Defender Henry day 2

Defender Henry day 2 We set of from Tonbridge to the south coast and Dover castle, high on the famous white cliffs. The castle built in 1180 by Henry II, looked every bit the strong fortress in the summer sunshine with the union flag flying proudly over the battlements . The whole castle in 5 worlds in one, it has a Roman lighthouse, the tallest Roman structure standing in England. The Keep is set out as though Henry II was staying there. The great halls decked out in tapestries, wall hangings, furniture and feasting tables. From the top of the keep you can easily see the coast of France 22 miles away, large car ferries playing their trade across this narrow seaway. There’s medieval tunnels dating from 1200 to explore and Napoleonic tunnels too that have been upgraded through the centuries since then right up to the 1980’s. Finally there is the new exhibition of the WWII operation Dynamo, the evacuation of 338,000 men from the beaches of Dunkirk. Only the British could snatch a victory from the jaws of a defeat.

A short drive from Dover along the coast are the forts of Deal and Walmer castles. Only a mile apart and built in a hurry by Henry VIII in 1540 to protect this part of the coastline, they are both a similar clover leaf design but both are different today. Deal is very much the same as Henry would have known it and it was here the Anne of Cleves first set foot in England on her way to marry the King. She is to be credited with bringing the violin to England as well as keeping her head and as we shall see a little later was made a very wealthy woman. The feel of the place is very much as it was in 1540 being right on the beach and bristling with cannons. Walmer feels very different, it’s the residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque ports and has been lived in for far longer than Deal. Here the Duke of Wellington died and a couple of rooms are set in in his memory. There are gardens here on set out by The Queen Mother and the roses are beautiful, it must be a good year for roses. From Walmer e travelled inland to stay the night in a lovely village called Lenham in a hotel dating back to 1600’ and Queen Anne was known to have stayed here in 1702.