Trip Report for Dover (Canterbury), UK: Sunday, May 4, 2025
[We have been home for a week, and I’m still catching up on the last few days of the trip. Only a few more to go, and I’m rapidly forgetting what we did each day.]
Our first sight of Merry Olde England was the White Cliffs of Dover, the chalk cliffs sung about by Vera Lynn in 1942.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAaxkAgVkHQ
The cliffs are 350 feet high, facing the Strait of Dover and France, 21 miles across the English Channel. The French, by the way, refer to the English Channel as La Manche (The Sleeve), referring to the channel’s shape.
Our excursion this morning was a walking tour of historic Canterbury, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a 30-minute drive from the port, we met our guide and set off.
The town of Canterbury is famous for The Canterbury Tales, written between 1387 and 1400 by Geoffrey Chaucer. This Tales present a fictional storytelling contest held by a group of pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in the cathedral on December 29, 1170, by four knights who may have been acting under the instigation of King Henry II.
Canterbury Cathedral is an Anglican (Church of England) place of worship. 50 years after his murder, the remains of Thomas Becket were removed from his tomb in the cathedral’s crypt and transferred to a bejeweled and golden casket in a purpose-built chapel behind the high altar. We weren’t allowed to go inside or past a distant barrier.
You know that I like interesting architecture, so here are some buildings from around Canterbury.
There are lots of old public phone booths here and in London. Some of them even still have phones in them, but I doubt anyone ever uses them. Not sure if they’re even functional.
After returning to the ship for lunch, we debarked again for a walk around Dover. There are some lovely old churches here, too.
Dover’s lovely streets and byways weren’t very busy, even on this beautiful day.
The ruins of St James’ Church, originally built in the 12th century, with alterations in the 14th and 19th centuries. The church was significantly damaged by shelling during World War II. It is preserved as a Grade II listed building and a monument to the wartime experience of Dover.
We stopped for a pint in the White Horse Pub. The walls are covered with the names and times of people who have attempted to swim across the English Channel.
Tomorrow the ship sails upriver to Greenwich, where we spend the night before disembarking for the final two days of our trip at a hotel in London.