There'll be bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover

We have been to England several times but had never been to Dover.  For some reason, I had it in my head that I really wanted to go there.  I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but I'm glad that we took an excursion there from our cottage near Maidstone.  It was about an hour's drive, not much by US standards, but it seemed like quite a distance away probably because most of it was on small two lane roads. 

Quite the contrary to this sign, it was a rather gray, chilly, windy day.

The cliffs are most likely best viewed from the water.  I'm certain that they look very impressive and perhaps impenetrable from sea level.  Not having any reason to approach the cliffs by sea, we took our photos from the top, looking down.  

It is hard to grasp the height of the cliffs from a still photo.  Trust me that they are steep and sheer.  None the less, the British were in fear of attack so they built a fort on one of the lower levels of the cliffs.  Some of the foundations of the canon are still there.

While in London, we had seen a production of King Lear which ends in Dover, with the blinded Duke of Gloucester trying to end his life by jumping down over the cliff. He failed at that attempt and met up with Lear again in short order. I couldn't help but think of the play as I stood there on the cliffs.  The cliffs made for a good plot device.

In every couple's travel photos, there are photos of him standing somewhere and then there are photos of her standing there.  Our photos are just the same.  That is, until someone comes along and asks us to take their photo together and then by way of reciprocation, offer to take our photo.  Here we are, together, as taken by that friendly couple.

All along the edge of the cliff, there were no barriers at all.  I kept thinking that if this were in America, there would be large warning signs and strong barriers to keep people from falling over.  Here, I assume, it is expected that people accept some personal responsibility.  Just as well, because those barriers really detract from the view.

The pedestrian path along the ridge goes straight through a horse grazing pasture. Lucky for the pedestrians, the horses don't care to mingle and also they stay away from the footpath, so no droppings to watch out for.

We were amazed that Dover, which is a very small town, has a huge port for passenger ferries from Dunkirk, France and cargo ships and tankers from all over the world.  At one point, I saw every berth full with 10 ships waiting to enter.  The ferries docked, unloaded, reloaded and left in the space of about 45 minutes.  They must be well coordinated to get all of that done in such a short period of time. Seeing the cars lined up waiting their turn to drive onto the ferries reminded me of the many trips that we made to Nova Scotia by way of the Bluenose and the Prince of Fundy.

Also part of the national  park is a lighthouse owned by the National Trust.  It is currently undergoing a restoration expected to take at least a couple of years.  The process is basically to take off all of the plaster from the exterior and then the interior.  The plaster has encased the brick structure and restricts the brick's ability to breathe and dehumidify.  There is quite a program of monitoring the moisture levels going on, with measurements being taken at many points along the interior. 

We got to go up to the top of the tower and see the fresnel lens.  Our guide was a local Englishman with a bit of the raconteur about him.  It was a very enjoyable, but chilly and windy, visit.

Larry is quite taken with the idea of cream tea (scones with clotted cream and jam and a pot of tea) and he tries to have some every day.  On a brisk day like this, I couldn't blame him.  The lighthouse tea room was just the place.

It was like being in some Granny's front parlor.  The scones were delicious.