Postcards from a McTraveler: White Cliffs of Dover

Where: Dover, England
When: August 25, 2013
With: Emma and Gemma

While not in the book, the White Cliffs of Dover are often considered a top spot in England to visit. Now, I'm not TOTALLY bound by the book (just mostly) so it was somewhere I really wanted to go. Ironically, the Brits would disagree, as several locals informed me it wasn't really a nice place to visit. However, the cliffs were calling to me, and I had to go. So as part of my last month splurge of travel in England, we headed out.

It's only a short one-hour train journey out of central London to get to Dover. It was nice to have a bit of a lie-in in the morning and still get a full day. Couple that with the fabulous weather, and we had a lovely day by the sea!

Shortly into the train journey, the sea showed itself out the window of the train, and we started to see the chalky deposits of rock that give the cliffs their name. We had arrived.

Despite all the haters, I thought Dover was stunning. It was like the typical rolling, green English countryside was suddenly hacked off and had crumbled into the sea, leaving jagged, bright white cuts in its wake. When coupled with the turquoise ocean that surrounds the coast of England, the contrast in colors was amazing.

We began hiking one of the several pathways along the coastline. The sun was out, the wind was light, and we had a beautiful hike. On a clear day, you can see all the way to France, as this is the point in England that is closest to the Continent.

We spent an hour walking the length of the coastline before making it to the lighthouse that sits overlooking the cliffs. Once we arrived, we lazily laid in the grass while families flew kites over our heads. This was the epitome of a lazy afternoon.

Of course, a day trip with these girls would not be complete without our traditional spot of afternoon tea, and this trip would be no exception. Mrs. Knotts tea house sat inside the lighthouse and was as authentic of a tea room as they come. With antique, mismatched china and decor that came right out of the early 1900s, it was like being in an old English grandmother's house. We sat outside in the sunlight enjoying our tea and scones; however, our meal was mildly spoiled but some unwelcome visitors: bees! They burrowed their way into our jam and clotted cream and required us to get creative in capturing them. I am sad for the person who cleaned up our trays, uncovering an upside down teacup smushed into a scone to confine a bee suffocating in the sweet goodness.

On our way back, we followed the path the hugged the coastline, allowing us to peek over the edge and see the waves crashing far down below us. At 350 feet up, the wind was strong, so we had to take care to not be blown over the edge (no guardrails here!). It's also apparently not uncommon for chunks of chunk to erode and fall into the ocean, adding an extra element of danger to poking our heads over the edge. Gemma didn't think we took nearly enough care, but given her apparent lack of heights, I'm not sure what we could have done to avoid freaking her out.