Dover – Underground and Overground

Operation Dynamo, better known as the evacuation of Dunkirk, took place between May 26th and Jun 4th 1940. 338,226 soldiers (198,229 British and 139,997 French) were rescued by a hastily assembled fleet of 860 boats including about 700 fishing boats, Pleasure craft and lifeboats known as the little ships of Dunkirk. This evacuation proved crucial in saving the British army from total defeat and capture. The operation got it’s name from the Dynamo Room where Sir Admiral Ramsay directed the operation. The Dynamo room was part of a labyrinth of Secret Wartime Tunnels built deep into the ground below Dover Castle in Kent.

 Dover, located on the south east coast of England, is the closest part of Britain to Continental Europe just 22 miles away. Dover is famous for it’s White Cliffs that, for hundreds of years, have provided both a symbolic and real defense against attack from it’s neighbors across the channel. The cliffs were recently voted Britain’s most popular stretch of coastline. The Cliff Face hides miles of Hidden Tunnels which were used by during the Second World War as a military command Centre and underground Hospital, but they were there long before World War 2. The Tunnels were originally built in 1216 when Louis VIII of France invaded and attacked Dover Castle. The English defenders tunneled outward from the Castle and attacked the French.

The Castle was built by Henry II during the 1180’s. When Henry VIII was excommunicated by the Pope following the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and following the 1538 peace treaty between France and Spain, an invasion of Britain by the Catholics seemed inevitable. Because of this Henry strengthened his defenses he commissioned a chain of costal artillery forts and you can still see two of them close to Dover, Deal Castle and Walmer Castle.

 You can tour the Secret Wartime Tunnels where they have recreated life as it was lived by the 700 personnel based here in the worst days of World War II. You can view Winston Churchill’s Battle of Britain Command and view underground hospital. Sounds, smells and film clips from the time realistically recreate the atmosphere of wartime Britain.

On July 25^th 1909 Louis Blériot completed the worlds first flight “over a large body of water in a heavier than air craft” when he landed in Dover.  He won a £1000 prize offered by the Daily Mail newspaper for the first successful flight across the English Channel. The trip from Les Barraques, near Calais in France took 37 Minutes and secured him a place in History. In 2009 Dover will be celebrating the centenery of that flight. Over the weekend of July 25^th and 26^th there will be many events including a historic recreation of Bleriot’s flight across the English Channel by the distinguished Swedish pilot, Mikael Carlson, flying one of his two Bleriot XI airplanes.  

Dover is home to a Cruise port and, along with the nearby towns of Sandwich and Deal makes for an ideal pre or post cruise stopovers. Especially if your looking for an alternative to London.