Dover is a great destination to those wanting to escape London’s busy city life and find themselves in a relaxing atmosphere that feels like a trip abroad.
In just about 1 hour on the train or under 2 hours by car heading east, you can find yourself next to the chalky White Dover Cliffs and beaches.
Dover is a ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel. The town is fairly small, so you can walk from the train station to the beach and from there you can hike up the Dover Cliffs. It’s charming and quiet, you can easily enjoy on the stoney beach and gaze as the ships come and go. On a clear day you can probably see all the way to France!
We visited Dover in a great summery, warm weekend but it was foggy so we couldn’t see far. We did however hear a whale! You wouldn’t believe how loud whales sound in the very distance.
I can go on and on about how much I love Dover, but the post today is all about the White Dover Cliffs, and how an unfit couple decided to conquer those cliffs without prior planning.
If you know anything about me, is that I’ll go far and wide to see the world and take photos. That we did. Armed with my camera and my sturdy partner, we started our journey to the top, not knowing what we will find, what we will see, and how far we would really go.
You are warned, it can be steep at parts. But it’s totally worth it. We’ve seen whole families with babies, strollers and dogs do it, so why can’t you? 🙌
It was a lovely day so it was beautiful and refreshing seeing people enjoy it in the best possible way, may it be a picnic, gazing the passing ships, hiking or simply enjoying the sun.
You could see all the way to the far away Dover Castle, where they held WWII Weekend event and we could hear, through all that distance, the firey shots in course with the event.
We also found out that there are a few people living on top of that cliff. What a great view to wake up to every day.
We hiked for about 4 hours, however we did stop a lot to take photos (of course) and what’s the point of doing this if not to stop and enjoy your surroundings?
It is after all, where high white cliffs meet the great ocean. And it’s not every day you can view France from standing on British land! 😵
To further understand how unusual Dover is, while we were hiking our phone networks changed to a French one, while still being physically in the UK!
The beauty of the cliffs is that you go up and down, you get to view the world like a drone device at times. Look at the photo I took below, I am standing on a cliff photographing another, shorter cliff in front of us.
It’s the greatest, most uplifting workout there is, thanks to the amazing scenery.
This is by no means the end of the hike, you can keep going further. We decided this is a good spot to stop right here at the South Foreland Lighthouse, and we weren’t the only ones. People sitting on deck chairs around the lighthouse, eating popsicles and packed lunches, taking it all in – the view, the wide open arms of nature and of course, the achievement!
You can go inside the Lighthouse if you want to explore it further. Prices go between £3 for children and £15 for a group booking. They also have a tea room which you can book in advance. It’s worth noting the Lighthouse is closed for the winter, so it’s advisable to plan ahead.
We barely used our phones during the hike, which is a good thing because that means we were too busy enjoying the moment. But I did get a snap of myself sitting on one cliff while photographing another – see the cover image of this post!
Dover, you’re getting 5/5 from me.
Wow it looks amazing! Definitely going on my wishlist.
It sure is amazing! Enjoy it when you go 😉