As always, the images and any videos in this posting are best viewed on the web page. View the complete set of blog posts here.
The first image below was taken from the sliding door of our stateroom. The next two were taken by Cheyl during our approach to the dock. From the internet: “The White Cliffs of Dover are an iconic, 350-foot-high section of the English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. They are primarily known as a symbol of British resilience and home, a historic natural fortress, and a geologic marvel composed of ancient chalk.” You can clearly see the castle we will visit later in both images. An excellent view as we approached the port.
We had two primary activities today. In the morning, we explored Dover Castle, followed by a quick walk through downtown. In the afternoon, we boarded a bus and toured nearby Canterbury.
Our included tour this morning was a trip to Dover Castle, which is a very large fort complex located high above the iconic White Cliffs. Many views of the fortress exterior. As you can see from Cheryl’s images above, the fort faces east and was therefore an important outlook for invaders from France or elsewhere!
The grounds include Colton’s Gate (or Colton’s Tower), an octagonal medieval gateway and defensive tower. It is a prominent, well-preserved fortification that originally controlled access to the castle’s inner ward.
St. Mary’s Church. From the internet: “St. Mary in Castro (St. Mary’s Church) is a rare Anglo-Saxon church located within the grounds of Dover Castle. Built around 1000 AD, it is famous for being attached to an ancient Roman lighthouse, the Pharos, which historically served as the church’s bell tower. The cruciform church was built using flint, ragstone, and reused Roman bricks. It may have originally served as a regional minster church.“
The fort had a lookout platform overlooking the water. The cliffs are visible in the first image. The Viking Sky docked in the distance. Finally, a panorama of the skyline.
The castle interior was spacious, and we were able to walk through much of it, including the winding, narrow stairway to the rooftop. The castle had sparse furnishings on display, but it gave us a good sense of how the king lived. The second photo is the main chamber of the house. The third, fourth, and sixth images are of the kitchen. The fifth photo is the king’s bedroom. I was surprised by the bright colors of the furniture and the fabric.
We left the fort and took the 20-minute walk to downtown. We did not find Dover all that photogenic, so we did not document our visit. After striking out in our search for a restaurant, we returned to the Sky for lunch and prepared for our trip to Canterbury.
The afternoon tour – Historic Canterbury – Take a stroll around the beautiful city of Canterbury and explore its sights at your leisure. Board your motor coach for a short drive to this historic city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Meet your guide and enjoy a short orientation walk that will introduce you to Canterbury’s main sights. View the city’s Roman walls and gates while learning about the origins of the Canterbury Cross. See St. George’s Tower and Canterbury High Street, and stroll the city’s maze of ancient avenues. Your guide will regale you with historic tales from the Anglo-Saxons to the Tudors as you discover more about the city’s fascinating past. You may walk to the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral, where you can enjoy free time to explore at your leisure. Or you may continue to discover more of Canterbury, where pilgrims’ inns and weavers’ houses still stand to this day.
Our guide took us on a short tour of the city, which was very interesting and definitely catered to tourists. The first image shows a close-up view of the iconic Dover Cliffs as we were leaving the port. Image 4 is a city map of Canterbury. The other images are the streets we walked.
The next building is the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, with distinct Tudor Revival architecture. The second is the Westgate Tower, one of England’s largest surviving medieval gateways, built around 1380.
There were two really interesting statues downtown. The first is a statue of Aphra Behn, which is next to the Beany House of Art and Knowledge (displayed directly above). She was Britain’s first female professional playwright, poet, writer, and spy. Her work suffered from gender bias and has been more recently praised.
The second is Geoffrey Chaucer, who has been called the ‘father of English literature’, or alternatively, the ‘father of English poetry’. He was the first writer to be buried in what has since become Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. The base of the statue depicts scenes from The Canterbury Tales.
There were numerous buildings with traditional Tudor architecture, including brick facades. I thought the pastel-painted houses on Blackfriars Street were kind of cool.
The city is home to the Canterbury Cathedral. The first image below is Christ Church Gate, the main entrance from downtown to the cathedral grounds. The other images were all taken from inside the church and around the cathedral grounds. The Cathedral Complex is quite large and, of course, stunning. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. A few bits of history: It is the home of the Anglican Church and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Originally built by St. Augustine of the Benedictine Order in 597, it has been rebuilt and expanded twice due to fires and battles. The current cathedral is built in the Gothic style. It is the resting place of royals and saints, and Archbishop Thomas Becket is buried here after his murder by King Henry II’s knights in the cathedral in 1170.
Our tour initially did not include entry to the church interior. Our group was viewing the cathedral from a distance after passing through the Church Gate. We were approached by volunteers who were ready to take us inside and start a tour. Our guide politely explained that they likely had the wrong group, as our package did not include viewing the interior. After some back-and-forth (the volunteers wanted something to do), they told us to go ahead and enter, so in we went. Another simply beautiful cathedral.
Canterbury has Roman-built canals that originate from the River Stour, which wind through downtown with boat rides available. The third image is a video.
Many of the building exterior walls have flint siding. From the internet: “Eastern England’s flint walls are iconic architectural features built from locally abundant silica nodules. Predominant in counties like Norfolk and Suffolk, these structures range from simple rubble-cored boundary walls to medieval churches. Common masonry techniques include decorative Flushwork and knapping.” Really interesting looking and a great example of builders using locally available materials.
After the church, we had time to explore on our own. We walked up and down the main street and checked out all of the buildings and stores. We found a tea shop that serves great meat pies. Cheryl purchased a pie and coffee, while I had breakfast tea (FWIW: the tea is better in England. It just is.) We enjoyed a quiet few minutes in the shop before rejoining the tour.
Returning from Canterbury back to the ship, we had a terrific view of Dover Castle from its western side.
We are very eager to arrive in Greenwich tomorrow, as our daughters Nicole and Christine arrive in London to join us on the Viking Star for a ship tour followed by dinner. We cannot wait to see them.
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