When the world is free

There'll be bluebirds over

The white cliffs of Dover

Tomorrow

Just you wait and see.

There'll be lover and laughter

And peace ever after

Tomorrow

When the world is free.

The White Cliffs of Dover seem to be inextricably linked to Britain's identity - especially with regards to the Second World War. The white cliffs represent freedom, as this was the first sight for many soldiers returning from the war. They also represent fortitude and seem to stand guard, watching out across the Dover Strait. If you have ever heard the song by Vera Lynn, you know the lyrics, talking about peace and freedom. If you haven't heard the song, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqtaoz4QFX8

This great symbol of Britain is where we chose to spend the last day of my parents' holiday in the UK. Between the cliffs and the castle, it is now one of my favourite places in England - definitely my favourite castle.

White Cliffs of Dover in the fog

The day started off somewhat rainy again, and our first view of the cliffs was through a grey fog. I have to say, even with the fog, the cliffs were pretty impressive. What might not impress you is the town of Dover. Somewhat industrial and run down, don't let the town fool you - just stop by for a map and to talk to someone at the information office about how to get up to the castle and then get on your way. The Strait of Dover is the narrowest part of the channel between England and France, and is therefore where the Channel Tunnel, otherwise known as the Chunnel, runs. The town of Dover is full of trucks entering and leaving from all parts of Europe and the waterfront area looks pretty industrial. If you take the train from London to Paris, the train runs above ground until Dover and then goes under the channel from Dover. There are also ferries leaving constantly from the port. You may want to stop quickly at the beach to get a faraway view of the cliffs. I would recommend not staying in this area too long, however, as there is so much to explore past the town. We definitely spent too long there, because we didn't know what was waiting for us.

After getting directions from the information office, we drove up the hill toward Dover Castle. What a fantastic castle. We arrived about 3 hours before closing, which still wasn't quite long enough in my opinion. The castle is huge, in fact I just read that the castle is actually the largest in England, and it seems as if you can explore almost every nook and cranny. When we arrived, the car park/ parking lot was full - yet, as we walked around, it seemed as if we were the only people there. Not sure what it's like in the summer or if there's any additional parking somewhere else, because it seemed as if you could fit a whole lot more people within the walls of the castle.

Dover Castle - a castle of layers

Dover Castle has so many layers of history, it's absolutely fascinating. The castle was used as fortification right up through the Second World War. It has been so important in the defense of England that it is sometimes referred to as the Key to England. It was originally built in the 12th century, though there is evidence that there was a fortification in this location prior to the building of the castle. Since the castle is so layered, here is a quick breakdown of Dover Castle and cliffs throughout the years...

Roman occupation: In about 55 BC Caesar and his army were searching for the ideal coastal area from which to invade England. He bypassed Dover as he saw his enemies waiting for him along the cliffs. He wrote down his impression of Dover's cliffs which became the first record of the importance of the White Cliffs. He instead landed around the Deal area (about a 20 minutes drive from Dover) and invaded from there. The Romans had to leave Britain soon after to defend their claim on Gaul (France), but when returned in 43 AD, they had a large army so the Britons surrendered and the Romans stayed for 400 years. The Romans built two lighthouses or Pharos on the coast, one of which is located within the castle grounds, and is the oldest building you can see at the castle. It is apparently one of best-preserved lighthouses of its kind in Europe. During the 5th century, the Romans needed to return to defend their home and Dover was taken over by the Anglo-Saxons. Beside the Roman lighthouse, the Saxons built a church, St. Mary in Castro, which you can actually go inside. It was majorly renovated and restored throughout the years after being built however.

Saxon church and Roman lighthouse

Norman invasion: After the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror - a Norman King intent on ruling England - marched through Dover which he had heard was 'impregnable.' The English who held the fortifications, however, surrendered and William the Conqueror built a new castle at this location. Because of William's hold on Normandy and England, Dover became an important point as the location to cross between England and France.

Medieval Dover: During the 12th century, Henry II, ruler of England, rebuilt the castle. He added a great tower where he could receive important guests. Later, Dover, once again, became an important point of fortification - this time against the French. Prince Louis sieged against King John in Dover between 1216-1217, but was not successful. During the siege, the English tunneled down below the castle and out, in order to attack the French. You can explore these medieval tunnels as far as they still go. John's son, Henry III, added three gatehouses and extra fortifications after the siege.

View from the roof of the tower

Napoleonic Wars: During the Napoleonic Wars, at the end of the 18th century, the castle's fortifications were again strengthened. More tunnels were built under the cliff top, but were mostly abandoned after the wars. There are 5 levels of tunnels, though you can only visit 2 of the levels. The town was also linked and fortified with the castle, becoming a garrison town.

The World Wars: Dover was an important location during the wars as ships were able to cross here from England to Northern France. It was repeatedly bombed by airplanes and attacked by ships; the first bomb dropped on England fell near Dover Castle. The tunnels created during the Napoleonic Wars, as well as newly excavated tunnels, were used as secret wartime tunnels during the Second World War. These tunnels were used as shelter and a hospital for wounded men. The tunnels remained in use until the end of the cold war. The town suffered much damage from the constant bombings of both World Wars, and this is one reason Dover is a symbol of bravery for Britain. During the tour of the secret wartime tunnels, it was mentioned that bombs weren't particularly aimed at the castle - if I remember correctly, this was because Hitler imagined he would use Dover Castle as his headquarters if victorious. You can visit the secret wartime tunnels on a tour during which you will hear imagined conversations between people in the tunnels and see what it might have looked like during the wars. 

View of the castle from the cliffs

Whew, that was a long one. Dover has had an amazingly complicated past and been so important in many pivotal moments in England's history. I didn't realise how many layers there would be to explore when we decided to go to Dover. It's clear when you go to the castle and each part of the castle is labeled with the era it was built during.

We were there for 3 hours, but we only toured one wartime tunnel (there's two tours), the tower and the medieval tunnels. We barely had a glance at the Saxon church and Roman lighthouse, and didn't have time to explore the walls of the castle! We did stop in the gift shop for a few minutes when it started to rain again. This gift shop was worth the visit I think. There was a station for tasting various types of mead and wine as well as chutneys and jams set up at the back of the shop. The traditional mead was delicious and we bought some. In fact, everyone I saw visit that tasting station bought a bottle of mead! Try it if you dare ;)

View from the top

Finally, after our visit to the castle, we decided to explore the cliffs a bit more. We took a walk along the clifftops, until the parking lot was meant to be closing. Since we didn't yet feel satisfied, we decided to go for a drive along the cliff top. We ended up at a little town called Saint-Margaret's-at-Cliffe. From there you can drive down a winding road to a beach at the bottom of the white cliffs. It was beautiful and, of course, the sun was starting to shine - just in time to set.

Where to eat: 
Well, we packed a picnic lunch and we weren't planning on staying for dinner. However, when we were down on the beach below Saint-Margaret's-on-Cliffe, we found a pub by the name of The Coastguard serving some local beers, ciders and fish. It was delicious with a beautiful view of the ocean...the only thing that would have made it better is enough warmth to have been able to sit outside. As it was, we had a great view out the window. We even ordered a cheese plate for after dinner with some English cheeses to taste. Yum. http://www.thecoastguard.co.uk/

View from the bottom

And that was the end to my wonderful week exploring in and around London with my parents! The next day we said goodbye until I go home, which will probably be in about 5-6 months :(

Now that I've finished up the blog posts about that week, I hope to begin posting once a week, rather than every - or every other - day. I have so many things I have done this year and I have been a bit lax with the blog, so I have LOTS to write about. So....
Until next time!

xox

All the world's a stage...

So, Friday, we ended up going to three different locations, clustered close together - Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle and Coventry. Hopefully I'll be able to fit a brief description of all three places in one post... But we'll just have to see how it goes.

King Edward VI School

Stratford-upon-Avon: In case you don't know, this is where Shakespeare grew up (hence the name of the post). Many interesting buildings date back to the medieval period, as this is when Stratford was developed as a town. In fact, 1196 is when Stratford became an official town. Shakespeare was baptised at the Holy Trinity Church in 1564. In his 20s, he moved to London to act and write plays. He moved back to Stratford in 1613 and died a few years later. He is now buried in the Holy Trinity Church as well (you can visit his burial place for £2, which we didn't do). It's a nice little church, which Shakespeare would have visited while growing up in Stratford. Aside from the church, you can visit many places that Shakespeare would have lived or visited such as his birthplace, the house where his wife's family lived (Anne Hathaway's Cottage), his daughter's house (Hall's Croft) and various buildings that belonged to his mom and dad's families. You can also see King Edward VI School, which is most likely where he would have gone to school. Stratford is another town with many festivals, so keep an eye out if you are planning a visit.

Shakespeare's birthplace

It was very  exciting, as an English major especially, to visit the bard's hometown, even though it was another rainy day. However, we opted out of buying tickets to go inside the buildings. I'm sure it's all very interesting, but the tickets are on the pricey side - around £23 for access to five buildings (Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Hall's Croft, Harvard House, Mary Arden's Farm, Shakespeare's Birthplace and Shakespeare's Grave) and prices vary for visits to individual buildings. Personally, I think it would probably be worth it on a warm, sunny day - a day when you are willing to walk from place to place as there can be about 15-20 minute walk between different places; it wasn't very enticing on a cold, rainy day with a limited time. As we were getting ready to leave, the sun came out. Though it didn't get any warmer, my dad insisted on getting the quintessential vanilla ice cream with a flake in it :) To be fair, they were being sold from boats on the River Avon, which was kind of cool. Then we headed off.

Sunny late afternoon at Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle: Warwick (pronounced worr-ik) Castle is only about a 20 minute drive from Stratford. The castle is currently owned by the Tussauds Group, a group who owns tourist attractions and amusement parks around England and one or two in Europe (think Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Legoland etc). Prior to being turned into a tourist attraction by the Tussauds Group, the castle was actually a country home to the Greville Family, Earls of Warwick, from about 1604 until 1978. However, as a country home, the castle was already open to the public on and off, bringing in tourists to support the local economy. If we go back even further, the castle started out as a fortified settlement in 914 but, in 1068, William the Conqueror had conquered the Midlands. In order to hold the Midlands while he moved north, he built a castle at this spot. The style of castle he built required an additional mound to be constructed and the castle to be situated on top of the mound. The mound is called Ethelfleda's Mound. When the castle was taken over by King Henry II in 1153, he replaced William the Conqueror's castle with a larger stone castle. Throughout the centuries, the castle grew larger and the fortifications stronger.

View from a tower (Caesar Tower I think)

These days, the castle is uniquely a tourist attraction and it shows: colourful signs, games for which they shamelessly demand you pay extra and flashy shows. However, if you turn a blind eye to the touristiness, the castle is very beautiful and it is huge. We walked around the towers and ramparts, up Ethelfleda's Mound, around the gaol and into the wax museum area. The wax museum is set up as a Victorian party, decorated with furniture and wax people. There are recordings playing, as if the people are talking about a party that is going to be happening in the evening. The set up of the wax museum was very well done, to the point where I felt uncomfortable at first - as if I actually was crashing a Victorian party and intruding into somebody's home.

Ethelfleda's Mound

Pricing tip: if you are not interested in the shows, arriving about an hour and a half before closing time gets you a half price ticket. I couldn't find online exactly when the half price deal starts, but it's definitely worth the slightly quicker visit for the cheaper price. In my opinion, the entrance fee is overpriced - though the castle is beautiful. It's around £25 for adults and not much less for children and seniors. Many online reviews say the same thing - nice castle, but too expensive. If you are planning to go earlier in the day, try to at least book online as the online prices are cheaper. Click here to get to the pricing page. 

The hollow inside of the old Coventry Cathedral

Coventry Cathedral:  Since Coventry is only 15 minutes from Warwick Castle and the sun was still shining, we decided to pay the cathedral a quick visit - though we were getting tired from all the touring. Actually, Coventry has three Cathedrals, but we went to see the old St. Michael's Cathedral which is commonly referred to as Coventry Cathedral. It is a cathedral that was built in the 14th century, but, during the Second World War, was mostly destroyed in the Coventry Blitz. It is an now an open shell of the cathedral, with the tower and spire the only part of the building still in tact. It is a beautiful building, but a grim reminder of the damage of war. The spire itself is awe-inspiring and is actually the third tallest spire in England. As you drive into Coventry, you will run into mostly newer buildings - probably because all the older buildings were destroyed during the blitz. But as you approach the cathedral, you might start noticing the spire against the sky. Then, all of a sudden, you turn down a street and you are among medieval buildings with an open cathedral in the middle. Unfortunately, we arrived late, so we couldn't go inside the walls of the cathedral, but the entrances are blocked only by gates, meaning you can still have a look inside even if you can't walk inside.

The spire and tower

A few interesting facts about Coventry:

• It was officially the capital of England on and off through the 15th century.
• There may have been a settlement in this area since the Bronze age - a couple thousand years B.C.
• In 1043, Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his famous wife, Lady Godiva, founded a Benedictine nunnery in Coventry. Lady Godiva, legend has it, rode naked on a horse through the streets of Coventry to oppose a taxation law put in place by her husband.

After a quick visit around the cathedral, we grabbed a coffee from Starbucks and headed home for a tired night in.

I did it! I fit all three locations into one post! Though it may be on the long side. Hope you learned something and enjoyed reading about these historic areas in the West Midlands. These areas are definitely worth the visit, despite the heavy tourism. In my opinion, the tourism is mainly due to the fact that these areas ARE worth visiting and that they are within day-trip distance of London. Plus they give you a good feel for medieval architecture and life, especially if you can ignore some of the flashiness (especially at Stratford and Warwick).

Hopefully this weekend I'll finish up my posts following my day trip adventures from last week, but I have another trip planned for tomorrow already, so bear with me!

Until next time...
xox