We took the guided tour through the wartime tunnels, which were used during the Napoleonic Wars and, most notably, during World War II. When the German army was taking over France, they forced a ton of British, French, and Belgium troops to Dunkirk port on France's coast, and they were all evacuated across the Channel and through the tunnels into Dover Castle. This was such an incredible feat that it became known as "the miracle of Dunkirk." Dover Castle also sustained heavy gunfire during WW2 because it became a frontline stronghold. It was known as "Hellfire Corner." But the castle itself wasn't damaged because Hitler planned to use it as his headquarters after invading Britain. We then wandered around the castle itself and went into the keep, which was built by Henry II's men in 1181-1183.
After lunch, Jessica and I went on to Canterbury while Kelly stayed and hiked around on the Dover cliffs. Canterbury is still surrounded by its medieval walls, and it's really interesting to see cars driving along a highway inside! Part of the town still has old buildings that were lived in by monks before Henry VIII expelled Catholicism. One of the houses is even named after St Francis, though I don't think he ever lived there. Sadly, the cathedral itself was closed due to a conference so we didn't get to see the shrine to Thomas Beckett. But because of that, we had time to go into The Canterbury Tales museum, which was fun. It was slightly amusing because it was just a bunch of wax figures with an audio guide, retelling some of the Tales. But it was enjoyable nevertheless. Then we took a boat tour down the Stower River (which comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "angry," though the river has been artificially calmed and is quite still) and saw all the buildings of historic Canterbury.
The next day, I took a day trip to the Cotswolds. It was organised by the same people who do the famous London Walks. The Cotswolds are in the middle of nowhere and are very difficult to visit by public transportation, so it was very helpful to go with a group. We took a train to Kingham and then a coach bus through some of the scenic parts of the Cotswolds. But don't worry--we didn't just stay on the bus! (I really think bus tours are ridiculous, even though it was fun to get to see a variety of places in the Cotswolds...including a lavender farm!) We walked around through the village of Chipping Campden and saw a ton of charming thatched cottages with traditional English gardens, etc. Then we had a lunch break, and I ate at a cafe that our guide said was a traditional English place. It was absolutely amazing! I had English tea, a cranberry/chicken/bacon sandwich (and the bacon over here is actually meat instead of just grease tied together by fat), and a fruit scone with strawberry preserves. It was probably the best meal I've had since I've been here. After that, we walked through the village of Lower Slaughter and then to the village of Upper Slaughter. The name "Slaughter" comes from "slough," which is, of course, a marsh/swamp (think Pilgrim's Progress and the Slough of Despond). We walked through fields and by ponds and rivers. We walked through "kissing gates" which are gates that only allow one person to walk through at a time. Apparently they are called kissing gates because boys used to trap girls in there and not let them out until they got a kiss. (I am kind of surprised that a scene like that wasn't in Tess of the D'Urbervilles.)
Anyways, it was another very good weekend! Now I'm just trying to enjoy/get through the work week and then it'll be another wonderful weekend. :-)
1 comment:
hahaha...kissing gates. Maybe I should go try to get stuck there.
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