Dover: England's Closest Point to France Where the White Cliffs Guard the Channel
Dover is 21 miles from Calais. That proximity has defined the town for two thousand years. The Romans built a lighthouse here (the Pharos, still standing within Dover Castle, is one of the tallest surviving Roman structures in Britain). The castle itself, begun by Henry II in the 1180s, covers 35 acres on the clifftop and includes medieval tunnels expanded during the Napoleonic Wars and used again as a military command centre in the Second World War. Operation Dynamo, the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940, was coordinated from tunnels beneath the castle. The town has a population of about 35,000 and sits in the Dover district of Kent.
The port dominates. Dover handles more international passengers than any other UK port, with ferries to Calais and Dunkirk running throughout the day. The Channel Tunnel terminal at Folkestone, 10 miles to the west, provides the other cross-Channel option. The A2 and the M2/A2 corridor connect Dover to Canterbury (16 miles) and London (about 80 miles). Dover Priory station has high-speed services to London St Pancras in about an hour via the HS1 line. The white cliffs, managed by the National Trust, draw walkers year-round. The town centre has struggled commercially, but the St James retail and leisure development on the seafront has added a cinema complex. For those considering adult companionship in east Kent, Dover's port and rail connections make it accessible from Canterbury, Folkestone, and London.
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Dover is 21 miles from Calais. That proximity has defined the town for two thousand years. The Romans built a lighthouse here (the Pharos, still standing within Dover Castle, is one of the tallest surviving Roman structures in Britain). The castle itself, begun by Henry II in the 1180s, covers 35 acres on the clifftop and includes medieval tunnels expanded during the Napoleonic Wars and used again as a military command centre in the Second World War. Operation Dynamo, the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940, was coordinated from tunnels beneath the castle. The town has a population of about 35,000 and sits in the Dover district of Kent.
The port dominates. Dover handles more international passengers than any other UK port, with ferries to Calais and Dunkirk running throughout the day. The Channel Tunnel terminal at Folkestone, 10 miles to the west, provides the other cross-Channel option. The A2 and the M2/A2 corridor connect Dover to Canterbury (16 miles) and London (about 80 miles). Dover Priory station has high-speed services to London St Pancras in about an hour via the HS1 line. The white cliffs, managed by the National Trust, draw walkers year-round. The town centre has struggled commercially, but the St James retail and leisure development on the seafront has added a cinema complex. For those considering adult companionship in east Kent, Dover's port and rail connections make it accessible from Canterbury, Folkestone, and London.
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