L2L Day 1 Dover

While waiting for the 09:14 from Arundel to Dover Priory, I had a perverse exchange with a driver on the taxi stand who I thought was cleaning out his coffee machine. After a brief, rather one-sided discussion over coffee blends and flavours greeted by his puzzled expression, I realised he'd actually been cleaning his vacuum cleaner and the detritus from the floor of his taxi. Ah well!  Here's to more enlightening conversations over the next few months!!

£37 gets you two tickets from Arundel to Dover Priory in comfort in just about 3 hours which at a rate of about 10p per minute, I reckon is pretty good value.

Alas, on arrival in Dover 

and checking-in to the hotel, the smiling receptionists told us they had no mains water supply. Catastrophe!!!! While looking for alternative accommodation, we were also struck by the intriguing instructions on their key-cards.

With the prospect of no showers or flushing loos, we checked in to Dover Travelodge - cheap, cheerful and with the bonus of a mains water supply.

Dover Castle is so expansive, we decided to give it a miss until another day.

Dover Museum on the other hand especially with its 3500 year old Bronze Age boat discovered during excavations in the town centre in 1992 had been well recommended.  The display on the top floor of the boat, it's salvage and reconstruction is excellent

and along with great displays commemorating the heroism of the Dover Patrol boats during WWI and the Dunkirk Little ships evacuation of almost a quarter of a million soldiers in just 9 days in May 1940, this is one of those really interesting local museums.

There was a brisk North Easterly blowing as we walked along the seafront to do the traditional dipping of toes (in this case boots!) in the sea at the start of a long walk

then out on one of the sea walls, past a sculpture celebrating those who've swum the Channel - seemingly lots of Americans and Australians. We reckoned they can only have signed up for it before realising the temperature of the sea water!!!!

With the afternoon progressing, the temperature was dropping to just above zero Even the Mergansers were finding it chilly.

So we didn't stay long but long enough to see the RNLI station

and witness the busy harbour in action with ferries being constantly unloaded and reloaded in a very quick turnaround.

On the way back into town I called in on the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club

and on assuring them of my long membership of the Royal Welsh Yacht Clubs (long lapsed!! (- : ), I was warmly ushered in to the plush, red carpetted lounge bar and invited always to return whenever we next 'dropped anchor'.

It must be the 'gift of the gab'