Dover Castle
Sunday 22 June 2008
With a strained ligament in his foot, Stephen looked
to do something different but easy today, and a train ride through Kent
was settled upon....
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-150432_small.jpg)
Walking from the railway station towards the town centre, the castle
looms over the town. Although I was supposed to be resting my foot, the
castle was a great temptation, and with my foot behaving itself after a
week of rest, I decided to see how I got on, and walked through the town
and up the hill
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-141512_small.jpg)
Once there I found that English Heritage were demanding £10.30 to enter
the castle, even though the keep was closed because of the strong winds.
It being such a large site, with so much to see, this isn't bad value if
you make the most of it, but I didn't have time to linger, and really
wanted a cheap "quickie" ticket, but there was no such thing available.
After wavering for several minutes, I decided that I might as well see
the place having got this far, and pulled out my wallet.
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-142309_small.jpg)
Looking through arrow-loops on Avranches Tower, which dates from the
12th century
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-142431_small.jpg)
The sea to the east
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-142511_small.jpg)
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-142543_small.jpg)
Looking back to Avranches Tower
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-142559_small.jpg)
The keep - closed today but looking very imposing
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-142828_small.jpg)
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-142832_small.jpg)
Looking down on the Eastern Docks
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-142925_small.jpg)
A World War II anti-aircraft gun, with on the left the Roman lighthouse,
11th-century church, the keep, and various 19th-century magazines
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-143010_small.jpg)
The Western Docks
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-143419_small.jpg)
A gull watches over the entrance to the Western Docks
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-143357_small.jpg)
The church of St Mary-in-Castro dates from around 1000, but was in ruins
by about 1720, and restored as the garrison church in 1826: the crossing
tower was completed in 1888. At this end is the Roman lighthouse (Pharos)
which dates from the 1st century: the top section was reconstructed
c1415-37. A second lighthouse stood on Dover's Western Heights.
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-143523_small.jpg)
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-143946_small.jpg)
Inside the church
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-144352_small.jpg)
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-144518_small.jpg)
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-144705_small.jpg)
The moat as I make my departure after a whistle-stop tour.
![](../../images/2008/2008-06/2008-06-22-144737_small.jpg)
Looking out over the town before a fairly quick descent of the
hill through Dover to the station for the 1522 back to London
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