Sunday, May 7, 2023 – Day 137
The White Cliffs of Dover
We arrived in Dover as the sun was rising over the white chalk cliff face. The White Cliffs of Dover are 350 feet high and stretch out for 8 miles. Once part of the seabed, the cliffs are made of chalk with thin flint layers running through it. While the cliff face erodes 9-13 inches a year, the chalk deposit is so vast that it is expected to last tens of thousands of years more.
Although we can’t attest to this ourselves, it is said that on a clear day the white cliffs can be seen from France.
The southern breakwater entering the Dover harbor built in 1897.
The Port of Dover is a ferry, cruise, cargo and marina facility. It is the nearest English port to France, at just 21 mi away, and is one of the world’s busiest maritime passenger ports.
Inside the breakwater looking back towards the white cliffs.
Jeff enjoys watching every part of the docking process, setting an alarm when it’s an especially early port call. It is fascinating to watch the ship maneuver as it docks, spinning around and moving sideways to gently glide to the dock. By this point in our journey, we can pretty accurately predict where we are likely to dock and what moves the ship is about to make from the sound of the water.
Once docked the view from our cabin was beautiful. The harbor section of town at the foot of the white cliffs topped by the remains of Dover Castle. That is, it was for a while – then, the fog rolled in obscuring our view completely. You can see the fog just beginning to creep in on the right of the picture.
We left the port as the fog continued to roll further inland. Our destination for today is Canterbury; we are hoping to leave the fog behind.
Old and new buildings hint at the age of the port. Dover has been in operation since the eleventh century. After the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, Dover was the only designated port of entry for foreign pilgrims and as a point of departure for the Third and subsequent crusades.
I’m sure it’s not good for the building of this port warehouse, but the golden growth on the roof is certainly colorful!
As we made our way to Canterbury, we passed miles of bright yellow fields. Growing up we called this ‘mustard plant’, but I now know this is rapeseed. This is the plant used to produce canola oil. It is also used as animal feed (it is second highest vegetable protein after soybeans) and as biodiesel.
Passing by the medieval city wall of Canterbury with the cathedral peeking over the top. We have successfully left the fog behind!
As we walked into Canterbury, we passed several colorful reminders that the country was in the midst of a 3-day holiday celebrating the coronation of their new King. Today, Sunday, is day two, the day designated as ‘Big Coronation Lunch’ day. Citizens across the commonwealth are encouraged to gather as families and neighbors and share a picnic meal. It was certainly a beautiful day for it!
Along the River Stour, at the edge of ‘Solly’s Orchard’ park sits an old mill. Lots of locals were out having picnics and just enjoying the mild spring day. Farther down groups were punting on the river. The boats gliding silently as they were pushed along by long poles.
This is the picture that comes to mind when I think of an English village on a spring day.
Across from the Marlow Theater sits ‘The Mask’ by sculpture Rick Kirby. The kids were having fun playing in it. I find it a little creepy.
The Marlowe Theatre, now a new, modern building, is named after Christopher Marlowe, born in the city. In his short life, Marlow (1564-1593), became one of the most famous English playwrights, poets & translators of the Elizabethan era. He is believed to have heavily influenced his contemporary, William Shakespear.
The Canterbury Cathedral rises up over the shop rooftops.
The entrance we used to access the cathedral grounds.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who just yesterday crowned the new King, is the ceremonial head of the Church of England. The city’s cathedral, already attracting Pilgrams as early as 1012, became a major site of pilgrimage following the 1170 martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket. A journey of pilgrims to Becket’s shrine served as the basis for Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century The Canterbury Tales.
Another of the entrances, called Christchurch Gate.
This is a stock picture of the Canterbury Cathedral because there is a massive cleaning project going on and the whole structure, save the tall towers, is shrouded in scaffolding and netting. It was a very busy day, and we didn’t get to go inside.
The cathedral was the site of the murder of the archbishop, Thomas Becket, in 1170, by knights of King Henry II. The king had frequent conflicts with the strong-willed Becket and is said to have uttered in frustration, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” Four knights took it literally and murdered Becket in his own cathedral. After the Anglo-Saxon archbishop in 1012, Becket was the second Archbishop of Canterbury to be murdered.
The High Street of Canterbury. Very crowded with lots of local tourists out for the day. It seemed that the local tourist families outnumbered the foreign tourists today, likely because of the holiday.
Statue of Geoffrey Chaucer, dressed as a Canterbury Pilgram, in the center of High Street.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340s – 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets’ Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer was also renowned as a philosopher and astronomer. He maintained a career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament.
Originally the Crown Inn, Elizabeth I is believed to have provided lodging for her guests here when she visited Canterbury.
The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge is the central museum, library and art gallery of the city of Canterbury. I thought the building was a really unique style of architecture. The whole city is filled with great buildings.
The Pilgrams’ Hospital is a hospital in the old sense of the word, short for Hospitality. It was founded in the 12th century to provide overnight accommodation for poor pilgrims who were travelling to the shrine of St Thomas Becket. It is now one of the ten almshouses still providing accommodation for elderly citizens of Canterbury.
After we saw the shrouded cathedral, we popped into this pub for a pint, well a (really good) cider for me and a Guiness for Jeff. You can see the coronation decorations here too.
The ‘crooked house’, built in 1617, it is currently a charity bookshop.
Like many old buildings we saw, the crooked house is built upwards – being smallest on the ground floor with each subsequent floor being built bigger. Back then, the more ground your house took up the more tax you would have to pay. Building up and out saved taxes!
Obviously, building upwards can lead to problems. Not to worry, it now has a steel frame supporting it, they’ve retained the lean for historic purposes (and I suspect tourist interest!).
The inscription on the bookshop was taken from Charles Dickens’ famous semi-autobiographic/fictional work “David Copperfield”. The quote certainly fits this building well!
Farewell Dover and Canterbury. What a beautiful corner of this world. I hope we get to visit with you again.
And now, we set sail for our final stop on this incredible journey we have been so very grateful to undertake. It seems like only yesterday we were leaving Fort Lauderdale to begin this adventure. And now, after sailing up the Thames, we will dock in Greenwich, England. It is a fairly short trip up the river, we will be entering its mouth around 11 pm. We have plans to be up on deck to see what we can see before reaching our dock in Greenwich. Our last port of call!