Dover Castle
The most famous building in the Cross-Channel Geopark, Dover Castle has an extraordinary history stretching back at least to the Roman conquest of Britain nearly 2000 years ago.
Dover
10am - 4pm
Free for English Heritage members
Car parking
Facilities
- Café
- Disabled parking
- Picnic area
- Toilets
- Dogs welcome
Geosite details
The history of Dover Castle is intertwined with the geology of Dover, perched as it is on the top of the White Cliffs and with miles of tunnels dug directly into the chalk.
Within the walls of Dover Castle you can find one of the oldest buildings still standing in Britain, the Roman Pharos lighthouse, which is also one of just three Roman lighthouses standing anywhere in the world! A corresponding lighthouse known as the Tour d’Ordre was built by the Romans on the other side of the Cross-Channel Geopark in Boulogne, and together these would have guided ships through the Channel. The Tour d’Ordre fell into the sea due to coastal erosion in around 1644.
The current castle was built during the reign of Henry II, and was developed by various monarchs over the years, including Henry VIII. A massive development of the castle occurred during the 19th Century to protect against the feared invasion of Napoleon from France, this also saw the development of the Western Heights on the other side of Dover. The 19th Century developments included the digging of the tunnels, which were converted during World War Two and served as the headquarters for the successful evacuation of Dunkirk.
Dover Castle recently hosted an aviary for the successful reintroduction of the Chough to Kent, and if you’re lucky you might spot these red-billed birds flying overhead.
