Day Four – Wednesday 16 May 2012

Canterbury – Hastings

Temperature:  7 degrees to 14 degrees

Weather:  dry, overcast with sunny spells (the BBC ‘s forecast!)

Accommodation:  Alexander's Hotel.

We tootled out of Canterbury taking the slower route through some pretty little villages and very green countryside.  England is in drought however from and Australian viewpoint everything looks lush and green with fields sown with crops and sheep grazing.

Dover is only 45 miles (England still operates in the imperial system) from Canterbury so we didn’t have far to go to see the White Cliffs.  They are part of a national park and we duly paid our three pounds to enter.  It was a lovely walk overlooking the water below to Langdon Cliffs opening and shutting the styles to a wonderful vantage point.  The cliffs were resplendently white as the sun turned it on for us for our walk.  It was only later I thought I should have sung Vera Lynn’s song...I missed my opportunity. We followed this up with an early lunch and some Kent cake (fruit) before we set off to Dover Castle.

Dover Castle was only a couple of minutes away and came highly recommended and it sits high above Dover.  The castle was first built by Henry II in very rapid time:  1178 – 1189.  It comprises the original Keep, gatehouses, church and more modern buildings showing the vantage point of this site to the closeness of France. 

We wandered through Colton’s Gate (built in the thirteenth century) to the old Roman lighthouse (pharos) built in 120AD.  It abuts a delightful early Saxon church which has been reconstructed after many used over the centuries including a coal store in the 1800’s.  It is known as the soldier’s church as many have prayed here before heading into battle.  As we walked up to the large protecting wall the sun shone once again and we could see all the way to France over calm seas.  There are probably not a lot of days this can be done!

The Keep has been restored to reflect the life and times of Henry II and is a fascinating glimpse of twelfth century life including the wonderful bright colours in all the rooms.  Apparently, colours were very expensive and this reflected the wealth of the royal.  A chapel behind the throne room is a consecrated area and Thomas Beckett prayed here.  Some special services are still held here.

We then wandered through the Military Museum which showed a history of The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment and the Queen’s Regiment.  It was well set out in a lineal history of uniforms and battles and proved to be very interesting.

Dover Castle has an extensive history and was used as recently as the 1960s. Over two thousand soldiers were housed here during the Napoleonic Wars.   During the second world war Churchill planned war campaigns - most notably Operation Dynamo which withdrew hundreds of thousands of soldiers from Dunkirk in 1940.  We toured only a small part of the four mile of tunnels which has three levels.  The presentation included a soldier barking orders at us to sit down and watch a movie (all old black and white) of how England and its allies became involved in the war and actual footage of events surrounding the evacuation of Dunkirk screened on old tunnel walls.  The old war table with long poles to move ships around on the battle board and old telephonist’s boards were fascinating.  It was one of the best presentations I have seen for a long time.

King Henry II and his wife Queen Eleanor!

The now not so secret tunnels.

Dover Castle did not disappoint after all the recommendations.

We set off once again aiming for Rye or Hastings.  The countryside was bathed in sunlight and there were hundreds of sheep and lambs enjoying the sunshine I’m sure after a few very cold bleak days.  As we talk to the English on the way they are heartily sick of their colder grey days this year.

Not being used to the short distances we decided to press on from Rye and head to Hastings (yes, 1066 and all that!) which nestles on the sea and boasts a wonderful pebble beach.  We are yet to see anyone swim!  It took some time to find accommodation as we had the brilliant idea of going to the information centre.  Finding it was like looking for the needle in a haystack….we would pass the signs and then they would run out!! Eventually, we found a three storey hotel on the esplanade and as we booked in late we had the task of taking the luggage up the three flights of stairs.

After a wander through the main area of town we settled on a Mexican restaurant which proved to be a very tasty choice.

Another interesting day of adventure and exploring the southern English countryside!