kiwibird: Dover Castle

Brian and Susanne arrived on time, aboard Emirates, via Dubai, on Friday afternoon, and their first taste of UK traffic was in the rush hour on the M25. Bumper to bumper traffic from Heathrow to the M3. Luckily from thereon it improved. We did feel very sorry for all the people who were leaving to go away for the long weekend. The weather was not good. Weather forecasts were not promising either.

On Saturday we braved the cold, wind and rain and headed off to Dover castle. A lovely beginning for two people from NZ. who are here seeking the sunshine. Luckily they brought their raincoats with them, after all they come from NZ where it often rains. In some parts of course, but never in Wanaka, where it is always gloriously sunny.

The first stops in the castle grounds were the World War II tunnels, which had been renovated last year. Excellent displays but organisation was extremely poor. Instead of having a timed ticket, and waiting in the warmth of the gift shop and tea rooms, one now has to wait in line outside the tunnel entrances. In the cold, and it is often cold, wet and windy in Dover. The two tunnel tours are now separate, one tells the story of the evacuation of Dunkerque and the other tour shows the hospital in action, and the entry times to the tunnels are not synchronized, so there are two waits in the cold, which dampens the enthusiasm somewhat.

Brian and Susanne standing guard beside the gun emplacement.

Dover castle against the stormy sky. Despite the cold there were plenty of tourists.

The castle keep is extremely interesting and is furnished according how it would have been in the 12th century, and it is amazing to see the bright colours of the furnishings. One always imagine that there would be dull colours way back then because there are usually only very old items on display and they usually fade over the years.

Henry II organised for the castle to be built, as he wanted to impress his relatives and dignitaries from France who arrived in Dover, often on pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral. Unfortunately the castle was not completed during his reign and in fact, was not finished completely until 100 or more years later.

Henry II married Eleanor of Acquitaine, and between them they owned most of southern France and England. Eleanor was previously married to the King of France. Although they had a couple of children, Eleanor was not happy being married to the King and asked for the marriage to be dissolved, which amazingly it was, and she married her lover, Henry II. Luckily she did not lose her head over the whole affair! However, life was still very eventful, for Eleanor and Henry, and I am not sure that they really co-operated or got on very well. They had four sons, who squabbled over land and power, and between them they lost all the land that their parents owned. All very interesting and colourful. Ariana Franklin wrote a series of books, fiction of course, which use Henry and Eleanor, as part of the stories. These stories give an insight into the life during the 1100's.

Down in the kitchen basement, there is a very visual display of life in the basement of the castle. A wonderful place for children as they can touch the displays.

Even the models of raw meat look real.

The latrines. I would not like to be the person, whose job it is to clean up the soil from the pits under the castle. Susanne posing, on the seats of the latrines. Very communal too. Lots of chats, while on the job.