13/05/2012

On the edge of England II

Lomography - Dover harbour


First post here.

I got woken up by the bright sun peering through the curtains on the Sunday morning. It took me a few minutes of squinting to look outside to see the clear blue sky over the sea. Everything we were hoping for. We are economic travellers and decided to skip breakfast and have an early lunch instead. We took off to explore Dover a bit more.

View from the pier


We headed for the sea - can't get enough of those pebbles apparently - and walked all the way down to then end of the pier. We walked for a while, chatting, enjoying the sun, fighting the wind and avoiding to get hooked by all the fishermen. And suddenly we realised we've been walking for almost half an hour and were quite far in the sea. It is a nice walk and it's great to see the beach, the cliffs and the harbour from the sea. We stayed there for a while, just enjoying.

Stairs to the castle

Lomography

Lomography


Dover in February is cold and windy. It's even worse on the pier. So we headed back to get some lunch before attacking the cliff climbing again and the castle. I love medieval castles. I was very much looking forward to it. After going up and up the streets, up the stairs, up the path we arrived on a side of a road not at all secured for walking. We ended up straight on a road with a car passing with no good indications of where to go. We tried to go a bit out of the way, in order to avoid getting run over, when a very rude lady in a shack started to shout at us. We had to pay. We were not trying to sneak in. We were trying not to die. We walked to the shack on the grass by the road to see it was £20 to get in. More than a train ticket. It wasn't in the budget. It was a bit sad but we could still enjoy it from the outside. 

We went down the path, down the stairs, down the streets and headed for the cliffs. This time we took the higher path and walked in the fields rather than on the edge. We walked for hours. The day was so clear and beautiful we saw the coast of France on the other side. It is so close. It's tempting to try to get further. I was still not feeling very comfortable but nothing compared to the day before. There were a lot of people walking but it's big enough not to be annoyed by anyone and still have a nice quiet walk. I was feeling dizzy with the wind and the sun. After a while it's hard to stand the wind. It's freezing, you get a runny nose and crying eyes. But it is refreshing.


On the way back we popped in the only - open and slightly - touristy shop. We finally found postcards. They also have all the tacky souvenirs and very nice local products. We got tempted by raspberries, white chocolate cookies and blood orange marmalade. I have finished the marmalade a long time ago. I need to go back to Dover and bring 10 jars. It is delicious. I know, I could probably find some in London. But it wouldn't taste the same. It wouldn't taste of the sea salt wind when I take my breakfast in rainy London before going to work.

From the cliffs we sadly went back to the railway station. Sad it was so short and that the weekend was over, sad to leave the sea. We crossed Dover again, going through smaller streets (thank you google maps). Dover is not nice. It is not lively. It is dull and grey. And empty. There is a real difference between the seaside and the more inner city. So I would say, Dover is not worth it for more than a weekend. But it is definitely worth it. The cliffs are breathtaking. I loved it. Most people were surprised when we said we were going to Dover, they didn't see the point of it. Let me tell you, they are missing out.

This is our next castle destination. I'll work on my vertigo.

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