mr_bones
Gormless Moderator
Today Reaperman and i decided to make a trip to Dover - and as he exclaimed, you usually go to Dover to get out the country (and come back!)
We were looking at the coastal defences and Napoleonic fortifications that once would have defended the coastline. Starting out near Western Heights, we took a walk down to 'The Grand Shaft' - 3 spiral staircases tangled together in a big 'tube' that would have provided quick access to and from the seafront. It is usually open as a tourist attraction but we decided not to pay!
Once we had hauled our way back up towards the carpark, i pointed out the entrance to a tunnel that would have originally linked the top of the hill with the grand shaft. I wasn't up for the awkward climb so let RM go ahead alone.
After that we took a look at 'Detached Bastion' which is one of my favourite parts of all the defences.
Another amazing part of what is left at Dover is the drawbridge that leads into a continuation of similar tunnels and rooms to those in the detached bastion but unfortunately it has been sealed up.
After some time, we jumped back in the car and headed off towards the barracks - unfortunately access was denied to this whole area of the defences but if anyone wants to see my previous pictures i can post them up.
Back in the car and off to St. Margarets bay, towards the lighthouse there are a series of deep shelters and a number of underground plotting rooms. The plotting room that we went in has a concrete cap and once inside there is a metal cover with a hatch leading down into the rooms.
The deep shelter was extremely dusty and smelt as though there had been a fire in there.
After the deep shelter we had a look at a pillbox which is perched right on the cliff edge, then back into the car to see the final attraction of the day (excluding the pub that had Leffe on draught
) Z rocket battery is accessed by a steep muddy slope that has a spoil hole at the bottom that leads over the cliff edge so we had to be pretty careful!! I didn't take my camera down as i already have pictures of it but hopefully RM can fill in the blanks.
All in all, very good day and we proved that 7 hours of daylight is nowhere near enough time to cover the bits i know about!
Merry Christmas Folk!
We were looking at the coastal defences and Napoleonic fortifications that once would have defended the coastline. Starting out near Western Heights, we took a walk down to 'The Grand Shaft' - 3 spiral staircases tangled together in a big 'tube' that would have provided quick access to and from the seafront. It is usually open as a tourist attraction but we decided not to pay!
Once we had hauled our way back up towards the carpark, i pointed out the entrance to a tunnel that would have originally linked the top of the hill with the grand shaft. I wasn't up for the awkward climb so let RM go ahead alone.
After that we took a look at 'Detached Bastion' which is one of my favourite parts of all the defences.
Another amazing part of what is left at Dover is the drawbridge that leads into a continuation of similar tunnels and rooms to those in the detached bastion but unfortunately it has been sealed up.
After some time, we jumped back in the car and headed off towards the barracks - unfortunately access was denied to this whole area of the defences but if anyone wants to see my previous pictures i can post them up.
Back in the car and off to St. Margarets bay, towards the lighthouse there are a series of deep shelters and a number of underground plotting rooms. The plotting room that we went in has a concrete cap and once inside there is a metal cover with a hatch leading down into the rooms.
The deep shelter was extremely dusty and smelt as though there had been a fire in there.
After the deep shelter we had a look at a pillbox which is perched right on the cliff edge, then back into the car to see the final attraction of the day (excluding the pub that had Leffe on draught
) Z rocket battery is accessed by a steep muddy slope that has a spoil hole at the bottom that leads over the cliff edge so we had to be pretty careful!! I didn't take my camera down as i already have pictures of it but hopefully RM can fill in the blanks.All in all, very good day and we proved that 7 hours of daylight is nowhere near enough time to cover the bits i know about!
Merry Christmas Folk!
