The Ham Nomads

26 Oct 2015. <GB-ENG> Dover, & Farthing Common, East Kent —

We promised ourselves we would go back to Dover Castle, and this was the day. A short drive (in the fog) across to Dover (detouring a little to find a Tesco store to shop on the way), we got to the Castle only to find that the car parks had been rearranged for the day — we had to park considerably further from the entrance, but they were running a shuttle bus service all day, so there was no problem.

Our first sight of the castle, through the fog!

We got up to the Castle, and had two major aims — to walk at least part of the battlements, and to visit the 'Secret Wartime Tunnels', which were last used in World War II — and which were absolutely crucial in the management of Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the allied troops from Dunkirk between 27 May and 4 June 1940. We were told that the tours through the tunnels, being guided tours (because of the very real danger of getting lost in the tunnels), we should do that first.

But, of course, our first destination for the day was the NAAFI Restaurant for a cuppa! Then down to the tunnels. The wait was about 45 minutes, but, as usual, we got into a lively conversation with our neighbours in the queue, so the time went by quickly.

The First tour was the tunnels involved with Operation Dynamo. This was a well-conceived audio-visual presentation that continued as you walked through the tunnels, a new chapter in each section. The lighting in the tunnels was at wartime emergency levels, so it was all pretty dim. The presentation went into the causes of World War II, the impact of the German Blitzkrieg tactics, and the necessity to evacuate the allies from France at the end of May. The whole story of Dunkirk is a miracle — the weather stayed uncommonly mild for the week or so involved, the Germans incomprehensibly delayed for at least three days before making their final assault on Dunkirk, and instead of taking off the predicted 40,000 troops, they eventually got away over 380,000! And the Brits, in their typical 'stiff-upper-lip' manner, didn't take this as a defeat, but as a refusal to yield — and the men who were rescued were a vital part in the continuing war effort from then on. This tour took 60 minutes, and was well worth while!

The second tour in the tunnels was through a World War II Dressing Station (at times called a hospital, but wasn't really that sophisticated). This was a shorter tour, taking only 20 minutes. It, too, was well organised, and we were led along, following the progress of an RAF pilot whose plane had been brought down in the Channel, and who had been brought her for treatment before being shipped on to a proper hospital further behind the 'front lines'.

The tunnels are actually on three levels, and our first tour took us through the 'Casemates level', tunnels dug into the cliffs during the Napoleonic Wars, and still in use as the HQ for Operation Dynamo in 1940! These are about 25 metres underground, dug into the soft chalk of Dover's White Cliffs.

The second tour was in the upper level, the 'Annexe level', only dug in 1939-45, and abour 15 metres beneath the surface.

There is a third level, 'Dumpy', considerably deeper, which, during the Cold War, in concert with the upper levels, was one of the largest nuclear bomb shelters in the UK.

Unfortunately, no subterranean photography — they said it was both for copyright and for security reasons — how much of each might be interesting to know!

After spending the best part of a couple of hours underground, we came out to find that the earlier fog had burned away, and it was really quite a nice day. Of course, our stomachs ruled the roost, and we adjourned for lunch at the NAAFI — we shared a two course meal, with Warren having the roast beef main course, and Suzie having the apple and sultana crumble dessert. The menu in the restaurant is a close approximation of World War II fare — as is the music!

The White Cliffs, as seen from the battlements

The Port of Dover, below Dover Castle

After lunch, we went up onto the battlements. We only walked half-way round, on the coastal side — we weren't really that much interested in surveying the inland views.

Then we went up to the old Anglo-Saxon church, St Mary in Castro. This church dates back to about 1000AD, but has had a motley history. In the 1800s, in total disrepair, it was used for coal storage. But it was restored, beginning in 1860, and now is the official church serving the Dover Garrison and the local community. An interesting feature of the church is its bell tower — it's actually an old Roman pharos, or lighthouse, that was co-opted to serve the church as its bell tower.