Tuesday 17th August

We are going to spend a few days in Dover waiting for favourable winds to get to Eastbourne for the penultimate leg of our round the UK trip. We had a walk along the sea front and in to the town. We visited the Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery, situated right in the middle of town. It is home to the remains of a large wooden prehistoric boat thought to be some 3000 years old, which was discovered by archaeologists in 1992. It has been preserved in much the same way as the Mary Rose has been in Portsmouth.

Wednesday 18th August

Today we visited Dover Castle, perched high up over the town and port. It is a popular tourist destination and it was very busy. For the most part during our trip the places we have visited have been quiet, with the notable exception of Cleethorpes sea front and, now, Dover Castle. The medieval castle, set in 80 acres of land, is very grand and inside the Great Tower, the lavish lifestyle of Henry II is recreated. We climbed to the top of the tower and the views across the English Channel were breath taking. There is an Anglo-Saxon church still in use today next to the oldest surviving lighthouse in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, the Roman Pharos. This lighthouse was used by the Romans to aid navigation across the Channel from France.

Thursday 19th August

Today our only task was to go to the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club for lunch, which we did, and very smart it was too.