Recommendations for Tours out of Dover

[wdrl]

We are doing a TA on the Star Princess in May 2007. We don't know much about the Dover, Canterbury and Kent areas. I even received some pamphlets from the tourist info centers for the area and I'm still not sure what to see. We're thinking about a tour that takes us to the Cantebury Cathedral and then to Leeds Castle. Would it be better if we concentrated on one area? The ship is scheduled to be in port from 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM.

 

BTW, we will be doing 4 days post in London. So places of interest near London can be sheduled later.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

--Denise

[Wendy The Wanderer]

If you have the whole day, you could certainly see Canterbury and a castle as well. It depends on your style of touring. You could easily spend as much as 2 hours in Canterbury Cathedral, although 1 hour will do. I really enjoyed just walking around town, and on the wall around the medieval part of town, and the parks. And I didn't see lots of other tourist sites there, so you could just spend the whole day in Canterbury, with a nice pub lunch and some shopping.

[wdrl]

If you have the whole day, you could certainly see Canterbury and a castle as well. It depends on your style of touring. You could easily spend as much as 2 hours in Canterbury Cathedral, although 1 hour will do. I really enjoyed just walking around town, and on the wall around the medieval part of town, and the parks. And I didn't see lots of other tourist sites there, so you could just spend the whole day in Canterbury, with a nice pub lunch and some shopping.

 

Thanks for the info. Have you ever been to Leeds Castle? Or has anyone else gone there? Is it worth seeing? We took a cruise around the British Isles and feel we haven't seen any castles. We saw lots of palaces but no "King Arthur" looking castles. Now we're regretting that lack, we had tour options for castles but there were always other places to see. We thought the photos of Leeds Castle looked good. But everything we've read states Canterbury Catherdal is worth the trip.:confused:

 

--Denise

[Globaliser]

We're thinking about a tour that takes us to the Cantebury Cathedral and then to Leeds Castle. Would it be better if we concentrated on one area?

Personally, I'd suggest doing only Canterbury. Although doing both Canterbury Cathedral and Leeds Castle in a single day is possible, you miss out on all the other things in Canterbury, plus you may feel rushed. From Dover, just head for the train station and jump on a train to Canterbury, and do it at your own pace for the day. I think the train takes less than 30 minutes and they run frequently, which is why this is so easy to do under your own steam.

[wdrl]

Globaliser, thanks for the advice. I understand what you're saying about being rushed. We have plenty of time to decide since our cruise isn't until May. In most of the ports for this TA we plan do exactly as you suggest.

 

Is there anyone else who knows anything about Leeds Castle?

 

--Denise

[dbbsteve]

A few years ago we did back-to-back ship tours from Dover to Canterbury (am) and Leeds Castle (pm). The ship docked at 7:00 am, and the bus left at 8:30 am and arrived Canterbury at about 9:15 am, with a short stop at Dover Castle en route. We had about two hours of guided tour at the Canterbury cathedral and the town, and did not feel a need to linger. We were back to the ship at 12:30, had a quick lunch, and departed 1:30 for an afternoon tour to Leeds Castle. The bus drive took about 40 minutes, and the "tour" was self-guided. The castle itself is not large, but it is set on a large green park with lots of water and if the weather is good it is very picturesque. Quite a bit of walking is required and allow plenty of time to get back to the gate and the bus. After touring the castle rooms you may also visit the aviary, a small grotto, and a maze, or have a stroll on the grounds and watch a falcon show. It was a little rushed toward the end, and it had been a tiring day, but we felt it was worthwhile. You may find additional information at http://www.leeds-castle.com.

[wdrl]

dddbsteve, thanks for the details. I've looked at the Leeds Castle website but sometimes tips from past visitors really helps, i.e. your prior post! I hadn't thought about two separate trips.

 

--Denise

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Some people have suggested previously that Dover Castle might be fun. I can't comment on either castle (I get "castled-out" very easily.)

[wdrl]

Thanks for your post. We rarely go to castles but thought we give it a try.

 

--Denise

[wdrl]

Is there really nothing much of interest to do while in Dover? I'm amazed how few comments there are about this port! Does anyone have any other suggestions?

[Taryn and Sarah]

My sister lives at Sissinghurst Gardens, Kent, so I have visited there many times (never on a cruise ship to Dover, however). This is a lovely area to explore.

 

Dover Castle is very interesting. There was a 007 exhibit when I visited years ago, and also caves with information about WWII.

 

I absolutely loved Leeds Castle. There are ponds and gorgeous birds and even a dog collar museum. The maze was fun. The castle itself was different because it was decorated for the 20th century. You could probably take a day tour from London during your 4 days (although there are so many things to do in London itself).

 

Canterbury is a great destination. As others have said, the Cathedral is wonderful and the town is just a nice place to walk around.

 

If you want to see an old fashioned castle, does your ship have an excursion to Bodium Castle? This is a shell that was depicted as Kevin Costner's home in his Robin Hood movie. It has a moat and is just gorgeous--from the outside. You can walk around the ruins inside.

 

And my favorite -- if you want to see a beautiful garden, visit Sissinghurst! The gardens are divided into "rooms", and there is usually something extraordinarily beautiful blooming. You might even see my sister working in the greenhouse there!

[lambs2]

We found the tour of Dover Castle fascinating. the WWII caves are worth the price of entry alone, but there is so much more to see and do. They have restored a part of the castle to how it looked when King henry VIII visited there and it was great! the old church there is really interesting too..and SO MUCH MORE! Spent many hours there and truly enjoyed our day!

 

http://www.dover-web.co.uk/dovercastle.asp

 

Canterbury is well worth a day spent there also!

 

http://www.canterbury.co.uk/

[daiB]

Globaliser, thanks for the advice. I understand what you're saying about being rushed. We have plenty of time to decide since our cruise isn't until May. In most of the ports for this TA we plan do exactly as you suggest.

 

Is there anyone else who knows anything about Leeds Castle?

 

--Denise

 

 

Here is one Link:-

 

http://www.historic-uk.com/DestinationsUK/LeedsCastle.htm

 

You can just google it and you will cone up with a lot of information.

 

However unless you hire a car or go on a tour I feel it would be difficult to do both the castle and Canterbury in a day. I am sure you will be able to pick up a bus from Dover to Leeds Castle for the day but it will need some research. A car may be the best bet.

 

The journey time would be about one, to one and a half, hours. if you avoid the motorway.

 

Canterbury is about 15/20 mile to the west of Dover and Leeds Castle about the same distance again.

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

[Dushi]

We were on the Sep 2006 Star Princess transatlantic and took the ship's "Leeds and Cantebury" excursion. It made no sense to do it on our own since the distance between the two towns was not practical.

 

Leeds is more of a mansion/chateau than an actual castle in the "turrets, dungeons and moat" sense. The grounds are beautiful. I had searched their website beforehand and found out that there was a "medieval re-enactment" on the property that weekend so after the obligatory tour of the "castle" we participated in the extra-curricular activities. Folks were dressed in 18th or 17th century costumes. The women were preparing meals that were common in that day over a wooden fire, there was a blacksmith, soldiers practicing their marching, and some guys dressed as soldiers with the big metal helmets and those 8 ft long iron or steel spears. Hubby donned the heavy helmet, wore a chestplate and posed with the spear for an entertaining photo.

 

The bus then drops you off in Canterbury. The entrance fee to the Cathedral is not included in the price of the tour but it is well worth it if you like churches. The stained glass and the intricately designed roof (remember to look up) are awesome. The town itself is small but charming, easily doable in 2 hours. After the cathedral, we picked up a "Cornish Pastie" from one of the many fast food pastie establishment and sat on a bench watching people walk by.