London & Dover
England
June 2002
On June 3rd, we
loaded up the car and drove to Calais, France, a port city located on the
English Channel. It’s about a 6-hour
drive from our home in Germany. We got a
good early start, so we arrived at noon and went straight to the HoverSpeed
terminal. Although they do not use
actual hovercraft anymore, they do use high-speed catamaran ferries. They average over twice the speed of
conventional ferries (40mph vs. 15-20mph). This reduces the travel time across
the Channel to about 40 minutes, instead of 90+ minutes.
Arriving in Dover, England,
we walked the 5 minutes to the hotel.
Dover is a cozy seaport town with a long history. Most of us have heard of the famous White
Cliffs of Dover, made especially popular by several WW II songs and
stories. Dover is located at the
closest point between England and France, about 18 miles apart. On a clear day, you can see one country from
the other.
We decided to stay Monday
and Tuesday night at the hotel in Dover rather than try to get a hotel in
London, since the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebration (marking her 50th
year as Queen) was in full swing in London.
It’s only about a 90-minute train ride, and is a nice chance to see the
countryside and meet nice people. On
Tuesday, we met a very nice gentleman from near Dover who was traveling to
London for a chance to see the Queen.
He remembered her being crowned 50 years ago.
One thing that really struck
me as different from much of Europe (besides the fact they speak English!) is
how polite the British are. People
refer to each other as “Love” and “Chap”, and actually know how to politely
stand in line (called a Que) instead of pushing their way to the front or just cutting
in front. Very civilized.
Well, sit back and enjoy our
picture tour of England.
We began our journey in Calais, France, riding
on the newest, fastest way to cross the Channel (at least on the surface of the
water) – the Sea Cat. It reduces
travel time from 1 and ½ hours by conventional ferry to about 40 minutes. The Sea Cats are actually twin-hull
catamarans. If you look very closely at
the far boat, you can actually see through the underside. It rests on 2 sleek hulls running down each
side. As the boat speeds up (it cruises
at 40mph), small “wings” on the hulls actually lift the boat up several feet so
it just riding on 2 very thin sections to reduce drag. (For you sharp-eyed travelers, yes, this
picture was taken in the port at Dover, England. I could not get close enough at Calais to get a good picture.)
Inside the Sea Cat. Lots of room to stretch out and walk around.
Out to sea!
Actually, out to the English Channel.
We passed this ferry just out of the harbor at Calais. If you listen
closely, you can hear Spencer laughing and yelling, “We’re faster than you
are!!!”
“Quick, Dad, the salt spray is burning my eyes!” Heading north across the Channel to England.
France is still
visible in the background.
We’re there! The beach at Dover, England. The famous Cliffs of Dover are visible on
the right, the Dover Castle is on the top of the hill in the center. Our hotel
is the building on the left in the background.
Walking throughout
Dover, the castle is always visible on the hillside.
I had to laugh at the choice of “Welcome” mats for sale at this store in Dover.
Approaching the
entrance to the Dover Castle. The first castle built on this site was erected
in 1066. The Castle housed troops until
1958, an 892-year span. During its
medieval heyday, this was a frontier fortress protecting England from France
and other hostile lands. At this point,
the English Channel is at its narrowest point between the two countries – about
18 miles. On a clear day, you can
France from here. The Castle was
modernized in the 1750s and again during the Napoleonic Wars. During both World Wars, it was a main
control center, with a large maze of underground bunkers.
One of the entrances
to the Dover Castle.
Beth and Spencer
going through one of the gateways.
Spencer heading into
one of the Secret Wartime Tunnels.
Under the Castle, there are miles of tunnels with bunkers,
communications rooms, and hospitals. It
was from these tunnels that Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay organized and directed
the evacuation of Dunkirk. Hopelessly
outnumbered and outgunned by the invading Nazis, almost 400,000 English and
French troops were brought across the Channel to England to fight another
day. If all of the troops had been
killed or taken prisoner, there would have been far fewer troops to protect the
homeland.
Inside the Dover
Castle, there were many spiral staircases.
This is one of the points where two spiral staircases meet. Watch your step!
At the top! Here, we have reached the top of the tower
overlooking the Dover harbor and the English Channel, looking toward
France. Today, it’s too foggy to see
very far.
This old St. Mary’s church in Dover was built with broken-face stones on the exterior. Rocks were broken in half,
and the smooth
surface was faced out. That is what all
the black spots are.
Here we are at the Dover Train Station waiting for the train to go to London.
It’s nice that all of
the signs and directions are in English!!
This is the view out
the restaurant window in Greenwich, overlooking the Greenwich Market.
The Royal Observatory
in Greenwich, England. It was
originally built in 1675 to integrate time and astronomy into an accurate
method of finding longitude for navigation at sea. Latitude (how far north or south of the equator) could be
determined using the North Star, a stationary, fixed point. However, there was no fixed point to determine
longitude (your position east or west of a certain point). This became increasingly important in the 15th
Century as more exploration of the seas was taking place. The other half of the
equation was designing seaworthy, accurate clocks. By comparing the position of
stars at a certain time (at your present location at sea) and calculating the
time difference between where you are and Greenwich (when the stars would be in
the same position there), you could calculate how many degrees east or west of
Greenwich you were located. It sounds
complicated!
Greenwich is still the world standard for
time. You can set your watch to this
one outside.
The “Zero Meridian”
line. Spencer is standing with his
right foot in the Western Hemisphere, and his left foot in the Eastern
Hemisphere.
Dad’s in the Western Hemisphere, Mom’s in the
Eastern Hemisphere.
Entrance to the Royal Observatory Museum.
After the Royal Observatory, it was off to see Big Ben and the Parliament section of town.
This is the “Tube”, as the subway in London is
called.
Those Brits have a
unique way with wording things. Who are we to complain, though? After all, they invented the bloody
language. For those of us who remember the 60s, “Way Out” meant “Cool” or
“Groovy”. To the British, it shows the
exit – the Way Out. Their other signs
are so polite, too. “Watch Your Step”
becomes “Mind Your Step”, and “Yield” becomes “Give Way”.
This is what we came
to see – Big Ben. It is BIG! What a
sight it is, and what a magnificent sound when it chimes. We were there to hear it chime 3:00. The streetlights in the foreground are much
like you expect to see in London.
Big Ben and Big
Spencer.
A closer-up view of
Big Ben. The actual name of the structure is the Clock Tower. Big Ben refers to the largest of the clock
bells.
This is one of
numerous street celebrations going on as part of the Queen’s 50th
Jubilee Celebration.
Westminster Abbey,
where nearly all the kings and queens of England since William the Conqueror
have been crowned.
This is the side entrance to Westminster Abbey.
Westminster Abbey –
the front entry into the nave.
London Bobby - on foot and horse-mounted.
The Cutty Sark – on display in London. Launched in 1869 for the China Sea trade,
she was used to haul wool from Australia and served as a training ship until
the end of WW II.
After a long day of exploring London and
Greenwich, we had worked up quite an appetite.
What better way to fill our tummies than with English fish and chips (and
English ale)!! The next morning, it was
back across the English Channel to Calais, France, where we picked up our car
and drove back home to Germany. It was
a fun trip!
Hope you enjoyed
London & dover
England