Dover: Castles and Tunnels and White Cliffs ... Oh, My!

 DOVER: CASTLES AND TUNNELS AND WHITE CLIFFS ... OH MY!

May 3

 

With apologies to Gen. Erwin Rommel, whose quote became a title for Cornelius Ryan's classic book and and the subsequent Oscar-winning movie, May 3 was the Dunkirk Jerks' longest day -- in distance walked, if not passage of time. Following our Stephen Covey 7 Habits-inspired "Putting first things first" game plan of putting the critical pieces in place first, our day began at Dover Castle https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/. The castle, which dates back to the 12th Century, is built on the site of earlier Roman and Norman fortifications high on a hill overlooking the Strait of Dover, where the castle owner du jour could spot trouble coming. Covering about 80 acres (30 hectares), Dover Castle played an integral part in Operation Dynamo through a part that has become known as the Secret WWII Tunnels (https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/history-and-stories/history-dover/ and scroll down to "Second World War"). These served as the bomb-proof HQ of Admiral Bertram Ramsey, who led the planning and execution of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and a contingent of their French Allies from Dunkirk.

On a cool, very foggy morning we Ubered up the steep hill and immediately joined the queue to take the tour of the Secret Tunnels. You'll have to take my word that the tunnels are impressive and the tour fascinating since photographs are not allowed once the tour has actually entered the tunnels (presumably to keep them from the prying eyes of potential bad guys in case they're needed again in the future). These will give you a taste of our start ...

The morning fog rolling in
from the Strait of Dover


Heading into the Castle



Entering the Secret WWII Tunnels


Having seen the main thing we were looking for, i.e., the birthplace and incubator of Operation Dynamo, we intrepid Dunkirk Jerks took in the wonders of the Tower and the greater castle. Remarkable but demanding to get to. Glad we didn't wait much later in life to take this tour ... and any of those on our challenging agenda for this day.

Is it all uphill?
    
The Jerks




The chapel








   

Kitchen appliance?

Medieval inspiration for
Drifters' "Up On the Roof""?












Our next adventure was made possible by turning lemons into lemonade. One of our goals in our initial planning was to see the iconic White Cliffs from the sea (since you could literally die trying to look over the edge and see them from land). We found a company that did boat tours right off the bat, but during our planning the company went out of business.🙄With a little time, effort, and luck we found another one and had made reservations and paid the deposit on a 90 minute boat tour out of Dover Harbour. The day before we were scheduled for the tour, however, I received an email from the company saying that out of an abundance of caution, they had decided to cancel the tours for the day we had booked as a result of predicted weather. They could either reschedule us for the next day -- which wouldn't work because we'd be on the ferry to Calais, France  -- or refund our deposit. We informed them that regrettably we'd have to choose the refund. Bummer! But as the old saying goes, "When one door closes, another opens." A site we had been very keen to see but hadn't been able to work in our tight schedule for this day, was a visit to the Fan Bay Deep Shelter Tunnels, which were only open from 11 AM - 3 PM daily. Unfortunately that narrow window of availability just wouldn't fit our schedule after we'd put the cornerstones of Dover Castle, the scheduled boat tour, and a walking tour of the White Cliffs into place. With the boat tour cancellation, however, we had a hole in the schedule that the Fan Bay tunnels could be squeezed into. As the Bard said, "All's well that ends well."

Although Jerry's aching feet caused him to sit this one out, visiting the tunnels became a highlight of the trip for Frog and me, in part because it was a hidden jewel. None of us had known of their existence before we began planning what to see and do in Dover. The Tunnels are pretty darn dramatic, though challenging, to see. In fall 1940 - spring 1941 the British had a team of coal miners from northern England come down and dig tunnels into the chalky White Cliffs to house an artillery crew which would man three 6" guns that would guard the English Channel and oppose German-occupied northern France, just 21 miles away. (Here are details https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/the-white-cliffs-of-dover/the-fan-bay-deep-shelter-project-at-the-white-cliffs-of-dover .) In summary, the shelter was built about 70' underground to house the crew, ammunition, equipment, and supplies for nearly 200 men. In addition, "up top" on the cliff there is a hole where one of the big guns was, i.e., a gun emplacement, as well as an ancestor of radar called a sound mirror, which  is a large parabolic concrete stone in which a microphone could be used to catch the sound waves of approaching aircraft, whose direction could be determined by judging an approach of  ~90 degrees from the maximum sound. Who knew?!? 

Fan Bay Tunnels entrance
      
Down 23m and 125 steps we go ...


... with helmets and miner's lights on
         



a photo of the 6" gun
the tunnels supported
   
and the site of the gun "up top"










and the sound mirror, the ancestor of radar


Frog and I donned our mandatory miner's helmets, complete with headlights since the tunnels have no electricity, and anyone over about 5'9" was in constant danger of standing up and bumping his head on the ceiling of a tunnel. (Judging from periodic thumps, I proved the wisdom of this requirement a number of times.) We descended following a guide down the 70' on 5 sets of 25 narrow steps, each set of which takes right turn. It is, of course, cramped, damp, and stuffy, which is why the plan to house the men in the tunnels was short-lived. Respiratory problems made the stay of many brief and unpleasant. 

The White Cliffs with Dover Harbour 
in the background below
   
The White Cliffs run for ~8 miles
and rise 350' above the Channel










The most esteemed visitors to the White Cliffs since
Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman in Robin Hood 🤣


I neglected to mention above that the tunnels are about 3/4 mile from the White Cliffs visitors centre, complete with little cafe and shopping, where we had left a hobbled Jerry. The gravel trail along the Cliffs is quite hilly. Frog and I were tired when we arrived at the tunnels, even more worn out after descending and ascending the steps in the tunnels, and absolutely morose at the thought of having to trudge back up the hilly, gravel path to get back to Jerry and the visitors centre. Somehow we made it ... and it reminded me of how I felt at the end of every marathon I ever ran.😫Our faithful Uber driver returned to pick us up and haul us back down the hill to our hotel. He also recommended a pub for a refreshing ale and confirmed our choice of the nice little Italian restaurant we had chosen. 

An aside ... the myths and stereotypes I had constructed of Great Britain and the British people were exploded on the trip. You know them: It rains constantly ... the beer is warm ... the food is bland and just plain bad ... and the people are arrogant, condescending, and obnoxious. All wrong. During our time in England I never once needed to open an umbrella or don a raincoat ... people were almost universally friendly, hospitable, helpful, and just plain nice. I bring this up here because the one exception was a young man we encountered at the noisy, crowded pub in Dover. We had had engaging, entertaining conversations with a number of his group, when this impertinent young Pom wandered over and struck up a sermon disguised as a conversation, apparently having decided it was his bounden duty to criticize and proselytize (societally, not religiously) the U.S. for the benefit of three stodgy old Yanks. He wasn't nasty ... just sanctimonious and, yes, condescending. But, hey, if someone from England or elsewhere came to the U.S. to visit and ran into just 1 arsehole, I'd take that as a big win for the home team. 

The exception be damned, we 3 weary, old Yank extroverts had had an exhausting but memorable day, then an enjoyable evening having cocktails and visiting with the cordial Brits we encountered. We then had a delicious meal at the Uber driver- recommended small Italian restaurant. Then it was off to collapse in our rooms after repacking and readying ourselves to catch the morning ferry from Dover to Calais, France. Cheers, Mates! And Lafayette, here we come!






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kickoff ... and There's a Fumble!

Image
  KICKOFF ... AND THERE'S A FUMBLE! April 28 - 29 The game plan was for us to each fly to Heathrow Airport in London, arriving around noon on April 29, giving us an afternoon to do something fun but nice and relaxing before having dinner and turning in early for a full day of sightseeing on April 30.  So on April 28 Jerry, who lives undercover among Yankees in America's Dairyland, would fly into Chicago, then direct from there to Heathrow, arriving about 30 minutes before our flight. Frog and I, who live in AL and MS, respectively, would fly from nearby Birmingham to Atlanta, then direct to Heathrow (LHR). When making our air reservations we and Jerry all followed the prudent advice to give ourselves a layover of about 3 hrs. just in case so we would meet our driver, who would take all 3 of us to our hotel.  Traveling means accepting that some things are out of one's control. Remember the old Delta commercial from years back with the theme "Delta is ready when you are...
Read more

Prologue: Dunkirk, etc.

Image
  PROLOGUE: DUNKIRK, ETC. Operation Dynamo 1940 As Baby Boomers [thus gaffers , an English term for old blokes], my 2 traveling colleagues and I grew up in the immediate aftermath of WWII, referred to as "The Good War," by author Studs Turkel and others. A great many of the influences on our generation as kids -- movies, TV shows (once TV's became commonplace), comic books, nonfiction and fiction books, model airplanes, toy soldiers, etc. -- centered around WWII. We knew the key battles, the names of leaders and heroes, as well as those of airplanes and naval ships, of both the Allies and the Axis powers. Many of our fathers and uncles had served overseas, and some men in our towns had brought home war brides from England, France, Italy, and Germany. It seems quite logical that the sites of key WWII battles and museums which commemorate them are places that would end up on our bucket lists. At the top of my bucket list was Normandy, and I was fortunate to have been able t...
Read more

Riding the Rails to Dover

Image
  RIDING THE RAILS TO DOVER May 2 Although train travel is fairly uncommon in most states outside the Northeastern corridor and the Far West, it's popular in Europe, where the trains are comfortable, fast, and dependable. That would be the mode of transportation by which we would use to travel steadily eastward from Portsmouth back to London, then after a change in trains and even stations, from London to Dover. Each leg was about 75 miles, but the train to Dover was a fast one.  We rather enjoyed the train travel. In addition to the relative speed and comfort, one gets to see the countryside -- and not just the castles, but the architecture of homes and businesses in towns and cities. Here are a few samples ... The disadvantages of train travel vs. air are twofold: 1) You don't check your luggage and have it magically appear at your destination; instead you haul it around with you wherever you go and stow it on your train car yourself. Not a big problem if you travel light, ...
Read more