I have always wanted to see the white cliffs of Dover - maybe seeing it in movies, BBC shows, news and documentaries over the years set my imagination in motion - what makes them white - I wanted to see them in person. Back to King’s Cross station to catch a train to Ashford - a town in Kent, England - closer to the south eastern coast. We arrived a little after noon and set out to find our hotel. Google maps says we are there, but we can’t find it - after a few minutes looking like lost tourists - we did find the tiny little sign, matched by the tiny alleyway to reach the tiny B&B. Dropped our bags and headed to Dover - a bridge collapsed, so we had to take a train and a bus. A short taxi ride takes us to the free park. The cliffs are part of the National trust and an area of great beauty. This is the most narrow part of the English Channel - we could see France! The path took us along the cliff edge - no railings - scary, but much better photos and view. We walked all the way to the end of the park where we took a tour of the South Foreland Lighthouse. Derik, our guide was a really nice retired guy - except that he hates giving tours to families with unruly kids - I guess you can’t blame him - he liked us though, we were the last tour of the day. Derik told us about the shortcut the locals take to get back to the visitor center - that saved 30 min of walking - thanks! Alas, the visitor center is closed - no taxies - we have to hoof it back to the train station - google maps saves the day yet again (logged 8.6 miles of walking today). Back in Ashford we were starving - 8:00pm and wandering the streets when we came upon a nice, local family who kindly escorted us to one of their favorites - an Italian restaurant. We gobbled up every bite of dinner and drop of wine then finished with a shot of limoncello. Wandered back to our room - and yes, we remembered to duck our heads.
The cliffs are white because they are made up mostly of chalk mixed with flint - this was formed by tiny, microscopic sea life over 140 million years old. The cliff face reached up to 350 feet and is absolutely stunning.
Our accommodations for the night - could the signage be any harder to find - maybe?
In London you mind the gap - in Ashford, you mind your head.
View of the Dover sea port - very important to UK commerce. You can get an idea of scale by looking at the tiny person in the upper right corner.
A view from the top of the lighthouse - this is the town of Saint Margaret’s Bay.