Wednesday 23rd September – Dover, England

We caught the same bus as yesterday but this time we travelled into the centre of Dover. Our objective was the the installation but I wondered how long it would be before the water jets became blocked or started emitting jets of water rather than mist.

We were really impressed by the museum. The exhibits were interesting, very well displayed and had excellent information boards. The star attraction was the Bronze Age boat that was in amazing state of preservation given that it dated from 2550BC. It is 9.5 metres long by 2.4 metres wide and its construction is still very clear - even the yew withies tying the oak planks together. A video show a half-size replica that had been built and rowed in the English Channel. The Mary Rose Trust had helped to preserve the waterlogged remains that were discovered in 1992 during roadworks close to the Dover seafront.
Amongst other interesting exhibits was a section devoted to finds of a number of local, responsible metal Dover Museum but, as we approached the building, we saw an intriguing (modern art?) installation. It consisted of a series of large metal arches expelling a mist. The water spray was so fine that it hardly felt wet when we walked under the arches. I can imagine that it would have been very pleasant to stand underneath them during the extremely hot weather that we experienced a few weeks ago. I really liked detectorist clubs together with a very amusing, tongue-in-cheek showing the involvement of the club members in a local Time Team dig; The Maison Dieu interior being prepared for a function.
Before catching the bus back to the site, we decided to drop in to the Maison Dieu. This is the Town Hall and has recently been beautifully restored. The main hall (see photo below) had been painted over in beige pain and they only discovered its magnificent decoration during the renovation.

Photos: The misty (mystic?) installation; The Bronze Age boat; Detail showing the yew ties; Part of a replica; The metal detectorist clubs’ model; One of the Maison Dieu halls.

Tuesday 22nd September – Dover, England

Just 5 minutes’ walk took us to the bus stop where we caught the 93 bus. Officially, the bus doesn’t stop at Dover Castle on the way into town but the driver very kindly dropped us off close to the entrance and pointed out the bus stop when we could catch the bus on the way home. We paid our entrance fee, reduced for seniors and further reduced because we arrived on public transport. Getting old is not all bad news! It still cost us over £20 each but there is a huge amount to see at the castle and it was very good value.
We entered over the very deep ditch and across the drawbridge at the Constable’s Gate. We explored the grounds and defences that have changed and expanded dramatically over the millennia since its origins as an Iron Age hillfort. One of the first places that we visited was the Church of St. Mary de Castro Church and the lighthouse. The church, built about 1100 pre-dates the castle but the lighthouse is Roman and is amazingly well preserved considering its age. The thin Roman bricks are very obvious in the lighthouse walls and there even seemed to be some of those bricks in the church. Perhaps they were taken from other Roman buildings? The preservation of the lighthouse can be explained by the fact that the building was reused as the bell tower of the church.

The wartime command tunnels where the defence of the English Channel was controlled, were closed for refurbishment – a great pity as I really wanted to see them. However, the tunnels used as a hospital in WWII were open and we joined a very good guided tour of them.

We then walked up to the Great Tower, the keep in the inner bailey of the castle. The Tower, built in the late 12^th century, has a well used to supply fresh water to the occupants, especially useful in times of siege. The well was sunk into the chalk of the hill and then continued in brick up through the tower. The guide in the well room threw some water down the well and we waited to hear when it hit the water below. I was quite convince that it had hit the side of the well but after 10 seconds there was a loud noise as it reached the bottom. The well is currently 300 feet deep but, when it was built, it was 400 feet deep. That was a very impressive bit of engineering for the 12^th century and I was very glad that I wasn’t the man digging the shaft that was less than 3 feet wide down through hundreds of feet of chalk and into the water below.

Photos: The Constable’s Gate; The Roman Lighthouse next to the church and with the Great Tower in the background; 19^th century graffiti in the Avranches Tower; Approaching the inner bailey and Great Tower; The well in the Great Tower.

Monday 21st September – Dover, England

 A fairly relaxed start, picking up Cara from the secure storage and heading off to the A303. Every time that we have taken a ferry from Dover, we have said that we must visit Dover Castle some time and the time has finally come. We got our act together and booked three nights at the Hawthorn Farm Holiday Park, just outside Dover with bus connections to the town.
After an uneventful journey we arrived at the campsite and ANPR meant that we could drive straight through the barrier and on to our allotted pitch. We had booked a hardstanding pitch and these were close to the entrance and handy for the shower block. However, our pitch backed on to a hedge, the other side of which is a railway line. Fortunately, it is not a main line and the trains are short and travelling slowly, so the noise is not that great. Unfortunately, the trains run from 04:00 to midnight, which led to a rather disturbed night’s sleep. If we stay again, we will request a grass pitch further away from the railway line.
Photos: One of the many trains passes our pitch.

Autumn sojourn to Germany

Apart from three folk festivals and a brief trip to Devon and Cornwall to see relatives and friends, we haven't used Cara much this year. We needed to put that right and have now started on a seven week sojourn to Germany, although we have no firm plans and may visit other countries.

Thursday 23rd October 2025 – Home, England

The weather forecasts had been full of warnings for Storm Benjamin that was going to hit Northern France and England today and we were glad that we were going on Eurotunnel and not by ferry.
We had to encourage the local geese to move out of the way as we left the aire. They normally live in the moat by the town walls but had decided to wander across the road and were reluctant to move.
The weather, although a little breezy was not bad on the 40 minute drive to Coquelles. Jane had found a garage very close to the Eurotunnel Terminal that had motorhome dumping facilities, which meant that we could empty everything before putting the van into storage when we got back. We were offered a shuttle that left half an hour earlier than we had booked – good news! There was a lot of confusion on the electronic boards as we queued to board – they showed us delayed to our original time, then said that we were ‘on time’. We were called down to the platform and five vans arrived next to the shuttle that we had originally been booked on. We watched as the cars were loaded on but, although our door was open and apparently ready to take us, we were never called to load. Eventually they closed the doors and the train left. So the five of us were stuck on the platform without any explanation of what was happening. We rang the Eurotunnel Information line to ask what was happening. This took some time and involved two delays whilst the very pleasant helpdesk person consulted with her supervisor. In the meantime, another shuttle arrived, discharged its cars and then called us in. So we left about 15 mins after our original departure time. Very strange.
Arriving at Folkestone, the weather was awful – very strong winds and heavy rain. It was a battle with the steering wheel until we reached the M25 but the weather gradually improved as we travelled further west to home sweet home.
People keep asking me how far we drove on our sojourns so this time I recorded it:
Total mileage: 3,730
Fuel costs: Maximum – 175p/l in Switzerland
                         Minimum – 121p/l in Luxemburg
                          UK on return – 144p/l
Photos: None