headoverheels

This past Tuesday I went to Dover with Michael, Anthony, Erling, Tharald, and Rachel.  We left Mile End at 9:30 and took the District Line to Victoria Station.  We were all a little worried we'd miss our bus, which was scheduled to leave at 10:30, but we made it with plenty of time.  The bus ride took about two and a half hours, and went by quickly.

Once in Dover, we looked around for a place to eat.  The town center was really small, with cobblestones and, oddly, a large t.v. screen which was just emitting static.  It was so random--it seemed like a UFO or something, or some Big Brother implement.  Anyway, we went into a small pub called Ellie's and got lunch; I got a ham and tomato toastie.  Then we climbed up to the castle, on top of the white cliffs.  It reminded me of being in Garmisch, Germany and trekking up to King Ludwig's castle--very steep!  But this trek wasn't as long.  It cost 11.50 to get in with our student discounts.  There were lots of school groups there that day, and I enjoyed watching all the kids!  I loved it up there--the sun was bright, and the grass was so green.  And yeah, the castle was cool, too.  King Henry II started building the castle in the mid-twelfth century.  There was also a Roman lighthouse, from when the Romans had a fort up there, way back when. The castle's defenses were constantly updated from the 1700's til WWII in response to every European war involving Britain.

When I told my mom I was going to Dover, she mentioned the Dunkirk Evacuation (though neither of us could think of the proper name for it at the time) and Operation Dynamo, when the British army was stranded at Dunkirk in France.  Thousands of men were evacuated and taken back to Dover, many of them in local fishing boats.  This took place in May and June of 1940.

After walking through the castle, we went outside and lounged around on the lawn by the castle for awhile.  Michael had brought a football to kick around.  It was nice to just relax and talk and laugh in the sun.  We checked out the church, and found what we thought were pieces of sidewalk chalk on the ground.  Then we realized they were part of the white cliffs!  I took a piece back with me.

We walked to the pebbly beach and got ice cream cones.  It was a clear day, so we could see the shore of France.  We skipped rocks and ate ice cream and buried Erling in pebbles.  I rolled up my jeans and walked into the water, which was icy cold.  Then we walked to one of the lighthouses (Virginia Woolf, anyone?).

Back at the town center, we got Subway for dinner, then got back on the bus.  We made it back to Mile End by 11:30.

I liked Dover a lot!  I kind of want to go back there, because I read that there's a really nice hike along the cliffs, which we didn't have time to do (too busy lounging around I guess).  Hey Mom and Dad, want to go to Dover with me...?