The White Cliffs of Dover is all we remember from a cruise that ended in this port many years ago. We had a two hour bus ride to Heathrow, which was quite scenic passing the green countryside dotted with estates. And since most HAL world cruises seldom venture this far north, we have never visited London. To do it justice, it would be a better idea to begin or end a trip here and stay a few days. However, we suspect that many guests chose to do the 2 hour ride to London, since they missed tours into Paris, which was cancelled.
Breakfast was back on deck three, but we found out the cappuccino machine was broken. One of us ends the morning meal with one cup, so it was disappointing that it broke. Oh no, what else can happen? Probably shouldn't ask…..
We watched the pier activity from the promenade deck and wondered if we could walk out of the port. As hard as we tried to listen to Ian's talk, we sure do not remember if he said we could. The shuttles provided today came with a cost of 8 pounds or $10 USD (cash or credit card). This would be an all day pass coming and going as much as one liked. Doing some research online, we fund that this shuttle service is charged to all of the cruise lines. But it sure would have been nice if HAL footed the bill for the guests and crew, as they have done on previous world cruises. For instance, one time in Singapore, the ship had to dock in the container port further away from the city center. We had to buy a bus pass, but we were refunded the amount after turning in the passes. Having to pay the money, ruffled a lot of passenger's feathers, but the credit calmed them down.
We left the ship at 11:15am and had every intention of talking the bus, especially if we could not walk out of the port. Going through the large terminal, we found our way to the exit. We had picked up a city map in the terminal, but before leaving we asked the agent at the exit if we could walk out on our own. He said yes, then gave us verbal directions on how to walk if we chose to do that. When we saw how long the line for the shuttle was, we changed our minds, and decided to walk.
One bus was almost full, but not leaving until noontime. The next bus was not even there yet, and we might not have made that one with such a long line. Just then, the agent came running after us with a better map, and explicit directions, saying it should take 30 minutes to walk to town. And he suggested a better route so we could see more. We thanked him as he ran back to his station. We figured by the time the first bus left, we would be halfway to town. Turned out, we were right.
So off we went, and we were not alone. Others had decided to walk as well. Why not? It was a nice day, a bit chilly, but dressed properly, it was OK. We headed out of the port gate, then out to the main road. Turning right, we found a bridge that took us to the Marina and a very large square at the Clocktower. Crossing another lift bridge, we made our way along the Waterloo Crescent where we saw a pavilion, a monument, and Dunkirk Memorial. Also here was a row of elegant houses dating back to 1830 to 1838. Before the war, they extended along the seafront. Both world wars had a huge impact on this city.
Taking a left turn, we found the entrance to Market Square where the shuttle stop was. Making our way up the street, we stopped at St. Mary's the Virgin Church founded in 1100. There was a surrounding cemetery, and in time, the church needed much work due to the number of burials under the floor. It was closed to the public. Just as we were admiring the massive flowering crabapple tree in the front, we heard Heo and Greg calling us from across the street. They were with Ginni and Rich and were headed up to the Dover Castle with 2000 years of history. The shuttle bus would take them there, but where was it? We had taken a walk through town, and visited the Pencester Gardens, then walked part of the river that surrounded the gardens. We read that brown trout are in this river. Having gone full circle, we spotted the foursome still waiting for the bus, along with many more folks. What was not mentioned was the fact the buses were not running as frequently as was reported. But since this Medieval Castle was so high up on the steep knoll, few would choose to hike up there. Then there wasn't anything mentioned in the lecture onboard that the cost to go inside was 23 pounds. Of course once up there, the group decided to go inside and explore, then they stayed for a lunch on the property.
We did walk part of the town but did miss some important sights as we did not go far enough. There is so much history with the world wars here, it would take days to see and understand it all.
However, it was past our lunch time, and we went in search of pizza and beer. But first, we went to the Dover Museum right off of the square. It also doubled as the info center, where many maps and booklets were available. Can never have too much information. This museum was on three levels, with the top floor housing a display of the world's oldest known sea-going vessel dating back to 1550 BC. Incredible seeing the remains of such a vessel, which was deteriorated, but still intact enough to recognize as a sea vessel. The name of this vessel is the Dover Bronze Age Boat. Also in this museum were artifacts from that era, as well as a polar bear and a lion's head and torso. Someone in town was a collector and donated them to this museum.
Right cross from the Museum was a pub by the name of Elephant and Hind. Odd, but true. They had pizza and beer…..right up our alley. We went inside to a table for two and ordered two pints of ice-cold draft beer, and a BBQ chicken pizza for a change of pace. All of it was good, and relaxing for a while was even better. From here, we back-tracked the way we had come, finding the hike back not to seem as far as we thought. If we had the time and the energy of a twenty-five year old, we could have hiked up to the white cliffs and the South Foreland Lighthouse and Tea Room up there. In addition, Fan Bay Deep Shelter with underground tunnels is located on these cliffs. These tunnel were bored through the chalk cliffs and used by the soldiers for speed to get down to the sea level in case of invasion. A better example of these shafts was at The Grand Shaft in town, where you could see the spiral staircase that went straight down with 140 steps. Well if we ever come back here, we will continue our exploration of these famous sights.
We were back at the ship by 3:30pm, and spent the rest of the afternoon working online and doing research for everything we had just seen. While one of us was busy processing hundreds of photos, the other sat on the freshly-cleaned veranda writing at the table. That lasted until it got so chilly, it was necessary to go inside to warm up. Without the sun on our side, it was way too cold and breezy to be comfortable. It was interesting to watch the ferry traffic coming and going. We read in one of the many brochures that an incredible amount of people travel on these ferries every year, making Dover one of the busiest international ports in Europe. It was also recorded that in 2014, 120 cruise ships used Dover Harbour. Today, we were the only one here.
Time for dinner, we noticed the dining room was not full. All aboard was at 8:30pm, and we figured many guests were taking that opportunity to eat dinner in town. Or perhaps, they had taken the longest tour to London. We had no complaints because the level of noise was far reduced. Most all of us had done something different today, and as always, it was fun sharing our experiences. Greg and Heo reported that they talked to some folks who had a two hour wait for the shuttle bus to either continue up to the castle, or go back to the ship. That reminded us of the ho-ho bus trips in some places, where most of your precious time is wasted while waiting for the connecting rides. Two friends of ours had taken the shuttle to Market Square, then did that strenuous hike to Dover Castle. However, when they got up there, it did not open for another 45 minutes and the entry fee turned them away. However, they had one of the best English meals in a restaurant in town. Since there were several types of English cuisine on tonight's menu, not familiar to us, we had one fish and chips dinner, and one of us had the cheeseburger, an everyday option. Fun for a change.
The clocks went ahead one hour tonight, which was not nice. Despite the loss of one hour of sleep, the entertainer Michelle Montouri was a must see according to Greg, who said her first show was a winner.
Tomorrow will be in Belgium bright and early.
Bill & Mary Ann
Monday, April 17, 2023
Report #107 Sunday April 16, 2023 Dover, England 7am-8:30pm Docked Starboard Side To Pier Overcast With Afternoon Sun Temps 40-52 Degrees
