Last Updated on October 17, 2022

To get from Dublin, Ireland to Dover, England, cruise southward down the Irish Sea, go through the St. George Channel, enter the Celtic Sea, then hang a left eastward into the English Channel and continue until you reach the Channel’s narrowest point (21 miles). That’s called the Strait of Dover, and there on your left is Dover.

A brief word about the English Channel. As everyone knows, it separates the south of England from the north of France. It is the busiest shipping area in the world. It has been successfully swum more than 1,700 times. And the tunnel running underneath carries a train that connects England and France; it is called, not surprisingly, the Channel Tunnel or the “Chunnel.” (Wikepedia factoid)

The cliffs, Dover Castle is behind

After 38 hours of scenic cruising along this route, we approached the spectacular White Cliffs of Dover. They are MAMMOTH. They are NUMEROUS. And they are WHITE.

We spend the morning strolling around Dover which is not particularly big, but historically, has been England’s most important strategic defense.

Julius Caesar in 55 BC entered England here. The Spanish Armada tried to enter in 1588 but didn’t succeed. Dover has been called “the Lock and Key of England” as well as “the gateway” to the European continent for those heading south.

We amble along the cobblestone streets through this quiet, unassuming small town of about 116,000, a comfortable mix of old plus new, of local tradition alongside modern life plus a little international taste. Here’s the 900+ year-old Anglican Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin adjacent to a nice skateboard park and playground and not far from the retail chain Poundland (Dollarstore). There’s Chaplin’s Restaurant and Carvery (“carvery?” – how British) near The Best Kebab & Pizza. We shop in some lowkey artsy proprietorships, and we notice some public storefront statements of the town’s interest in diversity and inclusivity.

In the afternoon, we bus to Canterbury. I expect to run smack into The Wife of Bath, but she isn’t there. Not even a picture or an impersonation of her. Where’s The Knight?  What about The Friar? And how about Chaucer himself? I was hoping for something like Williamsburg with play-actors in costume. I was kind of disappointed that we didn’t see more evidence of The Canterbury Tales. But we did see architectural and structural evidence of the city’s antiquity: Canterbury Cathedral, references to the presence of famous English men of letters, old buildings re-invented and re-imagined for probably dozens of times over the centuries.

Cobblestone streets with Canterbury Cathedral looming in the background

Something about Canterbury, England that’s reminiscent of Fells Point, Baltimore

The ancient remnant of a church entryway claims to be the place where dramatist Christopher Marlow was baptized in 1564, and the still-operating Sun Hotel, built in 1503, advertises itself as “Formerly Known As The Little Inn, Made Famous by Charles Dickens In His Travels Thro’ Kent.”

A lively, youthful, diverse crowd, bustling and jostling along the narrow old streets of Canterbury, feels like the vibe at the annual Fells Point Festival in Baltimore … with a farmers market thrown in. We pass a display of stunningly red local “Fresh Gorgeous Strawberries” as well as sandwich board signs inviting us in for delicacies such as “Dirty Smash Burgers & Craft Beer” and “Funky Chicken Stand-Up Comedy Night.”

The Canterbury Gift Shop offers a great selection of mementos at a wide price range. I settle for a 12” ruler of British Rulers (get it?), that lists every one of them from King Alfred the Great in the ninth century to Queen Elizabeth II, and a small round replica of the Canterbury Cross in plastic stained glass, now hanging by suction cup in my sunroom window.

The final port of call on this cruise was Tilbury/London on the day following Dover, but I opted out since traveling logistics to reach interesting sights sounded cumbersome, time-consuming, and exhausting.

I chose instead to stay on board our lovely ship and enjoy one last day of luxury and solitude. And so concludes this travelog of Norway and the British Isles!

Julie Helms