Dover Castle

After our Minecraft workshop last week, we were sent this very impressive version of Dover Castle, by Finley, age 9. Big thanks to Katie Laker for sharing this video with us!

Our latest costumed performance is here at Dover Castle's Great Tower this August! Henry II is abroad, and his chief Justiciar Ranulph de Glanville is in charge of Dover Castle. Join him to watch the unfolding of a true 12th century court case, along with its dramatic conclusion! https://buff.ly/2JmBftR

Our last Minecraft collaboration resulted in this spectacular version of Dover Castle, created with help from Yogscast. This weekend we're inviting aspiring Minecraft masters to have a go at creating their own castle masterpiece on our workshop with expert builders Blockworks, as part of our LoveCastles season. Join in and show off your skills! https://buff.ly/2vHu9e5

Calling Minecraft masters! As part of our LoveCastles season, this weekend we've arranged an exclusive chance to join Minecraft experts BlockBuilders C.I.C on a unique workshop where you can build the ultimate Minecraft castle. The builder of the best castle will be entered into our competition to win a stay in an English Heritage holiday cottage! https://buff.ly/2vHu9e5

As we near the centenary of the 1918 Armistice and the culmination of our Fortress Dover project, we are teaming up with Bright Culture to find out what people understand about the First World War at Dover Castle. Why not take our quick, online survey and share your thoughts with us? https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/3WNBP5T< br>

This August Bank Holiday, our smash hit medieval joust returns to Dover Castle. Here's a taste of what you can look forward to at our ultimate display of history on horseback! https://buff.ly/2P6Ibye

Join Minecraft experts Blockbuilders at Dover Castle, to try your hand at building the ultimate Minecraft castle. With computers provided, plus a VR headset to see your work in 3D (age restrictions may apply), this is a unique opportunity to build with the pros within the walls of a real castle.
You'll have up to 50 minutes to build your ultimate castle, placing blocks or using pre-made floorplans and components such as turrets and walls available on the server.
The builder o...f the best castle will be entered into our #LoveCastles promotion to win a stay in an English Heritage holiday cottage. All builds will also be put onto a secure public server after the event so that you can continue with your project at home.
Please note: Workshop places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The 50-minute workshops will be held at the following times: 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm, 3:30pm and 4:30pm
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A spectacular rainbow over the castle during last Friday's rainstorms. Huge thanks to Brian van der Veen for sharing this excellent image with us.

The first day of our magnificent Tudor Pageant here at the castle. The entertainments we've prepared have kept his majesty well amused, and no one has lost their heads so far, but there is still another day of the event to go!
Don't miss out, visit our event page to find out more!
https://bit.ly/2y4TIcQ

Well done to those who attended the Fortress Dover Performance Summer School. The children worked alongside Troubadour Tales to create a unique piece of theatre to tell Dover's First World War stories! More on the Fortress Dover project here: https://bit.ly/2Og95lJ

Our resident electrician, James, sent us a picture of this small fellow he met whilst exploring the site. It seems that common lizards love visiting the castle too!

The creative minds of local children have teamed up with the exuberant talents of Troubadour Tales to put on a unique performance commemorating the centenary of the First World War.
Join us to experience the climax of a free week long performance summer school, part of the heritage lottery funded Fortress Dover project, and watch as local children step one hundred years into the past to bring our first world war stories to life.
With our impressive anti-aircraft gun, fire command post and port war signal station as the backdrop and looking out across the English channel, be transported back in time by a unique performance!

For those of you who made it to our event last weekend in spite of the traffic, let's take a minute to appreciate our two fantastic knights, Sir Jay of Birmingham and Sir Lewis of Warwick. All we can say is; what a show!
For our next event, coming up soon, join Henry VIII at our first ever Tudor Pageant: https://bit.ly/2y4TIcQ

A brilliant day at our hilariously horrible look at the grubbier side of life in medieval England! The event continues here at Dover Castle tomorrow (29/07/18). Dover has been experiencing increased traffic, so if travelling to see us bear in mind the following routes to help you avoid queues. If travelling via M20/A20 Exit A20 at Capel le Ferne, and use B2011 Folkestone Road to enter Dover town. If travelling via A2... Exit at Whitfield Roundabout, and follow A256 to enter Dover town. Event info and tickets here: https://bit.ly/2JxwMIn
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We've discovered two significant items of lost property at the castle today. If you lost something important during your visit, do please get in touch!

The M20 is experiencing heavy traffic this weekend around the Eurotunnel and on the approach to the Port of Dover. If visiting Dover this weekend, the following routes will help you avoid traffic:
If travelling via M20/A20 Exit A20 at Capel le Ferne, and use B2011 Folkestone Road to enter Dover town.
... If travelling via A2 Exit at Whitfield Roundabout, and follow A256 to enter Dover town.
Our directions page contains more travel info: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/…/do ver-castle/directions
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Dover Castle's smash hit jousting spectacular returns! Prepare yourself for a spectacle like no other, filled with medieval mayhem, merriment and memorable moments.
In a spectacle of speed and skill, four of the most masterful knights in the kingdom, mounted on their magnificent steeds, will battle for victory. Choose your champion and see who is victorious in this colourful display of chivalry and courage. Surround yourself in pageantry. The living history encampments will take you back in time, where you'll be kept entertained by the court jester and merry musicians. Budding knights can enjoy their own hero moment as they test their bravery in the hobby-horse jousting.

It is 1544 and you have been invited to celebrate with King Henry VIII as he prepares to invade France. Hear the sounds of cannons, muskets and drums during an impressive, colourful parade showcasing the strength of the king’s army. Witness a re-enactment of a dramatic siege performed for the bad-tempered monarch and hope that none of the watching crowd lose their heads! Then take a seat and settle down to watch an captivating play.
Step into the Tudor encampment and laugh with the King’s hilarious fool and merry musicians before experiencing life in the sixteenth century. Try your hand at striking Tudor coins, feel the weight of Henry’s armour and learn about the foods eaten by courtiers and peasants. Make sure the little ones don’t miss the junior jousting and Monk Monopoly.

We had a fabulous visit to the Castle today and my daughter absolutely loved the live action stories throughout the day. She was fascinated by the history the actors brought to life so well and insisted on us following the events all day. The actors were in character the entire time, were wonderful with the visitors and really made a place we already love even better today :)

This English Heritage site is truly amazing. We’ve just had our first but definitely not our last visit to Dover Castle. The whole experience was faultless. Plenty of parking, places to eat/ drink and best of all the castle. The tower, the tunnels, Roman lighthouse, oldest Saxon church in Kent, war time history, feuds and battles galore. Tremendous. Pack a picnic and prepare for a great day out for all the family. One word of caution, there are a lot of steps and fairly steep inclines throughout the site but there is plenty accessible for everyone.

My children (5 & 7) and I are English Heritage members and visit Dover Castle several times a year. There's always something new to see and do and some fantastic events. The children love the kitchens best! I personally love the views from the top of the tower and the Tudor history. We even met King Henry VIII!

I just love Dover castle always something fun to do and fabulous events at a reasonable price the staff are well trained and absolutely lovely cafe is a little expencive (my only minor complaint) but all in all a wonderful day out for all

I had an opportunity to visit the Tower of Dover ten or so years ago. At that time l was in awe if its grandeur. After my visit, l started reading all l can read about it, now l am very much in awe of its might. #Dovercastle

Have been to Dover Castle many times during my childhood and went again a few years ago. Always an amazing experience and always manage to learn something new!

Great day out ,went to top of the castle great views ,felt like you was back in those times ,the underground hospital was amazing again felt so real ,tour guide was very friendly explaining everything as we walked through ,😊

Great customer service, Amazing gift shop with a huge range of tasters (Thanks to Phil in the shop today for that)

Can’t wait to visit again �

Dover Castle is huge! You may think the admission price is expensive but there is so much to see you can easily spend a whole day there and now English Heritage is a charity, you’re contributing to the conservation of this amazing place for future generations. From wartime tunnels to medieval tunnels, the castle keep, regimental museum, constables tower, walks around the castle to name a few! Lots of grassy areas for picnics on sunny days with amazing views out across the channel! The castle is very interactive, the Keep is refurbished to look like it would have been when it was built & you get stunning 360 views from the roof. Guide books are jam packed full of information to read as you walk around. Dover castle is a MUST for visits! Love it!!

Bit of a late review but myself and my 7 year old son visited 13th of May. He is absolutely obsessed with history, always reading horrible history books and was so excited to come. He can be a bit full on and ask a million questions but all the staff we encountered were so patient and kind. There was people dressed up as queens etc doing interactive role play and this was absolutely the highlight of his day. He loved getting involved and helping. The tunnels were awesome too. Look forward to coming back again soon

Awesome castle, we visited and used our historic Scotland cards for free entry. We did not have lots of time so didn't make the tunnels however we seen everything else and it was fantastic. The mist rolled in which made for some great photos. Thanks for a great day

We visited here yesterday even though the weather wasn't great. Lovely place but I nearly had a heart attack when we paid for 3 sandwiches, a bag of crisps and 3 drinks and came to over £20. Absolutely ridiculous!! We paid an amount to get in and then had to pay the ridiculous amount for lunch. I think with having to pay to get into here the prices inside should be affordable for families.

We absolutely loved our visit, making use of our English Heritage membership whilst on holiday. Our three children all enjoyed the pageant and it was great that so much was accessible for our severely disabled son. However the wait for the tunnels was a minimum of 40 minutes, a time our severely disabled son couldn’t manage. Disappointed that there is no fast track for the few with such needs. It meant our seven year old missed out on seeing something he recently learned about in school

The tunnels were extraordinary - we went to them first as part of our visit and didn’t have to queue for the Dynamo experience and had just a 5 min wait for the hospital tunnels. Staff were really helpful and well informed and my 3 and 5 year old were full of questions. The Dynamo tunnels were sensory and engaging and would recommend for all ages. Totally humbling to see the work that went on there to bring back the soldiers from Dunkirk. If there’s a queue it’s well worth waiting for and if it’s raining take an umbrella and queue - it’s not that much of a hardship for a very poignant and moving exhibition.

The tunnels were awesome and the animations inside to tell the story were wonderful, also de guides were friendly, nice and knowledgeable. Despite visiting during Easter Weekend, the castle is so huge that it did not feel overcrowded and we could roam freely around. Do not miss the Medieval tunnels, they are on the other side of the famous tunnels and the great tower but you can visit without a guide and they are very nice and interesting! freaked out with the trap door system!



However! I did miss more signs and tours around the castle itself, the attractions were focused on the tunnels, but the tower and the surroundings have a lot of history to tell as well and it would be wonderful to have a guided tour like there is in Warwick castle or an audio guide (which might exist but I did not see?)



Foodwise is nice and handy, there is a restaurant, a café and tables outdoors if you take something. I saw cute dogs around so they might be admitted under some rules, there is parking and overflow parking, toilets in different locations as well and the views of the sea are great too :)

It was a great day, we really enjoyed the visit to the castle, tunnels tours was good, but it said tour will last 20minutes but after 9minuts the tour was over.

We where just rushed along by the tours guides. No time to look around and take in the history of the tunnels

The reception staff who took payments for tickets tried to ADD 10% for gift aid! The staff in the cafe were particularly rude when we asked for coffee they looked at us like we were idiots.. they even watered down the mayonnaise! £3.30 for the tiniest slice of Victoria sponge cake, and £5 for a tomato soup and small piece of of bread!

Would have been nice to see it today but unfortunately shut due to sleet. Not even showing on their website it was shut. Or even on the entrance to it , the only give away was the gate was padlocked. How come it was shut when we managed an hours walk to it from the Ramada hotel without walking on one bit of snow. Very disappointing and a waste of a day!!

Really rude staff in the large ticket booth area. We drive in early because there was nothing to stop us so didn’t know better, followed a car with its hazards on (later found out that this is what the staff do to show they’re staff) and was set upon as if we were criminals... daughter 9 years old was crossing her legs desperate for the toilet and when we asked if she could use the toilet the woman was very rude despite her standing there in tears in front of her. If we didn’t have English heritage passes we certainly wouldn’t have paid to get in after that.

We did go in and advised to go to the underground part first as it’ll get busy but unbeknown to us they had told every other person that too so after trekking down an almighty hill, it was a 45 minute queue time already so we then had to chug all the way back up the hill which near on killed my 4 year old and his father who ended up having to carry him.

There’s much better places with much better customer service as part of the English Heritage... Walmer Castle and Battle Abbey are much better... don’t waste your time coming here.