Dover Castle and the White Cliffs

Britain'S Biggest Castle, The 'Key To England' For Nearly 900 Years, With The Great Tower Of Henry II, Roman Lighthouse And The Secret Wartime Tunnels From Which The Dunkirk Evacuation Was Planned. Next To It The White Cliffs, 110 M Of Chalk Above The Channel. · Dover, England

Dover Castle stands on a hill above the busiest ferry port in Britain, a fortress that has guarded the shortest sea crossing to France for nearly a thousand years. English Heritage runs it, and the main sights are the Great Tower, fitted with costumed rooms that show the court of Henry II, and the Secret Wartime Tunnels, where the Dunkirk evacuation, Operation Dynamo, was planned in 1940. A Roman lighthouse, the Pharos, stands beside a Saxon church within the walls. East of the port, the White Cliffs rise above the sea, and the National Trust visitor centre starts a clifftop walk to the South Foreland lighthouse. The castle is big, windy and exposed, and the tunnel tours are timed and sell out. Ferry and Eurotunnel traffic can jam the roads into town, and the cliff edges are unfenced in places. A fast train from London St Pancras takes about 70 minutes, making a day trip from the capital easy and cheap enough.

Castle Hill Road, Dover, in Kent, with the White Cliffs of Dover walk to the east, about 110 km south-east of London, Dover, England, United Kingdom

The castle is open most days from spring to autumn, commonly from about 10 am to 5 or 6 pm, and on fewer days with shorter hours in winter, when it may be CLOSED on weekdays and for the Christmas period. The Secret Wartime Tunnels run as timed guided tours, last entry is an hour or more before closing, and some levels may be closed for maintenance - confirm before you go. The White Cliffs visitor centre and cafe are open daily with seasonal hours, and the lighthouse at South Foreland is open on set days only. The cliff walk itself is FREE and open at all hours, as is the beach and promenade in town. The castle interior and the tunnel tours are CLOSED to anyone without a ticket. Confirm hours.

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