Drive to Dover

Try car rental comparison to find a great deal on car hire, and then head for one of England’s great historic cities for a memorable break to lap up some of the culture.

Dover has been forged over the centuries in episodes of defence and invasion. The coast of France is only 21 miles away and on a clear day you can see it easily with the naked eye from the famous White Cliffs. Julius Caesar landed here in 55BC with 6000 legionnaires carried in huge wooden boats. After the Romans left, Angles, Saxons and Jutes from Continental Europe landed in the area to instigate the Anglo-Saxon period. William the Conqueror’s half-brother was next on a seemingly endless list. Bishop Odo of Bayeux landed with his castle parts prefabricated, in an eerie presentiment of IKEA, itself created by descendants of the Vikings, yet another set of invaders. So Dover has seen its fair share of excitement.

When you arrive in Dover along one of the excellent roads converging on the town you’ll be immediately struck by its most dominant feature, the castle. This has been a mainstay of Dover since Odo built his fort on the heights at the time of the Norman invasion and it has been added to ever since. Strategic points require impressive castles, whether it’s Dover or Palestine, and Dover Castle is one of the best around. And, unlike many other castles in the UK, it hasn’t found itself left behind as history has marched onwards and upwards and technologies have changed. It was captured by Cromwell’s armies during the English Civil War and later, during the Napoleonic Wars, was heavily fortified against an expected invasion by the Corsican upstart. There are great brick shelters inside one of the caverns underneath the White Cliffs, where the British army could prepare.

Despite German guns in France hammering the town during the Second World War there is still plenty of interest surviving here, including many memorials to the heroism of the Dover folk during numerous periods of conflict. Much of the castle as it stands today dates back to the 12^th and 13^th centuries. It was completed in the reign of Henry III, and is the best example of concentrically arranged fortifications in England, if you’re into that sort of thing. There’s a Roman lighthouse, or rather the somewhat battered remains of one, inside the walls. It’s the earliest in Britain, built in the 1^st century AD.

The 10^th century church of St Mary-in-Castro is also worth a visit. This church used the remains of the Roman lighthouse as a bell-tower, and was restored in the 19^th century. Close by, Maison Dieu Hall, now a museum, dates to 1203 and is one of the oldest domestic buildings in England. It has a room devoted to Dover’s history, including several impressive dioramas.

There are lots of other great attractions in historic Dover, and the surrounding area is also full of interest and easily accessible by car. It’s worth visiting just to get a feel for the sense of vulnerability that the English down the centuries must have experienced as their frequently more powerful Continental neighbours cast covetous eyes in their direction.