A trip to Dover, by train

Today we travelled to Dover by train.  In the time it took to find the railway station at Folkstone, waited forty minutes on the train, and then waited forty minutes on a train to come back, we could have travelled there and back by car a number of times.  Dover is about twenty minutes away by car.

But the experience made it all worthwhile.  We found out that the trains that pass through Dover and Folkstone travel in more than one direction.   We could take the fast trains via Ashford, Ebbs Fleet to St Pancras, or slower trains via the east coast of Kent, or via inland routes.  We were very impressed with the services offered by Southeastern Network.  And waiting forty minutes was very easy in the comfortable and warm cafes. 

The day started well with breakfast in our lovely warm caravan.  We set off with the intention of having coffee in the Clifftop Cafe.  But they only served filtered coffee.  As we look forward to our morning latte we decided to try our luck at the railway station cafe, where we were not disappointed.

Before we left the Clifftop Cafe with its stunning views, which were not enough to entice us to have coffee there, there was a need to take photographs.

A pose in front of the stunning view of the coastline, with the railway line visible beside the coast below.

The view down to The Warren.  There are very steep stairs here to use in order to climb down to the valley.  

We drove into Folkstone, and then drove around the Central Railway Station three times before we saw the railway station sign.  How we missed it, I do not know, but we certainly got to know that part of Folkstone.

After a restorative latte in the warm cafe, we caught the train to Dover.  One stop.  It travelled alomg the coast where we walked, past The Warren and past Samphire Hoe.  And through four tunnels.  The journey took ten minutes.  But we enjoyed it very much.

Another pose.  This time in front of Dover Priory Station.  In brilliant autumn sunshine.

After living in Kent for twenty four years, and travelling through the Port of Dover many times, we have not visited the town centre.  We have visited Dover Castle on a number of occasions and looked down on the town but this was not the same as actually walking around the streets.

We found it a lovely place to visit: calm, peaceful and positive.  We could see that Dover had more than its fair share of  social and deprivation difficulties but on the whole people looked positive.  And the streets were clean, and buildings well maintained.

We were surprised to see a number of very old buildings in the town, which had escaped the severe bombing during WWII.  There were plenty of information boards, written in both English and French, in front of many buildings, I did not record any details, and now I cannot accurately recall the information.

This building is either a church or the town hall.  It was closed today

A lovely church.  There were plenty of churches to photograph but I tried to constrain myself.

The Dover Museum.  What a find.  Absolutely full of local history and artifacts, plus references to archeological finds in other parts of the country.  As Dover has a long history as a major port, there was plenty of history to tell.

And on the top floor in its own climate controlled area was the most amazing section on the Bronze Age, 2500BC until 800BC.  In the centre of the room was a boat from that era.  It had been found during the digging up of a road to make a bypass around Dover.  There was also a film about its removal from the soil and the restoration process.  Fascinatng.

Dickens Corner.  A beautiful building on the edge of Market Square.    We had lunch there, sitting in the sunshine beside the open door.   Well made sandwiches followed by perfect espresso coffees.  They roasted their coffee beans in a machine, which was on display in the cafe.  Impressive.

There are no photographs of the square due to the high number of local drunks sitting contentedly on the benches in the sunshine, drinking their extra strong lager.  They may have enjoyed having their photograph taken, but I did not dare take the risk.  It was a lovely square too.

A view of Dover Castle perched high above the town.  Very imposing.

One side of a street had been demolished during the late 1800s in order to widen the street.  There was a competition so that people could supply plans for new buildings, with the result that fhe architecture varies greatly in the buildings.  The two buildings below were adorned with Dutch gables.

The last church, a chapel built during the 12th century.  And it has plenty of history too.

Finally we walked back to Dover Priory Station, where we sat in the cosy cafe and drank soft drinks, until our train arrived at the station.  It was one of the super fast trains, not that it travelled any faster between Dover and Folkstone, but it was certainly a much smoother journey.  

Afterwards we drove home from Folkstone.  We saw a sign pointing to the 'Historic Church'  but we were too tired to follow the sign and have a look.

Donna reminded me that I have been to The Warren since 1993, as I took her, plus Scott and Lucy, for a walk there.  No wonder I felt that I had previously walked across the grassy slopes by the Martello towers at East Cliff.   It was very familiar.  We must have parked the car there on our visit to The Warren.  Thank goodness Donna reminded me of this, as I had one of those 'deja vu' moments yesterday.

The 'moment' above combined with the 'moment' where I thought I was in South Australia and the Russian ships were travelling around the coast of Australia, made me think I must have been suffering greatly from senior 'moments' yesterday.   I told people with binoculars glued to their eyes,  that the ships were taking the long way to Syria.  They looked at me blankly and I realised I was standing on the cliffs in England.  Luckily I have a strong New Zealand/Australian accent so got away with it.

Tomorrow we leave our lovely camp site, called Little Satmar, in Capel-le-Ferne, and drive back up the M20 to home.  A lovely view days in a beautiful and interesting part of Kent.