Dover Castle--finally!

I say 'finally' because we went there almost a month ago. Again, I blame summer brain.

And laziness.

And the library books that keep calling my name when I get little man down for a nap.

But on to Dover.

The day after school let out was a day off for DH, so we took off as a whole family for a fun day at Dover Castle. We'd heard great things about it, and had seen it on the hill overlooking the English Channel when we took the ferry to Germany in April, so we knew we had to get there eventually.

We packed a picnic lunch, and headed out for a fun day together. The weather was a little scary--gray, blustery, non-picnicky--but we decided to press forward with the plan.  We had a relatively uneventful drive down and even found a place to park our massive vehicle, so it all was looking good. 

We grabbed a quick picnic lunch in the van (that wind was pretty gusty) and then took off for an afternoon of touristy sightseeing.  We began with a tour of the wartime tunnels, a series of tunnels that date back to the Napoleonic Wars, used most recently as a command center and hospital in WWII.  It was an excellent tour, beginning with a short film to give us some background, and then we followed the story of a soldier who had been shot down and brought there for treatment in the hospital.  Noises and voices were piped in all around us, with the sounds of bombs going off and the lights flickering at times.  It was very interesting, and all of the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves.  Even Dallin behaved himself, though I think that was because the tour guide let him play with his flashlight...

No photos are allowed during the tour, or in the tunnels themselves, so these are all the pictures I have of that part of our day.  As we exited the tour, we could see the beautful white cliffs Dover is famous for...

After the tour we wandered the grounds a bit, and then went into the actual castle.  We were met by a holographic host, which freaked Josh out a bit...

...then we found the well (don't fall in, kids!)...

...King Henry II's throne room...

...and the kitchen, where we goofed around for a few minutes.

I love Josh's face in this photo, and I also love how you can see the thickness of the castle walls behind him.  If I remember correctly, in some areas of the castle, the walls are 21 feet thick!

Abby loved this map of the world, and probably spent 15 minutes there staring at it, examining all the places she'd been learning about in school.

We made sure to get up to the roof to check out the view.

Then back down all those stairs to head outside and wander the grounds.

As Adam says, "How often do you get your picture taken with a real trebuchet?"

On the left in this photo is the Church of St Mary-in-Castro, and on the right is what remains of a Roman lighthouse.  The church dates back to 1000 AD, and was in ruins by 1720.  It was restored in 1826, and has served the military community for several centuries.

At that point of the day, it was starting to drizzle, so we decided to head for home.  We were glad to have a fun day together, and are so thankful to have the opportunity to be here to see such amazing sights. 

Cheers, from Dover Castle!