Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
European Adventure 2017
Last night was cooler so we all slept well and as we got ready to leave a lovely English couple about our age who had been at reception with us when we checked in and had spoken to us whenever they saw us after that came up to me for a chat and then asked "do you know David from New Zealand?" "Yes" I said "he's my brother" thinking he couldn't possibly be serious. "Really" he said "I met him at Monte Carlo several years ago". After establishing that there were several thousand David's in NZ and since he couldn't give me a surname or place where he came from it was unlikely to have been my brother! Never mind! We headed into Dover to get Mandy's phone sorted and then headed up to Dover Castle which was really interesting with its underground tunnels. Under the White Cliffs there are nearly 4 miles of tunnels covering three levels. The top level was only excavated in 1940 and was used as a hospital from 1942 to 1945. The middle level was originally excavated during the Napoleonic era and was re-clad in parts for use during the 2nd world war and it was from here that the rescue from Dunkirk was organised. The third layer was the deepest and this was for housing the army and airforce troops where they would be safe from bombs. There is a double helix staircase from the bottom to the top to help get the troops out in a hurry. About 14m separate the different levels and when were down the middle one we were more than 25m underground. The castle was fun to wander through with some of the areas such as the kitchen recreated as it would hAve been. With so many little passageways here and there it would have been easy to get lost. Our campsite for the night is Haguelands Farm Village in Kent. A lovely rural spot which offers a farm shop but also has other small businesses such as a Bistro, cooking school, hairdresser and a couple of others. We had just settled in and then guess what came past - a train! But at least it wasn't a proper one. This looks like it is a dinky little tourist thing which runs between the two closest towns and it certainly won't be running at night.
- comments