July 19, 2014 -- Day 34, Dover

I’ve been in England for so long that I may be starting to think like the British. Not totally, mind you, but just a little. For example, I’ll never get used to the third world plumbing around here. OK, maybe not third world, but certainly archaic – I’ve seen more modern plumbing in remote regions of the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Perhaps British plumbing should be the subject of another posting, but not now.

I’m staying in a B&B that is about a 10 minute walk from the city center. As I left this evening to walk to a restaurant for dinner, I noticed some clouds forming overhead. The day was still hot and muggy – far too hot for me to carry my Gore-Tex jacket. On a hunch, I grabbed an umbrella from the B&B’s umbrella stand. I felt stupid carrying an umbrella on a hot sunny day. Well, you guessed it. By the time I left the restaurant, it was raining buckets – still far too warm for a Gore-Tex jacket, but the umbrella was perfect. Now, I ask you, how many Americans from the southwest would have thought to carry an umbrella? Indeed, most of the Brits leaving the restaurant weren’t prepared. So maybe I’m not exactly thinking like the Brits – I’m thinking better than them. Just in case I’m on a roll, here, I’m also thinking that they should be driving on the right side of the road. But I digress.

Because I had walked from Dover to Folkestone yesterday, I decided that taking the bus to Dover would be a better use of my time than retracing my footsteps. I spent this morning walking around Dover to familiarize myself with the layout of the city, and spent the afternoon touring Dover Castle – which I was able to access for free because the English Heritage pass Janet and I bought in 2012 is still valid until the end of July. That saved a £17.40 entry fee – about $30.

Included in the admission is a guided tour of the secret tunnels that were headquarters for some of the Allied command during WWII. Oddly, most of the tunnels were constructed in 1797, when Britain was concerned about an invasion by Napoleon – but they were put to better use 150 years later. They were also put to good use today, because the temps in the tunnels are much cooler than today’s outside air.

Identify this bike

Dover street scene

Dover as seen from Dover Castle

Pea shooters

Dover Castle

Dover Castle

© 2014 Ken Klug