London 03: Cliffs of Dover & Canterbury

Wednesday, July 09, 2025

I was up at 06:00 this morning so I could get ready and meet my dad back at his hotel. We discovered yesterday that breakfast was indeed included with the booking there and, since it was made for two people, I could go and join him for breakfast rather than going out. The breakfast was simple, but there were some hot ham and cheese pastries that were particularly good. It was just enough to fill us up for the long day ahead.

Dad and I took the Tube over to London Bridge, where our day tour would begin. We were taking a trip to Canterbury and the White Cliffs of Dover. We had plenty of time before our departure time, so I went to Starbucks to get some coffee (much needed caffeine!). The tour bus arrived at 08:30 and there were quite a few people waiting for the tour. Thankfully the bus was not full and we were able to spread out. Our guide was friendly and outgoing, and he provided some running commentary as we set out for the day. There was a bit of traffic as we left London and I soon fell asleep.

Our first stop today was at Dover Castle. The castle was built in the 12th century by King Henry II and was expanded over the centuries. It’s strategic location at the location along the coast that is closest to Europe/France made the castle the key to any invasion of England. The castle has been well maintained and restored, making it a very interesting place to visit.

The visit to Dover Castle was entirely at our leisure and we could decide what parts of the vast complex we wanted to visit. There are a series of tunnels that were used during the Second World War that we could tour which are done by guided tour only. While we could have done the tunnel tour, Dad decided he would prefer walking around the castle instead, which was perfectly fine for me as well.

After making our way across the moat and through the huge gate, we walked uphill to first see the Roman lighthouse and the St Mary in Castro church. The lighthouse was just a hallow shell of a building, but it was fascinating to think that it dated back to the Roman times. The church was in better condition, primarily because it had been rebuilt during the Victorian era. We went inside, but it was nothing terribly remarkable.

We then walked over to the main castle itself to take a look at the various exhibits and rooms. The Great Tower is the central attraction at the castle. It was built by Henry II to display is power, especially at a time when his authority was being questioned by the people. Dad and I enjoyed walking around inside the tower. The rooms were set up to display how life would have looked during Henry II’s time. Everything was simple and modest, but that was the style at the time – it was built centuries before the lavish palaces of royalty would appear in Europe.

When we finished walking around the castle, Dad and I stopped at the café to get a bite to eat for lunch. I had a sausage roll and a slice of cake, while dad had two pastries. It was a light lunch and it gave us some energy to keep going for the remainder of the tour. The group reconvened back at the bus shortly thereafter and we made the quick drive over to the White Cliffs of Dover.

The guide led us along the pathway over to the first major overlook of the cliffs. There was a secondary path that we could have taken, but he said it followed much closer to the cliff edge, which was not appealing to either of us. The overlook gave us a grand view of the cliffs, shining brightly in the sun. We were very fortunate with the weather today – it was a sunny, clear day – and we could even see the coastline of France in the distance. The only problem with viewing the cliffs from here was that we could only see the parts that were jutting further out from where we were standing. I think the true majesty of the cliffs would be better appreciated from the sea, but unfortunately we weren’t venturing out on a boat today.

Our time at the cliffs was short, but enough, and the group then made its way back to the bus. The drive to Canterbury took about 30 minutes. During the drive, I asked dad to show me the itinerary for his upcoming tour. As I looked it over I noticed a big problem: the tour group was scheduled to meet Saturday evening, not Friday as dad had originally planned. Friday was listed as “Day One” for the tour, but it was designated as a travel day, while Saturday was the day of arrival. This meant that dad wouldn’t be able to check in to the tour’s hotel until Saturday and we would need to book him another night at the Canary Warf hotel. It was lucky that I had asked to look at the itinerary now because if he’d gone to the group’s hotel on Friday (after I left) and discovered the error, he would have been all alone to get it sorted.

Canterbury is a bustling town and we were dropped off close to the city center. Unfortunately, as we were getting off of the bus, dad stumbled down the last stair and fell onto the sidewalk! Thankfully he didn’t fall very far and he seemed okay (his pride was hurt more than anything). After making sure dad was truly okay, the guide led everyone through the streets and over to the famed Canterbury Cathedral, which was the primary focus of our stop. The cathedral was consecrated in 1070 and is one of the oldest Christian buildings in the country. It serves as the seat of the archbishop of Canterbury, who is simultaneously the spiritual leader of the Church of England (with the monarch being the supreme governor).

Our guide took us through a side entrance of the church, taking us along a beautiful stone walkway around a central courtyard that was a bit overrun with plants. I instantly recognized the walkway as a location that had been used in the Harry Potter films (among many others). It is a massive cathedral, which is somehow even bigger once we were inside. Our guide pointed out to us the location where Thomas Becket was murdered in the cathedral during the reign of Henry II (it was this murder, supposedly at the suggestion of the king, that put him in disfavor and led to the construction of the Great Tower at Dover Castle).

Dad and I then explored the cathedral on our own, first going into the crypts that ended up being slightly disappointing. The crypts were just a few chapels and not very interesting to visit. We returned to the main floor and made our way to the central part of the cathedral. A massive staircase led up to the choir area, where we got our first proper view of the interior. It wasn’t ornately decorated like Catholic cathedrals, but the architecture was stunning. At the far end was a huge tapestry art installation.

We walked around the interior of the church for quite a while. The tomb of Edward, the Black Prince was particularly interesting because replicas of his armor were hung above the tomb. The originals were displayed in the crypts below, still in remarkable condition. A candle stood on the floor nearby marking the location where the shrine to Thomas Becket stood, until it was destroyed by Henry VIII. After we finished touring the cathedral, we stopped at Pret to have an early dinner (it was 17:00 by this time). We still had a long drive back to London and neither of us wanted to wait until then to have dinner. I spent much of the journey back to town napping.

Once back in London, we took the Tube over to the Palladium Theatre, where we waited to see this evening’s live performance from Evita. A new, limited-run production was running at the Palladium starring Rachel Zegler. At the start of the second act, when she sings “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”, Zegler comes out onto the balcony of the theatre and sings it to the crowd of passersby rather than in the theatre, were her performance is broadcast onto a screen. I had bought a ticket to see Evita for the following evening, but I was keen to see the live performance as well. Dad was a good sport and joined me as well.

We arrived at the Palladium at 20:15, roughly 45 minutes before Zegler typically comes out to perform. There was already a large crowd waiting when we arrived. The wait went by relatively quickly. Once the guests emerged for the intermission break, we knew it wouldn’t be much longer. Soon enough the orchestral music began playing over speakers on the balcony and Zegler emerged, dressed in a regal white gown and jewels befitting the titular role. The crowd became silent as she began to sing the show-stopping song. It was an amazing experience and she did an amazing job – I was very excited to see the full show tomorrow night!

Dad and I made our way back to the Tube and then to our respective hotels. We planned to meet at the same time in the morning for breakfast. When I got to my hotel, the room was stiflingly hot and I managed to get a small fan from the front desk. While it didn’t exactly cool the room down, it was better than nothing!