Dover, Ferries and Ferry Crossings

Welcome to the Dover (UK) section of FerryCrossings.org, the site for information about major UK and continental ports and the ferries between them. Our site includes an introduction to a number of ports and feature pages about the various crossing ways, lanes and routes and companies operating between them to help you plan your journey and discover interesting travel destinations along the way. You can even compare prices and save money on your ferry tickets with ads from selected major ferry lines.

Port of Dover

Dover. Mention Dover and probably the first thing that comes to mind is 'White Cliffs' and the second that it's a busy cross channel ferry terminal. There is, however, much more to the port than that. Dover, at the mouth of the River Dour, is in the county of Kent, England's beautiful 'hop garden' with orchards, gardens, ancient monuments, great castles and churches, with many small and unspoiled villages both inland and on the coast. Dover is a town with an ancient heritage dating back to bronze age times. Visit Dover's museum and you'll find it's modern one telling the story of the port through its ages, Roman, Anglo Saxon, Norman, mediaeval and Elizabethan, Victorian, and 20th century in Two World Wars. It also gives a home and pride of place to the world's oldest known bronze-age sea-going boat which was discovered nearby.

It was at nearby Deal that the Romans probably first set foot on British soil in the year 55BC. At Dover, near the castle, you can see the remaining Roman lighthouse (one of 2 originally) The port's history and development has been inextricably meshed with the sea and ships, defence and commerce, ever since. Dover was a member of the original Cinque Ports, a federation of vitally important ports formed in the mid 11th century in the reign of Edward the Confessor. The five ports were Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, Romney & Hastings and, in return for providing 'ship service' to the crown, ie. ships and men for 15 days free service, the town's Portsmen received many important privileges, giving them almost complete autonomy; important amongst these rights was that of being allowed to organise their own financial and judicial affairs. In Elizabethan times, the Cinque Ports, Dover amongst them, were each required to build and fit out a large fighting ship to combat the threat of the Spanish Armada. Dover's contribution was the 'Robin' and Sandwich's ship was the 'Elizabeth'.

It is recognised as the gateway for people and goods entering or leaving Britain from earliest times. Its importance in Norman times is reflected in its detailed entry, the first for Kent, in the Domesday Book. In the succeeding centuries the county saw the building of many churches, religious foundations. hospitals for pilgrims and great houses. The original Dover Castle was established and King William created the post of Governor of Dover Castle which also had the additional title of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The later, still existing castle, dates from 1190 and has a rectangular keep. Under successive monarchs its defences were strengthened and, in the Civil War between crown and parliament, Dover declared for King Charles but the castle was taken for the Parliamentarains as the result of a trick in 1642. Because of this the castle survives to the present day in a much better condition than it might otherwise have done. Today it is a major tourist attraction and within its walls can be seen the Royal Chapel dedicated to Thomas Becket and the extensively restored Saxon church of St Mary de Castro.

In the years of the Napoleonic Wars when there was an ever constant threat of invasion by the French forces Dover's defences were again strengthened with heavy gun emplacements. Dover itself became home to 2,000 English troops, in readiness for the expected invasion and they were housed in specially constructed underground tunnels and barracks. After threat of invasion passed they were used for a short time by government agencies combating smuggling activities but soon fell into disuse. In 1939 they found new life as air raid shelters, an important military command centre and a hospital.

Add the attractions of Kent to those of Dover and you find yourself with some seriously good reasons to make your visit longer than just 'a stop-over' en route to the ferry and the continent. Kent is famous for its hops, fruit orchards and now vineyards. There are gardens to visit such as the World Garden of Plants at Lullingstone Castle, Sissinghurst Castle Garden and Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest. If you want to visit castles and cathedrals then you need look no further than Kent - see the moated mediaeval manor of at Ightham Mote, Hever Castle, Deal Castle, Walmer Castle and Gardens, Rochester Castle, Rochester Cathedral and, of course, Canterbury Cathdral, If it's tales of smugglers that you want to find then try Deal or the Romney Marshes and visit the Custom House Museum in Gravesend. If old railways interest you then there are plenty to find in Kent, including the Kent and East Sussex Railway, the Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway, the East Kent Railway, The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway, and the Spa Valley Railway.