fired in anger)

3. Probably Premier Inn or Best Western?

4. The Grand Shaft? Ingenious (and unique?) three-in-one staircase some distance from the castle which leads from the Western Heights to the shore.

5. So much better than a quick motorway blast to London.

 

Glad it worked out well

 

JB :)

[Mura]

Back I think to the original question.

 

 

We spent time in Dover the first time we were there before boarding a cruise ship. This was in 2001. We have spent time there several times since.

 

 

I'm sorry to say that what you see from the ship probably isn't much. You really need to walk the walk, as we did. (We did have a car to get us there.) It's not like you can walk off the ship and walk up the hill.

 

 

 

For people on a cruise leaving or ending in Dover, I do recommend spending at least a day or two there. The town is charming, we drove around the area -- as far as Sandwich, but also more local visits. We also spent a few hours in Canterbury on the drive from the airport to Dover on that first trip.

 

 

But again, the west way to see the White Cliffs, is to walk them!

 

 

If you don't have the time, then watching from the ship may be the best other option ... I don't recall if we even saw them from the ship as we left port.

 

 

And the cliffs really are white!

 

 

Mura

[2curious]

Hi John Bull, you are so funny and you are such a resourceful staple to the CC forum. Your advice is always appreciated!

1. Ha ha I was actually in the fitness center (trying to shed a pound or so after yet another big feast at dinner time!) when the White Cliffs appeared right in front of my eyes! Too bad the ship did not make any announcement so more people can enjoy the sight.

2. Yes the driver pointed out some forts and castles along the way.

3. We chose Best Western cos Premier was full, My room faced the waterfront so it was a great view seeing the ships sail by.

4. Did not see the Grand Shaft. We only had time for Dover Castle. The highlights were the Secret War Tunnels and the Underground Hospital which were right under the cliffs. Especially after I watched Dunkirk on the plane, the emotional impact was quite great when I actually saw where the command center was inside the castle.

5. Yes absolutely enjoyed Canterbury and glad that we stopped there.

 

And I can truly attest that the White Cliffs of Dover are indeed white and spectacular!

Have a great day!

 

 

1. Wasn't it a bit uncomfortable standing on top of the ship's mast to see the White Cliffs? :D

2. Portsdown Hill. Yes, a panoramic viewpoint. And you'll have driven past some of "Palmerston's Follies" (forts which encircle Portsmouth, built in case of an attack by the French - guns never fired in anger)

3. Probably Premier Inn or Best Western?

4. The Grand Shaft? Ingenious (and unique?) three-in-one staircase some distance from the castle which leads from the Western Heights to the shore.

5. So much better than a quick motorway blast to London.

 

Glad it worked out well

 

JB :)

[PhilbeachTraveller]

Glad it all worked out for you and you enjoyed our town. Dover Castle is fantastic and well worth a visit. It's a shame that most excursions will take you to Canterbury (so I've heard) when you can have a great day at the castle and also go to the White Cliffs park.

[2curious]

Hi Philbeach Traveller, thanks for all your local expert advice! I would visit Dover again and would highly recommend Dover Castle and the White Cliffs to my friends. I agree that Dover Castle should deserve much more visibility than some of the more famous castles. Too bad we did not have the time to actually walk on top of the cliffs to get a closer view, but I am very pleased with what I have seen already.

 

You did not light up your beacon, so I was not able to spot your house from the ship !:D

 

 

Glad it all worked out for you and you enjoyed our town. Dover Castle is fantastic and well worth a visit. It's a shame that most excursions will take you to Canterbury (so I've heard) when you can have a great day at the castle and also go to the White Cliffs park.

[KirkNC]

This is exactly what we plan to do.

 

 

The cliffs are still white (bits of green obviously at places but certainly not the main colour!). I think they are lovely, but then I live near them. As JB says, go to the White Cliffs Park and have a very short wander along the path and you get some fantastic views (and you may even be able to see France). Also great view from Dover Castle and the castle really is worth a visit. Dover itself is pretty much a building site at the moment as they are doing a lot of regeneration to the area so, if you've got all day, I'd recommend getting a dayrider bus pass (£6.90) and get the bus to St Margaret's, which is on the cliffs and you can walk down to the beach and be right beside them (and Ian's Flemings house as well)or walk along to the old lighthouse (now a cafe). Bus timetables are on the Stagecoach website.