Dover & Canterbury, England - June 27th, 2025
The White Cliffs of Dover were Keith’s one request while we were in London. It was a full day bus tour from London, where we were staying. But the tour included time to see Dover Castle and the town of Canterbury in addition to the cliffs. So we felt it was worth the long bus ride.
Friday we took a bus tour to Dover and Canterbury. We needed to meet the Day Tours London bus near the Blackfriars underground station at 7:15 am. So we got up at 6 am, threw our fruit basket breakfast into our day packs, left the hotel by 6:30 am and caught the District Line at Victoria Station to get to Blackfriars. We are arrived at the bus with about 20 minutes to spare. There was a little coffee shop, the Piccolo Bar, right next to where the bus was parked. Keith went in and got his morning coffee. Then we boarded the bus.
It was about a two hour bus ride to Dover. We made one stop at a service plaza for a bathroom break and to pick up our tour guide. She provided commentary for the rest of the drive, giving us information about the tour and some history of Kent county, Dover, and Canterbury.
The first tour stop was at the White Cliffs of Dover. Everyone had the opportunity to walk out to one of the view points of the cliffs, then we had an option. We could either stay at the cliffs, walking out to the lighthouse or down to the beach, or, hopping back on the bus to go over to Dover Castle. We chose going to the castle.
Admission to Dover Castle was not included in the bus tour, so we paid our money to go in. Included in the price were guided tours of two different tunnels built during World War II. Our tour guide recommended going on the shorter of the two tours, the hospital tunnel so we went directly there. However, when we reached the entrance to the tunnel, we found out that the first tour wasn’t going to start for another 25 minutes.
Kirsten and Ann were more interested in the castle, but Keith wanted to tour the tunnel, so we split up. Ann and Kirsten walked back to the castle tower, visiting some points of interest along the way, such as the Fire Command Post, the Roman lighthouse, and St. Mary’s in Castro Church. The church and lighthouse predate the castle. The lighthouse was built during the first century while the church is from the 10th century. The castle was built during the 11th and 12th centuries.
The tour through the Great Tower was self-guided and is set up so that people flow through it in one direction. Various rooms are set up so you could see how people used the spaces in medieval times. The tour includes reaching the roof of the square tower, with views out over Dover and the English Channel. When Ann and Kirsten were on the roof, they could see a fog rolling in.
Upon exiting the tower, Kirsten and Ann went through the Pince of Wale’s Royal Regiment Museum. The display that caught Ann’s eye was about Captain Nevill during World War I. Nevill was a captain of a battalion assigned to France. Nevill let his men forward in the Battle of Somme by kicking two footballs (soccer balls) ahead of the men, hoping the familiar sight would help motivate them to attack. Nevill was killed in the first five minutes of battle.
After the museum, Ann and Kirsten went into the café next door to grab some lunch. By this time, Keith had finished his tour of the hospital tunnel and made it up to the top of the castle tower. After rushing through the castle rooms to reach the roof, there wasn’t much of a view since the fog had rolled in. He then came back down and joined the others in the café.
It was now time to rejoin the bus, which had already swung back to the cliffs to pick up the others. It was about a half an hour ride from Dover to Canterbury. When we reached the town, our guide gave us a short walking tour of the town, then we had almost two hours to explore on our own. Many people chose to tour the cathedral, which charged an admission fee that was not included with the bus tour. We went straight to Tiny Tim’s Tea Rooms to try their cream tea.
We wanted Kirsten to experience a cream tea and Tiny Tim’s turned out to be a good choice. It also happened to be National Cream Tea Day, which is the last Friday in June every year. Tiny Tim’s Cream Tea for One comes with two scones and a pot of tea along with butter, clotted cream, and jam. You have a choice of plain or sultana scones and a wide selection of teas to choose from. Keith ordered the Royal George tea with two sultana scones. Ann got Tiny Tim’s Special Blend with one plain and one sultana scone. Kirsten’s order was Apple Viennese Tisane with two sultana scones.
The scones were huge, about two to three times as large as a normal scone. We could have easily split two scones among the three of us. Besides being large, they were also delicious. They came out warm and had a nice, crispy exterior. But we couldn’t finish them all, so we walked out with one in a bag.
Tiny Tim’s also has a ghost room upstairs, next to the toilets. Back in the 1960’s, when the building was being remodeled after a fire, the mummified bodies of three children were discovered in the attic. All three were clutching bibles inscribed with the date 1503. Since then, there have been unexplainable occurrences in the building.
After our tea, we strolled around the town until it was time to get back on the bus. Then it was a two hour ride from there back to London. It was about 6 pm when we arrived in London, but none of us were hungry, so we just took the Underground back to the hotel and called it a day.
The White Cliffs of Dover were nice, but not worth spending hours on a bus just to see them. However, combining the cliffs with Dover Castle and Canterbury gave Kirsten a chance to see some coastline, a castle, a cute village, and experience a nice cream tea. So we were glad we took the tour.
Check out our related video: Dover & Canterbury, England
(Ann)