Walk along the white cliffs of Dover

Now that England has been my residence for over one full year, I’ve adapted the British attitude about the weather; the definition of a beautiful day is when it doesn’t rain and you’re lucky enough to catch one or two “sunny spells” (e.g. when the sun stays out for 20 minutes or so before it turns cloudy again). Unpredictable is really the best word to describe it.

That’s why it was absolute thrilling, when, on a cold day at the beginning of March, there was sun! Not just “sunny spells” either, but bright sun that stayed out the entire day.

Those of you who have read my other blog entries know that Jim and I often journey to certain places to discover new great beer and breweries.But in this case, we completely ignored any beer-related objectives. The fact that there was consistent, bright sun overruled all other impulses. We had to embrace it, absorb it and savor it as long as possible, because the truth was, there was no guarantee on when we might see it again…

We decided on an outdoor, nature walk in the English countryside. But where to? We have traveled to many areas outside of London, including the Cotswolds, a number of towns in Kent & Herefordshire county, Rye, Bury St. Edmunds, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Portsmouth, among others (See my travel log for the complete list by month/year).

At London Bridge station on the way to Dover.

Dover was of particular interest to Jim because of its historical and symbolic role in England’s history. “Because the White Cliffs of Dover face continental Europe at the narrowest part of the English Channel, they have seen many invasion attempts throughout England’s long and storied history. You can see France from the cliffs on a clear day. Julius Caesar landed off Dover in 55 B.C. He was met by armed forces, so he got back onto his ship and traveled to a different shore instead.”  Additionally, “the White Cliffs of Dover are the first and last sight you see when departing from or arriving in the port of Dover. Their striking appearance adds to their sentimental value as a symbol of England.” (J.C. Lewis, Facts about the White Cliffs of Dover)

Our day began with an hour and 50 minute journey from London Bridge to Dover Priory railway station.

We walked through the town centre and followed signs for the visitor’s centre in town, where we obtained a map and directions on how to walk up to the white cliffs. We walked out to the seafront, then turned east towards the cliffs and the Dover seaport.

Where the walking path at the bottom of the cliffs started…

There was a clear walking path at the beginning of the route. Often there were multiple forks in the road that  you could take. All seemed to merge onto one end point.
Upon making it to our first stopping point, the visitor’s centre, we ordered two bottles of water and sat outside to enjoy the amazing views. Side note – Something seemed shady when the cashier charged us 2.60 for the water, but only input 1.30 on the cash register before putting the additional money in a side jar underneath the register. The National Trust organization might want to assess their employees’ “trustworthiness”.

In such a beautiful, peaceful area, I was also somewhat surprised to see that the picnic tables were secured and locked into the ground to prevent stealing.

Journey from the White Cliffs Visitor Centre to the South Foreland Lighthouse

Continuing on, the next destination was a route along the edge of the white cliffs to the South Foreland lighthouse. We read there was a tearoom in the lighthouse so we decided this would be a great stop #2 for us.

Excluding their historical significance and the many other reasons you should visit the white cliffs, their natural beauty and sharp, steep formations smack against the English channel alone are enough of a reason to visit. Spectacular!

On the way to the lighthouse, exhaustion caught up with me. The uneven, rocky paths made for a slightly more arduous journey and lack of sleep the previous night didn’t help.  Luckily, Jim came to my rescue and took my backpack so I’d have less weight on my back.

A hopeful sign – the lighthouse emerged in the distance. I couldn’t wait for the homemade scones, soothing herbal tea, and refreshing bottles of water I’d have once we arrived at the lighthouse.

Finally we arrived at the lighthouse!! One major problem – the lighthouse was closed. Research prior to our visit would have informed us that it’s only open April thru October.

Along the return trip, we asked a woman walking her dog if there was a bus we could take from the one of the top roads. She laughed, a clear indication that our only option was to keep walking. She pointed to another route down that would save us a little time.

Thinking we’d followed her route exactly, there was a moment where we questioned ourselves as the path seemed to narrow at points. We could see the port road below us.

The path narrowed more, and we ducked under the trees and had to inch closer to the ground to avoid getting hit by the sharp branches.

Another half mile later our fears were affirmed, as we came to a dead end. We could see the path above but there was no way we could climb up a 90 degree hill without sufficient gear.  So we retraced our steps and twenty minutes later made it back to the proper path. Here’s the picture looking down onto the dead end we came to on our first unsuccessful attempt down.

Our journey began earlier that day at 1PM at the Dover Priory train station. Three hours later, our legs aching, we emerged from the path at the bottom of the cliffs. We made it!
Our day ended with a short stop at a local pub before we boarded the train back to London.  At the pub, there were pictures lining the walls of Dover at the turn of the century.  The Dover I now observed was a little different. In the town centre area, I counted 3 discount thrift stores, 4+ gambling facilities, one boarded up pub, and a few too many drunk people for 4:30pm in the afternoon.

On the other hand, the white cliffs walk was absolutely spectacular, and the town centre has everything you’d expect of a normal town centre in Britain – a few pubs, clothing stores, even a visitor’s centre.

I can imagine how amazing this town must have been in the 1800s and early 1900s – a busy, thriving port town with a beautiful, open landscape, and a ferry ride away from France.