This is one of my favorite day trips from London so whenever family or friends visit, I take them to this castle. It’s possible to visit via public transport from London by taking a train to Dover Priory station. From St Pancras International, it takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. You can then walk for 30 minutes or take a bus which leaves you at the bottom of the castle hill. By car, it’s about a 1-hour 45-minute drive and there’s parking available at the site. Tickets then cost 21.30 GBP1 or it’s free with an English Heritage membership. The ticket includes guided tours of the war tunnels which for me, are the highlights of the visit.
The car park is located inside the site next to the ticket office. From the ticket office, it’s a short walk down to the WW2 war tunnels which you should make your first stop. Tours leave every 15 minutes and last about 50 minutes. There are 2 tours, one is of the underground hospital which is an immersive experience. You follow the story of a rescued shot-down pilot who has been brought in for an operation. The layout of the tunnel, sounds, and even smells have been re-created to how they would have been during the war. This is one of my favorite tours of any museum/site I’ve visited. The other tour is of the war tunnels used for WW2 Operation Dynamo. In this tour, you’re taken through the military evacuation operation of allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. Projections of real film footage and dramatizations with special effects bring this event to life. This tour ends in the restaurant/gift shop and there is a small museum area with artifacts above. Also, you can step outside to a balcony-like area that has panoramic views of the seaside.
Following this, you can walk along the castle walls towards the Great Tower. On the way, you can take a small detour to the Medieval tunnels which were used to defend the castle. There’s not a tour for these tunnels but there are several information panels to guide you through the route. Once you come back up from the tunnels, you can then walk across to the tower gate to get to the Great Tower. This medieval palace built by King Henry II has several artifacts throughout with information panels. You can ascend all the way to the roof which has great views of the city. In the surrounding buildings, there are also some self-guided tours of the royal courts. Following this, you can then walk down to the ruins of the Roman lighthouse and the working church of Anglo-Saxon origin. For me, this is usually where I end the day and head back. There are however a couple of other sites such as PWRR Museum which has some history of the regiments. There is also the WW1 Fire Command Post with the only working British 3 inch gun which was used to shoot down warplanes. Overall, Dover Castle is well organized and has produced great tours to experience history.
