Day tripping to Dover
The yellow canary needed a test ride, so after finally convincing the BOSS to climb aboard a bright yellow motorcycle, we headed off the Dover. We took the back roads as we will, once again, be trying to avoid motorways or any road that contains semi trailers. We arrived at Dover Castle and were all set to have our picnic lunch in the grounds over looking the harbour, when a ticket Nazi relieved us of 38 pounds ($100) to join the British Heritage Trust. This would actually allow us entry into a lot of castles, monuments etc, including Stonehenge but 38 pounds was more than the budget could spare at the moment.
After lunch we set off to explore the castle which once again was very different from my memories as a nine year old. I remembered lots of armour but perhaps that was the Tower of London. There were some fairly interesting displays in the castle but the best bit was the tunnels. The wartime tunnels have only been open to the public for the past ten years and the tour was fascinating. There are three levels of tunnels cut into the white chalk cliffs and they housed not only a full communications centre and dormitories for hundreds, but also a full hospital including an operating theatre. These tunnels played a key roll in both Dunkirk and D Day.
When we emerged from the tunnels a few spots of rain threatened our ride home; however it didn't actually begin to rain properly until we pulled into Naomi's driveway half an hour later. This is the first rain we have seen since arriving back in England - it has been unusual weather - a whole week of sunshine and above 30 temperatures - the English are calling it a heat wave.
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