Dover

Saturday we drove to Dover to see the famed white cliffs and Dover Castle. The castle was built in the 1180s by Henry II. The keep is surrounded by 2 rings of wall fortifications, and the whole thing is massively impressive!

I took the photo below from on top of the castle keep. This is a Saxon church and, to the right, one of the most complete Roman lighthouses in all of Europe.

The castle and grounds are beautiful, but the highlight was the tour of the Secret Wartime Tunnels, dug deep into the white cliffs on the castle grounds. There are tunnels from Medieval times, the Napoleonic Wars, and a set of World War II tunnels, which are very extensive. There was even a complete, functioning underground hospital there during the War! We were very impressed with our tour guide Mary, who managed to tactfully discuss the Napoleonic Wars and WWII with a very diverse group that included Germans, French and, of course, 2 crazy Americans. She did a great job. (No photography was allowed in the tunnels, but I snapped this photo of Jacob in the entry to the tunnels, which is one of the WWII tunnels.)

The tunnels are also reportedly haunted, but we didn't see any ghosts. And our s-i-l Melissa will be delighted to know that the video we watched during the tour ended with the song "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover."

We went from the castle grounds to the white cliffs, which are breathtaking! We're excited to cross the Channel to France sometime and view the cliffs from the English Channel. We experienced gale-force winds while walking along the cliffs, which have no railing. We're glad we didn't fall!

(Up next on English Patience ... a virtual tour of our house! Stay tuned.)