Here on these Cliffs of Dover
On Saturday, Sam and I took a day trip to Dover and Canterbury. It’s totally crazy how tiny England is, because it took us only an hour by train to reach what felt like a completely different world.
Dover is famous for the White Cliffs, but is actually a fairly large town you could spend the whole day meandering. The most famous attraction besides the White Cliffs is Dover Castle, sitting imposingly on the cliffside overlooking the sea and the town.
I was so impressed with Dover Castle. The site has always been somewhat fortified, probably by the Romans in the Bronze Age but then more officially by William the Conqueror in the 11th century. The castle that’s there today, however, was built by King Henry II in the 12th century–and it’s decorated now like it would’ve looked like when he lived there, which made me feel like a real medieval princess.
Additional buildings were added in the 18th century during the Napoleonic Wars, and the beginnings of a miles-long tunnel system were dug (by hand) underneath the castle. In 1939, the tunnels were converted into first an air-raid shelter, and then a military command center used primarily for the Dunkirk rescue operation (“Operation Dynamo”). The part of the tunnels we were able to tour is apparently just a fraction of them, but it was so cool to imagine secret military operations happening in these tiny rooms.
We were able to get a bit of a glimpse of the cliffs, but they’re hard to see since the castle is on top of them. If we were in Dover for a full day, we would’ve hiked to a different spot to see them from afar. Before we left for Canterbury, we stopped at Castle Takeaway for fish ’n’ chips. Mmm, greasy.
From Dover we took a twenty-minute train ride to Canterbury: a World Heritage Site, home to the Church of England, namesake of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, and most definitely haunted. By the way, if you’re looking for something light and fun to read, I would not recommend The Canterbury Tales. One woman’s opinion, though. Geoffrey Chaucer was ambitious, for sure, but dense. I did enjoy “The Miller’s Tale,” however, because it’s really funny and probably the most well-known, so if you had to read one tale, read that one.
Sam and I first went to the Canterbury Cathedral, a place of pilgrimage for millions of Anglicans each year. The characters from The Canterbury Tales were headed to this church as well (at the time Catholic) to see the Becket Shrine. Archbishop Thomas Becket was constantly in conflict with King Henry II (same dude who built Dover Castle), and so the King’s knights murdered Becket at the Cathedral in 1170. He became a martyr and is said to haunt the Cathedral’s crypts (by far the coolest part of the Cathedral). His shrine, however, was destroyed by King Henry VIII during the Protestant Reformation, so all that is left is a perpetually-burning candle in its place. The Cathedral was absolutely beautiful, especially with the choir singing while we were there.
Next we walked past Tiny Tim’s Tearoom, haunted by three children. Renovations of the tea room a few years ago revealed children’s’ teeth, hair, and date of birth and death behind the wall panelling. I wish we could’ve had tea there, but almost all the tourist attractions close by 4pm, and we were too late at that point. Next time I’ll try to make it there, along with The Canterbury Tales museum.
We did, however, make it on a small boat tour down the (usually, but not that day) crystal-clear tiny river. The river is flanked by old wooden houses and pubs as well as low stone bridges that are a thousand years old. We even passed a small wooden chair on a see-saw used hundreds of years ago to drown “witches” or corrupt businessmen (this is where the phrase “business going under” comes from). It’s even worse considering that at the time, the river was entirely sewage waste…
Sam and I ended our Canterbury afternoon at Bishop’s Finger, Britain’s oldest brewery and evidently also haunted by a woman named Ellen Blean who poisoned her husband then mysteriously disappeared–her body was found walled up in a nearby building. Sadly we didn’t run into her. But ghosts aside, Bishop’s Finger is so cozy, full of both locals and tourists gathered around to drink local beer, eat their famous chicken wings (which I had and would highly recommend), and watch the annual Cambridge vs. Oxford Men’s Rowing competition (Cambridge won).
We took the train back to London and were home by 9pm. I would highly recommend taking a day trip out of London! The National Rail can be a little expensive (don’t bring it up with a Brit), but going from London to Dover, Dover to Canterbury, and Canterbury to London cost about $40 total, which I think is definitely worth it. Excited to continue exploring more outside of London!
By the way, I am so proud of everyone who marched in March For Our Lives. I definitely should’ve been there, but I am with you! Living in a country with common-sense gun laws the last few months has made the US seem absolutely insane sometimes. Hopefully this is a real, transformative wake up call. Proud of my generation!
